**** it I mean my house is little less than 3 years old. and most windows on the 2nd floor have ice along the bottom edge. and I can feel a heavy cold flow from around them.

I'm not a house builder carpenter contracter guy.

what can I do? whats the actual issue here? anyone know?

 

I am not in the trades but a friend of mine was and a number of years ago he told me that 3 adults in a 2,000 sq ft house at -15C will have frost around the bottom of the windows, just from breathing. So, I don't fret about the frost anymore. Drafts are a different deal though. If it just feels cold around the bottom of the window then I suspect you can say 'welcome to winter in Alberta'. If there are drafts, get a professional - IMHO.

 

I forgot all about running the furnace fan through the temperature swings. that cleared up the condensation and ice right quick. but the drafts are getting deadly. and thats why I made this post..... to look for a professional

I clocked with my laser temp gun anywhere from 5c to 8c temp drop at the lower trim of the big window in my bedroom. and you can feel the air movement with your bare hand.

I'm looking for help, who to call, any helpful information other than welcome to Alberta the stupid house was only built 2 1/2 years ago.

 

Pull the window trim moldings and make sure there is insulation all the way around the window casing. I use regular fiberglass and just packed it in.

 

Lots of homes that been built recently, they have cut corners. I know my home had missing insulation around the windows. A few windows were loose. Its not normal, my home doesn't frost to heavily around the windows.

You running a humidifier, maybe turn it down some? Those things put heavy frost on windows.

Drafts thru windows/doors isn't good for the old heating bill. Some people even get drafts from the wall plug in's, welcome to housing trades in Alberta were most can't speak english and forget reading it. When I built my home, the building inspector passed the home by sitting in his truck. I had to get the builder to fix lots of stuff to bring my home to code. Even filed a complaint with the city, what ever use that does...

 

Expanding foam in a can, did wonders for my drafty area's. Pop the trim off, spray in foam, let it harden trim off excess, put trim back on, enjoy not having a cold draft blowing at you.

 

Luke, go to home depot and take a look at their "Do it Yourself" series of books. They cover everything from drywall to electrical. They arent real expensive and they will save you money if you avoid hiring someone to do just one job.

While drafts arent good I believe that you dont want to have a completely airtight house.

 

New home construction is fairly tight now with the wraps and stuff they use, so humidity can and will accumulate inside.If you have a humidifier on the furnace make sure it is working correctly and not set any higher than 18-20%,even less when the temps get colder.There should also be a fresh air vent near the furnace somewhere to let fresh air in when the furnace and hot water tank fire up, make sure it's clear and working.You should leave bathroom fans on 20-30 minutes after a shower/bath to get rid of the humidity that is generated, and to prevent mould from growing.They sell switches with built in timers now for this purpose. I would a lso check to make sure that the fans are actually venting to the outside when they are running. i have come across a few were the flap at the fan is stuck closed for one reason or another. The drafts could just be convection action as well with the colder air from the glass falling to the floor but for peace of mind pullthe trim and check. If there are gaps then use the window and door expanding foam to fill them. Don't use the crack filling foam as it can expand to much and cause more issues.
Just a few suggestions for you Luke.

 

awesome thanks guys. now thats something to start with.

and the drafts are bad when they flow. something I know is not normal.

 

If your house was built about 3 years ago, that was towards the end of the "boom" and people were starting to bail while they could. Cutting costs was the norm as everyone still wanted the "boom" profits and this is one way of doing it.

Not sure who built your home but I wouldn't be surprised to see that there is minimal if not any insulation between the windows themselves and the framing.

Only way to find out is to pull some casings and take a look.

If there isn't, use foam but make sure you use the low expanding stuff that way you won't bow your windows. Don't stuff the openings with foam but enough to put a layer in there to seal off the drafts and then fill the rest with fiberglass for the insulation factor but don't pack it in.

I've been a finishing carpenter in Calgary for too many years and your case is not out of the ordinary. A lot of trades just don't care and only want to get paid for what they supposedly did. With that, the following trade wouldn't say or do anything because he isn't going to get paid to do it so it goes unchecked.

Unfortunately, it's a bunch of work to remove/replace and repaint the casings on top of insulating but that's the only way to do it.

Jeff

 

My house is the same except it was built in 1978. After that last cold snap I had about 1" thick ice on the bottom of the windows. Its so bad I have water damage on the inside wood trim from when it melts.

I've completely turned off the humidifier, ticked the wife off as she gets nose bleeds but what can ya do?

 

Use caution with this, some of them dry hard as it expands and will push out the window/door frames causing binding. They make a hard and soft kind, get the right one.

Take a candle around the windows and doors to check for leaks. I found I had a 1/4 of light around my kitchen window and a 2x4 header missing from the basement one when I put in my new windows. If you have leaks you will need to pull the trim and put in fiberglass insulation. Don't forget to caulk around the out side of the window.

 

Yeah I got the stuff that said "windows and doors" on the can.