Finally got around to replacing all the windows in my place myself, and man, it was way more work than I thought it'd be. Learned a ton along the way (and only broke one pane of glass, lol). Pics below if you're curious. Anyway, I'm thinking about adding some kind of weatherproofing or insulation strips now that they're installed...anyone have experience with what actually works best?
Nice job tackling that yourself—window replacements are no joke. I did mine last summer, and yeah, way more involved than YouTube makes it look, lol. Anyway, about weatherproofing...I tried a few different things and honestly found that silicone weatherstripping worked best for me. It's flexible enough to seal tight without making the windows hard to open or close, and it held up really well through winter. Foam strips were cheaper but wore out pretty fast, and the adhesive got messy after a while.
Also, don't underestimate caulking around the frames—makes a huge difference in drafts. Learned that the hard way after spending a weekend wondering why my living room still felt breezy. Turns out I missed a couple spots...typical rookie mistake.
Anyway, good luck with it. Your pics look great, btw—way cleaner install than mine ended up being.