Window Draught Proofing in Wellington
Glass and Window Repair Wellington draught proofs timber and aluminium windows across the city. On double hung sashes we rout a groove and fit brush pile seal to the meeting rail and stiles. On aluminium we replace the perished weather seal. Either way the window still works normally and nothing changes that you can see from the street.
- Brush pile seals routed into timber sashes, invisible when shut
- Stops the rattle as well as the draught
- Windows still open and close normally
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Draught stopping is also one of the five Healthy Homes standards, which require unreasonable gaps and holes in windows and doors to be blocked in rental properties. Beyond compliance, it is simply the cheapest warmth available in a Wellington house. An unsealed double hung window has a continuous gap the full width of the sash, and in a northerly you can feel it from the middle of the room.
Where the air actually gets in
On a double hung window: the meeting rail where the two sashes overlap, both stiles where the sash slides against the frame, and the gap under the bottom rail. On a casement or awning: around the whole perimeter where the weather seal has flattened.
People often seal the wrong thing. The gap between the frame and the wall lining is a different problem with a different fix, and taping a window shut is not draught proofing, it is losing your ventilation.
Brush pile seal on timber sashes
A shallow groove is routed into the edge of the sash and a nylon brush pile carrier is pressed in. The brush closes the gap while still letting the sash slide, so the window works exactly as before and the seal is invisible with the window shut.
It also stops the rattle, which in a Wellington gust is often what people rang about.
Do not seal away your ventilation
A house needs air movement or you trade draughts for condensation and mould. Draught proofing closes gaps that leak air when the window is shut. It does not stop you opening the window, and it should not.
On rentals the ventilation standard requires openable windows totalling at least 5 percent of each habitable room's floor area, able to be fixed open. Draught proofing and that requirement work together rather than against each other.
Sealing without losing your ventilation
What to seal and what to leave
Draught proofing closes the gaps that leak air when a window is shut: the meeting rail, the stiles and the perimeter of a casement. It does not mean taping a window closed, which trades a draught for condensation and mould.
The gap between the frame and the wall lining is a separate problem with a separate fix, and sealing the wrong one is common.
How much difference it makes
An unsealed double hung window has a continuous opening the full width of the sash. Two of those in a bedroom is equivalent to leaving a small window permanently ajar all winter.
Brush pile costs a fraction of glazing work, goes in during a single visit, and is usually the first thing we recommend in Wellington on any house that is cold rather than damp.
Window Draught Proofing at a glance
- Timber sashes
- Brush pile seal routed into the sash edge, invisible when closed
- Aluminium
- Perished weather seal replaced with new gasket
- Fixes
- Draughts, whistling, rattling in wind
- Healthy Homes
- Contributes to the draught stopping standard for rentals
- Keeps
- Full opening function and the original look of the window
Window Draught Proofing in Wellington: common questions
Will draught proofing stop my windows rattling?
Yes. The rattle is the sash moving in the gap, and closing the gap stops it.
Can you see the seals once they are fitted?
Not with the window closed. Brush pile sits in a routed groove in the sash edge.
Is draught proofing required for rental properties?
Draught stopping is one of the five Healthy Homes standards. Unreasonable gaps and holes have to be blocked, and windows are one of the places assessors look.
Recent Wellington jobs
Got three quotes for retrofitting the front of the house. Only ones who measured every opening and explained why the north facing rooms needed different glass. Eleven windows over two days, and the road noise dropped more than I expected.
Landlord here. Had four properties assessed for the Healthy Homes ventilation rule and two needed openable sashes freed up rather than new joinery, which saved me a fortune. Straight answers, written report, no upselling.
Ranch slider had been jamming for years and we assumed it needed replacing. Turned out to be rollers and a bent track. Two hours, a fraction of the price we were braced for.
Fogged unit in the lounge, measured on the Tuesday and in by the following Monday. Fair price and they cleaned up after themselves.
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