A home is meant to be the one sure place of cozy comfort that you have in this world. You probably think of your house as this space in which you can relax and get rid of your daily frustrations. A drafty home can feel cold, uninviting, or downright uncomfortable. If you want to keep warmth inside the house where it belongs, here are four tips for preventing nasty drafts.
Basement Cracks
You might think your basement is naturally cold, and that is somewhat true. However, it could be contributing to your drafty house far more than is necessary. Cracks or crawlspace areas in a basement are major factors in air leaks and heat escaping. Something like expanding foam can seal major fissures around doors or windows in the basement. If your basement isn’t complete yet, it’s a great time to address drafts and add seals that can act as pest deterrents at the same time.
Windows
Some windows are better at retaining heat than others. In addition to some fixes around the windows you already have in place, getting new windows in all or parts of the home could go a long way toward making your house less drafty. Although you shouldn’t need window replacement work done on the home very often throughout its life, there will be times in which it makes good financial sense to go this route. You can speak with professionals to discuss going with things like strong wood windows or easily maintained vinyl ones.
Filming
If you do decide to go for new windows, you may need to wait a bit before a team is ready to do that job. While you are waiting, window film is the next best thing. However, it is important to keep in mind that this solution is only for windows with single panes. It is a temporary measure that you can put in place before your new windows arrive. If you do it smoothly, the film will trap air between the pane and the plastic. This air can double as a secondary layer that keeps heat in more effectively than a single pane of glass.
Recessed Lights
If you have recessed lighting fixtures in the ceilings of various rooms, they can cause problems with drafts. This is because you have to cut holes directly in the surface area in order to put these kinds of lights in the home. These holes penetrate into the attic, and this is already a natural cold zone within a home. Special tape can seal in a vapor barrier around the edges of the recessed or pot lights in the house.
It is possible that you’ll feel cold spots around windows or doors, but you might experience drafts even along parts of the floor or walls of your home as well. You can combine some of the tips above to reduce the drafts in your home and tighten things up. You and your family or guests will feel cozier, and you might see a nice reduction in your heating bill during the cold months. In addition to the advice above, you can add door sweeps to the bottoms of doorways to keep heat from escaping that way.
