Is It Airtight?

Are you good at sealing up houses, tight as a drum?

We’ve talked about green building recently. Seeing as how in summer in Florida the heat is always trying to invade air conditioned spaces, maybe we should take a look at keeping the heat out and the cool air inside.

Here’s an interesting fact.  If there is a sliver of a gap around a living room size window – say … 1/16″ or even less……when you add up the lineal footage, it can easily total a full square inch of space.  Caulking shrinks or shrivels with age.  Old windows are now well fastened and can wiggle sometimes when the window is opened and closed.  There are a variety of reasons why a gap could appear.

But what happens later?

Think about a full square inch of space.  That’s around the size of a garden hose.  So, in hurricane force conditions, that gap around the window could act the same as a full speed garden hose squirting water into the house.

If you are a homeowner, has this way of presenting this idea convinced you to check your windows to see if they are “tight as a drum”?  If you are a contractor, do you think this way of presenting this condition could translate into you selling any window upgrade work?

Keeping windows sealed well, keeps out the water in a driving wind storm, and it also keeps the A.C. inside.  Check your windows and those of your clients and see what you find.

For TORTURE FREE continuing education register with Contractor ETC today!

Contractors Education & Training Corporation is about making your construction company MORE successful.