House: closing the gaps

The windows are in but the job isn't yet done!

There are a lot of gaps:
Gaps between the architraves and the walls:

Gaps between the glass settings and the window framings:

And then the standard gaps in the floor:

All of which pull drafts up through the walls under the house.

I was linked to this really great site called GIY - Green It Yourself: Australian, full of practical advice, perfect for those of us who live in gappy old houses that weren't built for anything below 10C or above 28C (ie. most of Sydney). We may not want to run the a/c all summer, and the reverse-cycle a/c (heat pump) all winter - we might just want our houses to be liveable without needing to burn more energy...

I wish I'd found this site sooner, it has some really good advice!

First things first: How to Caulk. Get thee a caulking gun and learn how to use it! Anyone can use it, you just need to get familiar with it. Learn not only how to use it, but also how to clean up after! Also, trim your nails right down and have the hand-cream ready! You can wear gloves, sure, but there's nothing to beat your fingers doing the walking.

Second things second: the actual type of caulk to use. If you only have options from Bunnings, use options from Bunnings. Better to be draft-proofed than not! However, the stuff at Bunnings is for your average DIY - their bread-and-butter is the weekend DIY warrior. Tradies tend to use tradie-specific hardware places and the stuff there tends to be better quality. My local tradie hardware is Hardware and General, but I got the white gap filler from my local Reece hardware and plumbing down the road.

My new double-glazed windows are white, so I'm using the white caulking (Soudal Gap Filler) around the edges, and to seal any gaps between the window frame and the wooden architraves themselves.

However, my skirting boards are white, and my floors are natural wood - polished floorboards done (rather badly by sub-contracted "professionals") after we pulled up the carpet. I used the white caulking for three floor gaps and...well, it doesn't look great. But that's done now and can't be undone, and they're in 'bedrooms' rather than the main room. Which was pretty intentional. It's gonna be clear caulking (HB Fuller - Ultra Clear Caulk) for the rest of the floorboard gaps!

Also, might try to fill in a few of the spaces between the floorboards - wood putty might do the job if it can be neatly cleaned up.

Third things third: I'm doing this now is because we have all the furniture and stuff out, and it's easiest to do when it's all out of the way. Moving furniture is a PITA and no fun, especially when you're doing it all by yourself.

Plus if I get it done this autumn, then when full winter turns up, at least it won't be quite as bad as it used to be...

The downside is that I've been basically exhausted the last two weeks. Painting the window architraves, sealing them up. Sealing up the floors, putting up curtains (where the windows are ready)...

On a personal, I think I might also have come down with something. It might even be COVID, although very mild and largely asymptomatic thanks to full vaccinations and all the boosters. But I've been absolutely shattered for the last week and probably should have gone for a PCR or a doc visit. I might do that this week, if I can scramble the time.

next thoughts on the house

Next thoughts on the house

1. sealing up between the skirtingboards and the floorboards - particularly in the study and the lounge and my bedroom (all major draught areas)
- probably should use something between a silicone and latex sealant: very narrow tip (pinprick, really) and with a shaped nozzle to keep it lined up. White? To match the skirting

2. painting the inside frames: they're primed, but they'll need a coat of paint.

3. external awnings (b1 wants external awnings - at least to the west, so she can let down the awnings at will; I'm more for a vergola, myself...)

4. creating some kind of a seal/stopper for the wall vents, at least for the winter season, to determine if it helps the thermal profile of the room (may want to keep them for in-wall ventilation)

5. cleaning up all the paint specks and wood fragments from around the garden and the grass; might have to ask if there's a kind of 'external vacuum' and whether I could use it to get the worst of the paint chips, etc. up.

Inside the house: more cube storage things and the boxes that fit in them so we can put things away

outside the house: more storage spaces and boxes-that-don't-break-down (or maybe just go with plain cardboard ones)
- chooks
- pruning and tying up
- netting and fruiting
- sprays and pesticides

Need to do a "cleaning tools" day with PSN

windows windows everywhere

Windows are here and they look pretty good!

Goodbye old wooden-framed single-glaze windows, draughty in the winter, letting in the heat in the summer!

It's a little sad to see them go: they served so very well. Also, I hate seeing waste, and watching them be pulled apart/destroyed (because there's nowhere that will take them) is awful. I probably should have researched into places to get them deconstructed and the glass (at least) reused...

We had to take the external awnings off, and looking at the construction, I don't know that we're going to be able to put them back on again...

It's amazing how large the window holes actually look!

And then the window frames and the glass installed:

That window has three openable sections: one awning in the middle, two tilt-and-turns on the edges. For better north-south breezes.

Now let's see how the installers do on the 'sealing it up and not negating the point of having double-glazing in the first place' part of the deal! They've assured me that they'll be sealing up around the windows with a polyurethane sealant and it will be airtight.

We shall see...

oof it's a window replacement

Double glazed windows are about to be installed!

It's not a cheap project, but it will hopefully make a fairly big difference in both soundproofing and draft-proofing. I did what I could to seal up the gaps, but the breeze still came through. Once these windows are in, though, the seals will be pretty tight!

Next gap to seal is the one between the floorboards and the baseboard. I think I might just use some kind of caulking to seal that gap. Need to go watch a bunch of YT vids for options.

After that, I'd have to think about the tiny cracks happening in the architraves.

About half the household is in storage, and will probably be there for a couple of months. I know the risk of putting things in storage is that you never get them out of storage, but it is nice to have things out of the way and be able to rethink the space around here...

I wonder if I could put a couple of rolling bookshelves in the study? Or how much it would cost to get shelving that would go all the way up to the ceiling? Also, whether it would cost much to make some cupboards above the wardrobes in our rooms.