LESLIE: Sharon calling from New York has got a question. What can we do for you?
SHARON: Hi. I have a home and it faces east and west and I have a problem with air and snow; like wind infiltration in through my windows. And it’s a brand new home and I have double pane vinyl windows in my house. And the snow comes in the windows.
TOM: Huh. So these are brand new windows and the snow’s getting in?
SHARON: Mm-hmm.
TOM: That doesn’t sound too good.
SHARON: No.
LESLIE: Is it getting in around the windows? Is it like really snowing in or are you just feeling a draft and coldness?
SHARON: No, there’s draft and coldness and then, right in that – I’m not really sure what it’s called. You know that little groove that the window slides up and down in – right in through there, the snow actually will blow in.
TOM: Hmm. Now, how old is the house? You said it’s new. I mean is it brand spanking?
SHARON: Three years old.
TOM: Three years old? Did you buy it from the builder? Are you the first owner?
SHARON: Yes.
TOM: Have you dealt with this with the builder before or is this something that just happened …
SHARON: Yes.
TOM: … this year?
SHARON: No, I have … they actually replaced the windows on the west side of my home and …
TOM: Hmm.
SHARON: … and it did a little bit of good but not much.
TOM: Huh. Well, it sounds to me like your windows are just not that good, Sharon. And there may not be an easy way to fix this. You could consider putting a storm window on top of them. Generally, you don’t put storm windows on when you have thermal pane windows but it’s going to be a question here as to what the easiest way it is to make these weather tight. And it might be that that’s the best way to do it. Because there’s not a lot of things that you can do to existing windows. If they’re not sealed properly, they’re just not sealed properly. It’s very hard for you to fix them in any way and make them tighter than which they are.
LESLIE: I mean in the meantime, she could caulk around the windows with that removable caulking.
TOM: Well, that’s true too but it’s a brand new house and you’d hate to have to stoop to that.
LESLIE: I know, but at least it’s a temporary solution.
TOM: Yeah. OK, Sharon.
SHARON: I could do that. (inaudible) that peel off stuff.
TOM: That’s right; the peel off stuff. Yeah.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Yeah, make sure it’s that peel off caulk.
SHARON: Right. Yeah, I did do that last year.
TOM: And you might …
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Did it help at all?
SHARON: Yeah, it did help. It stopped the air from coming in.
TOM: Sharon, thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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