Window Weather Stripping

[Monkey Wrench]

Hey Fellas-

With winter on its way and the cost of natural gas expected to rise extremely high :flaming: I have decided to replace the weather stripping on the bottoms of all my windows and blow some additional insulation into the attic. Every window has a channel that holds the stripping in, and while it certainly is a bitch to get the old stuff out, getting the new stuff in is enough to go next door and shoot my neighbor's stupid ass cat! :sniper:

Anyhow, after getting two windows done in about 2 hours (about 19 more to go) I considered using something like liquid dishsoap (like Dawn) or WD-40 to make it easier to slide the new stripping in. My concern is that using something may end up damaging the weatherstripping. I'm not exactly sure what it is made of, but it's like a heavy vinyl. I'll try to post some pictures of the bottom of a window and the new stripping, but does anyone know if using soap or WD-40 will do any damage? Any other ideas on making the job a bit easier (and quicker)?

Also, I need to add some insulation in my attic. The current layer is blown in, but it's only a few inches deep. I'm considering renting one of those machines and doing it myself (I think Lowes actually lends it to you if you buy a certain amount of insulation). I've never done this before, so I'm curious if anyone else has and, if so, would you do it yourself again? If you did, any tips on making it easier? How do you determine how much you need? Finally, is the adage, "more is better" applicable here?

Thanks in advance for any advice! I appreciate it! :bling:

 

[mr_bob]

i would use the wd 40 rather than the soap only cuz you dont want it to dry out and i think dish soap tends to dry things out

and wd 40 is a lube it should have a problem drying things out

and with the insulation all i gots to say is get some type of mask cuz just crawling around in an attic with that stuff sucks


but you can only mess up once and then you pay for someone to do it for you again i would say just go ahead and do it yourself

 

[Tweak]

I would recommend using dryer lube. I don't know if you have ever heard of it, but in the back of a clothes dryer (older ones at least) there is one single pin the entire structure rests on, coated in some type of polymer. They sell small bottles of the lube at hardware stores and the like. the reason i say use this kind is it is supposed to be gentle and biodegradable. I don't think it would affect the weather stripping and after completion it wouldnt fog up the double pane windows (if thats what you have)

 

[Plaidfish]

I used watered down soap to install sliding glass door windows in their frame....it's a softer bendable strip that wedges on both sides of the glass......is this a strip that sits in the frame and butts up to the Glass itself or to another frame the window sits in....

 

[FastEddy]

LPS Grease less lubricant, available at most hardware stores. Did you try heating it up with a hair dryer?

All things considered have you gotten a quote for someone to do the insulation for you? There is an "R" Rating for the product you get. It will tell you the depth of product needed to do the job. Yes more is better but there is a point when the return on your investment isn't worth the cost of the product and money is better spent on something else.

 

[racin_38]

eddy is right ,it isnt always better to insulate the poop out of something ,your house needs to breathe and not be totally closed to no air it will casue your windows to sweat and ruin your seals and all that crap .
as for the blown in insulation is good but but also very dirty all it is is shreaded newspaper in most cases
if it were me i would buy a roll or 2 of R-11 or R-13 and which is only 3 to 3.5" thick and put it at the eves nearest your gables in the attic ,and plastic off you windows in the attic if you have some up there ,in most cases there are knee-walls to help support the span of the joists insulate them too
more isnt always better ,could always get a pro in and look things over and see what he would do then just do it yourself ,most good reputable private contractors will give free estimates and tell you exactly what they are going to do as for your seals
how old are the windows?
who made them? anderson ,pella .?
are they DBL hung ,SGL hung?
sgl hung have 1 seal where as dbl hung have 2 -1 top 1 bottom
i can help better knowing
also with the lube .i would not use wd-40 or anything that has a scent like that stink up the house ,to revitalize window seals in my 1:1 car i will take a rag with veggy oil on it and wipe down the rubber seals and it keeps them young looking and also keeps the doors from freezing shut in the winter
might try using that to reinstall the seals
the newer ones they just slide in and slide out and are crimped at 1 end to hold the seal in ,most times they slide to the right from my experience
hope this made sense