That’s interesting, because I had almost the opposite experience with my 1920s craftsman. I did get new windows but didn’t see a huge drop in bills until I went back and did a ton of caulking and added foam strips around the frames. Turns out there were some sneaky drafts around the sills that the installers missed. Did you use spray foam or just regular insulation? I’ve always wondered if one works better for those weird little gaps...
- Totally agree, air leaks around the sills are sneaky and common, especially in older homes.
- For tiny gaps, I usually use low-expansion spray foam—fills irregular spaces better than batt insulation or caulk alone.
- Caulk works for the visible cracks, but foam gets into those weird spots you can’t even see.
- Just gotta be careful not to overdo the foam or it’ll push the frame out of square... learned that the hard way once.
- Honestly, combining foam and weatherstripping has given me the best results on tough drafts.
I get why folks love spray foam, but I gotta admit, it kind of freaked me out. I tried it on one window and it was just...messy? Maybe I’m just not coordinated enough, ha. I ended up sticking with rope caulk for the really small cracks—super easy to work with and no risk of warping anything. Doesn’t last forever, but for my old 1950s place, it’s been a lifesaver through winter drafts. Sometimes the simple stuff just feels less stressful, you know?
Sometimes the simple stuff just feels less stressful, you know?
Totally get where you’re coming from. I tried spray foam around my basement windows once, and it turned into this expanding blob monster—took forever to trim and I still found bits of it months later. Rope caulk is way more forgiving, especially in old houses where nothing is square anyway. I do wish it lasted longer, but I’d rather reapply every year than deal with a sticky mess. Funny how sometimes the “old school” fixes just work better for certain spots.
I hear you on the spray foam—stuff’s like marshmallow gone rogue. I always wonder if anyone actually gets a clean bead with that stuff or if we’re all just scraping blobs off for days. Rope caulk is definitely less dramatic, but yeah, it’s not exactly permanent. Have you tried silicone caulk for the really drafty spots? I keep thinking about it, but then I remember how much of a pain it is to remove later. There’s always a tradeoff, huh?