floors are cold near windows
We live in a brownstone built in 1878. Our windows are pretty new (Marvin wood) and so we do not have a breeze coming in through our windows anymore. However, our floors near the windows are really cold. Do we need to somehow insulate our floors or are the wood panels under the windows a…
We live in a brownstone built in 1878. Our windows are pretty new (Marvin wood) and so we do not have a breeze coming in through our windows anymore. However, our floors near the windows are really cold. Do we need to somehow insulate our floors or are the wood panels under the windows a problem?
Of course there is no insulation in the panels. There is no insulation in the walls either or anywhere in the house unless a previous owner installed it. Naturally, your side walls are warmer because they’re attached.
Agree that there is no insulation behind the panels.
My floors are very cold in the front garden and parlor floor when I forget to close the door in the cellar that opens into the coal chute. Especially the garden floor. The cold air entering the cellar goes right up the wall space and escapes through the floor boards of the first 2 floors.
Its the panels.
If your windows are like mine the wood panels below the windows are recessed from the wall giving the overall impression of an opening that extends to the floor. Because it is recessed there is less room for insulation. In fact when I removed and restored these panels recently I found no insulation at all here. If the panels are painted wood you could drill a few 1/4″ holes and “inject” that Great Stuff foam until the cavity is filled. Be careful of over doing it though because that foam really expands. Then just patch the holes and repaint. If the wood is stained or natural you’ll have to remove the panels or sill to get access so you can insulate.
Also, if you feel air coming through any part of the wood panelling, you can caulk.
The cold could also be coming from the floor beneath you. Does that story also have new windows?
We have it too, but it’s no big deal. Our heating bill is low. If we turn up the heat one degree, it goes away. We’re planning to hang heavy curtains.
I would recommend removing the wood panels beneath your windows. We have often been surprised what we find there.
Sometimes we find brick rubble from previous sill repairs, sometimes broken lathe that has become dislodged.
Carefully pry off the small molding that retains the larger panel in the opening. Oftentimes we replace that small molding which is available at Dykes.
In a pinch, we replace the panel with 3/8″ plywood, assumingh that it will be painted afterwards.
We spray expanding foam in the gaps on the side, and a batt of insulation right behind the panel. The difference in temperature will be night and day.
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you might need to insulate your walls
touch the walls to see
you should really feel it around the electrical outlets if you need insulation (and you can insulate the outlets easily)
I think it’s not such an awful job to cut small holes in walls and blow in cellulose. it’s on our list for near term projects.. but of course you have to patch and paint after.
not completely – you have double hung windows I assume, they leak – I can guarantee that, even if they are marvins.
Add to that, that you double pane glass gets cold enough on sub32 F days, that the air will cool off infront of your window and thus drop to the floor and together with the leaking air creates a draft over your floor…very unfortable, I have it in my house too
indeed it doesn’t help, if you have woodpaneling under the window – leaking more air and having less brick to “insulate” you from the outside, but your double pane, double hung window losses much more energy and thus creates the draft
If you have fairly new Marvin windows, then the air must be coming in through the masonry.