Seal Your Window Glass and Electrical Outlets at Home
Sealing your window glass and electrical outlets at home is not that hard and with simple tools and right ways, you will be able to do it by yourself. It is affordable; you can save your money, stop cold drafts and lower your heating and electrical bill. Here are the steps on how to seal your window glass and electrical outlets.
You will need:
- Hair dryer
- Tape Measure
- Shrink Film Kit
- Scissors
- Non-Expanding Foam
- Silicone Caulk
- Screwdriver
- Foam Gaskets
Steps:
- To seal your windows, measure your windows first. You will be able to calculate how much shrink film that you will need to purchase. Most of the window kits available in the stores will indicate the amount of windows the shrink film is good to use on. Afterwards, you can choose the amount of windows shrink film kit according to the windows that need to be sealed.
- Then, get ready a large and clean surface for you to lay out the shrink film such as the dining room table. Lay out the shrink film and then use a tape measure to cut out the film for each window that you will be sealing. Avoid cutting the shrink film to the exact measure of the windows, leave extra film on each side. When cutting out the window shrink film, add one inch to overlay on each of the four sides of the window.
- Next, apply the adhesive along the width and the length of the measured windows. This is the place where you need to apply the shrink film and make sure that it is applied correctly so that the one inch overlay of film will still fall on each side of the window. It is important to get the film up as quickly as possible once the adhesive is applied to the window frame.
- Take the film cuttings and start at the top of the window and press the top edge firmly against the adhesive. Leave an extra one inch of film over the top. Firmly press the film to the adhesive on all sides of the window frame and leave a one-inch overlay.
- Use a hairdryer to heat the shrink film. At the hairdryer lowest setting, run the dryer over the film gently. Wave the dryer over the film in slow motions for about 30 to 60 seconds. Keep the hair dryer a few inches away from the film to prevent tearing and over-heating.
- To seal electric outlets, unscrew the cover plate using a screwdriver. Then, remove the cover plate from the wall. Use the non-expanding foam to fill the gaps around the outlets. You can purchase insulating foam in any local hardware store. You can also use foam gaskets to insulate the space behind the cover plate.
- Then, fill the gaps around the outside of the cover plate with silicone caulk. You can use either a silicone cartridge into a caulk gun or purchase silicone caulk in a tube and simply squeeze out by hand.
Additional Reading:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2104855_seal-light-switch.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_5702130_seal-windows-shrink-film.html
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grendelkhan/119929591/
