Insulation of wooden windows. Do-it-yourself window insulation using foam rubber and sealing cords

It is known that it is through the windows that the room gives off almost 40% of the heat. And it's not even about the drafts that seep through the cracks of loosely fitting wooden frames. The glass itself is a conductor of heat, as it transfers it from the inside into the outdoor air with its entire surface. Insulation of windows using Swedish technology and insulation of slopes, thermal film, “folk methods” proven over the years - any method to one degree or another helps to keep the heat in the house, if done correctly.

"Folk ways" of window insulation

Many people think that in order for the house not to cool down through the window openings, it is enough to install plastic windows. When installing PVC windows, their openings are really insulated with mineral wool and mounting foam. Many do the insulation of plastic windows with their own hands - they insulate internal slopes with foam plastic, etc. At the same time, the windows themselves are designed in such a way that they conduct heat to a lesser extent than windows with ordinary glass. However, what to do if it is not possible to install a double-glazed window?

Wooden windows

Of course, cracked wooden frames should be replaced during repairs. And it may well be plastic windows. But do not rush to change high-quality wooden "carpentry" just to make the house warmer! You can use a proven method, for example, sealing with foam rubber and sealing window slots. There are other similar methods, although they all have several common drawbacks (windows cannot be opened in winter, and they need to be cleaned in spring), many still use them.

The quickest and easiest way to quickly and tightly seal window cracks is to fill them with molten paraffin. Warm up the paraffin in hot (about 70 degrees) water, draw it into a syringe without a needle and pour it into the slots. It is not necessary to seal the cracks over the paraffin, it does not crumble and does not fall out.

If you decide to putty windows, keep in mind that the most convenient tool for "window work" is not a construction spatula at all. It is most convenient to do this with a metal shoe horn. Its semi-circular shape allows you to smooth out the putty, remove excess and form an even smoothed seam.

Warming "inserts":

One way to get rid of drafts is to insulate windows with a thick linen cord. Open the window sashes and lay the cord around its entire perimeter. For reliability, fix it with small cloves or glue. When the window closes, the gaps between the sashes will be tightly sealed. You can use the cord for more than one year.
As a rule, modern household appliances are sold in foam packaging. With a sharp knife or a heated soldering iron, cut the foam into strips a little wider than the distance between the glasses in the frame, and lay them around the entire perimeter of the window. They should enter with some effort and tightly block the path of "cold bridges". Styrofoam can also be laid in the slots along the outer perimeter of the window.
In old houses, in which the distance between the frames is quite large, an old blanket is often placed inside. If the frames are located close to each other, put cotton wool, foam rubber, batting or synthetic winterizer between them.

Pastes and Putties

Old double wooden windows, the frames of which are connected with screws, can be insulated with a paste of chalk, flour wallpaper paste (ratio 2: 1) and water or clay and sand (ratio 1: 2). Open the sashes and tightly fill the recesses along the glass with paste. External cracks are covered in the same way. When you open the window in the spring, the “putty” will crumble by itself.
Another recipe for a cold-insulating paste is gypsum-chalk paste (gypsum to chalk ratio 2:1), diluted until soft. On white frames, it is almost invisible. You can remove smudges with ordinary water, and cleaning windows in the spring is as simple as in the previous case.
In the past, when each family subscribed to several daily newspapers, soaked newsprint was often used to seal window frames. The dried paper paste reliably fills the smallest cracks inside and outside the window, and no traces remain after it. Today, no one will specifically buy newspapers for insulation, however, you should not forget about such a simple and inexpensive way to deal with drafts.

After caulking or covering the outer cracks, they are sealed with strips of paper, cloth or paper (painting) tape. It is not recommended to use transparent plastic tape - it isolates cracks well, but it is easily torn and often falls off. It is even easier to seal the window cracks with a medical adhesive tape. It is not blown, is not afraid of moisture, and after peeling off leaves no traces. Paper or fabric strips are glued with starch paste or laundry soap.

Warming according to "Swedish technology"

One of the main drawbacks of the "old-fashioned" ways to keep the heat in the house is that windows sealed in this way cannot be opened until spring.

If the wooden windows are insulated according to Swedish technology, the windows can be opened and closed at any time of the year. This is convenient, for example, for insulating a wooden balcony door. The ability to open a balcony door is especially important in apartments with a glazed but not insulated balcony.

Warming according to Swedish technology

For "Swedish" window insulation, you will need a hollow tubular seal (insulation) and transparent silicone sealant. Sealant, if necessary, seals gaps in the area of slopes and gaps in places where the glass adjoins the frame. Before starting work, you need to check, adjust and fit all window mechanisms (hinges, locks, latches) to each other.

This method of insulation window frames is used for classic wooden windows. Although at first glance it may seem that such work is easy to carry out on your own, it is better to entrust it to specialists. They will not only do everything faster and better, but also use materials that they are confident in. The best confirmation of how effective and reliable window insulation using Swedish technology is the reviews of those who, thanks to him, decided not to change wooden frames to metal-plastic ones.

Work order

Before starting work, the window must be washed. Check how the doors open and close, if the locks and hinges are jammed. Now remove the window from its hinges and take it to where you will work with it. It is better to carry out window insulation on the balcony or on the stairwell, as a lot of garbage remains after work. The sashes are insulated both among themselves and inside.

Remove and, if necessary, grind off the protruding layers of old paint. Usually, these drips prevent the sashes from fitting snugly against the window frame when they are opened and closed, which is why it blows out of the window.
Along the entire contour of the window frame, cut the grooves of the desired depth with a cutter. A tubular hollow seal-insulator is inserted (rolled in) into them, for example, "Euro-Strip". If the work is carried out by specialists called by you, they use the sealant, the reliability of which has been verified in their practice.
After the window is insulated, it is installed on hinges. After that, you need to check again how easily and tightly the window opens and closes and adjust its mechanisms. You may need to replace your window hardware.

"Magic Film"

Many have heard about the insulation of plastic windows with a film. Heat-saving film is also used for warming wooden windows. You can do it yourself, since there is nothing complicated in working with the film. To do this, you will need double-sided tape, a clerical knife, scissors and an ordinary (not building) household hair dryer to seal the film after gluing. Before installing it, you need to remove the handles from the window.

Windows with glued heat-saving film

If the film is inflated like a sail, drafts are walking somewhere inside the frame. You will have to remove it, disassemble the frame, walk along it outside and inside along the glass with transparent silicone sealant and repeat gluing. A torn film can be easily repaired with ordinary stationery tape.

The heat-saving film raises the temperature in the room by 4-5 degrees and keeps it at a constant level for eight hours. This is one of the simplest, cheapest and most effective ways to insulate a residential or industrial building. No wonder the heat-saving film is sometimes called the "third glass".

Work order:

Separate the layers of the film from each other. In the package, it is usually folded in half, that is, if when folded its dimensions are: 3 x 1 m, then when glued, it will be 2 x 3 m in size - 6 square meters. m. They disconnect it in the same way as they open ordinary plastic bags - blowing strongly into its edge. It is not necessary to delaminate the film with a knife, so as not to damage it.
On a clean, flat surface, cut the film, taking into account the gluing allowance (overlay on mounting tape) of at least two centimeters on each side.
Stick double-sided mounting tape around the perimeter of the cleaned and degreased window frame.
Together with a partner, holding the film on weight, stick it on the adhesive tape. If the film "wrinkles" - it's okay, you can later smooth it out with a hair dryer. The main thing is that it is attached to the frame around the entire perimeter.
In the spring, the film can be removed, and in the fall a new one can be glued. Double-sided tape leaves almost no traces, but if the frame is still dirty, it can be easily cleaned with alcohol or a special compound ("Antisilicon"). However, if an air conditioner is installed in the room, the heat-insulating film may not be removed. In summer, it will help keep the room not warm, but cool.

Slope insulation

It is easiest to insulate window slopes with plastic or wooden frames using drywall or ready-made sandwich panels. Insulation with plasterboard panels is carried out as follows:

Cut a groove around the perimeter of the window with a depth of no more than one centimeter. This can be done with a knife, screwdriver or special tools.
Cut the plates of the desired size from moisture-resistant drywall. You can take the usual one, but then it will have to be covered with a moisture-proof primer in several layers and dried. After that, you can insert blanks into the grooves, starting from the side slopes (they will serve as a support for the top).
Fill the gaps between the wall and the plates with mounting foam, and use masking tape to level and secure. Support the upper slope with a wooden beam or other props. When the foam hardens, both the adhesive tape and the props can be removed. Prime the finished slope and paint or wallpaper. The seams between the plasterboard slopes and the window frame are filled with acrylic sealant.

Laying the heater in the groove

Insulating slopes with sandwich panels is even easier. Attach the U-shaped profile around the entire perimeter of the window frame. Since the sandwich panels are thicker than drywall, cutting grooves for them, as in the previous case, will not work.

Now cut the slopes of the required size from the sandwich panels and insert them into the fixed profile. The space between the panels and the wall is best filled with mineral wool. After that, a mounting F-shaped profile is fixed on the finished slopes, in which the same sandwich panels or drywall plates are frontally installed.

Have cracks appeared in the windows and it has become too cold in the apartment? Do-it-yourself insulation of wooden windows will help. There are many ways to insulate wooden windows and keep the heat in the house. To do this, you can use the simplest tools at hand. There are temporary methods that allow you to do-it-yourself window insulation for the cold season. And there are means for long-term thermal insulation that will provide the required tightness for several years. Explore the most popular options for insulating wooden windows and choose the one that suits you best.

To choose one or another method of window insulation, it is necessary to assess how much the windows let in cold and in what places.

Window insulation with newspapers and paper strips

Prepare tools and materials that will allow you to perform window insulation in accordance with each of the following methods:

Silicone or window putty.
Sealing cord.
Detergent for frames and water.
Rubber spatula.
Detergents for glasses.
Rags, rags.
Foam pads or window seal.
Scotch tape, sticky paper or strips of fabric.
Wide bowl, soap, flour and water.

Thermal insulation of windows by this method does not require practically any material costs. Old newspapers are used for embedding. It is enough to soak them in water and fill the gaps between the glazing beads and glass and in other places with the resulting substance. You can roll the paper into tubes, moisten them with water and stuff them into the cracks.

Scheme of window insulation with silicone and sealant.

The joints of the sashes and the supporting frame, as well as the glass with frames, must be glued with strips of paper. To do this, it will be enough to take laundry soap, dilute it to a liquid state, apply the solution to the paper strips and quickly stick them to the right place. You can buy tape if you want.

The method is simple, cost effective and efficient. But he also has his own drawback - with the onset of heat, all thermal insulation must be removed. At this stage, an unpleasant surprise may await you - the paint will begin to peel off along with the paper. Yes, and the remnants of newspapers are very difficult to wash out. That is why the following method is more often used.

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Step-by-step instructions for warming with cotton wool and foam rubber

Such window insulation is more convenient. You need to take technical cotton wool, fill the existing gaps with it, and stick adhesive tape or strips of fabric soaped with laundry soap on top, as in the previously discussed method. Wool is an excellent heat insulator, and if necessary, it can be removed without problems. Fabric strips can also be removed without leaving any traces or damage to the paintwork.

The method is very simple and cheap, but wooden windows insulated according to it will not let in cold air.

The method using foam rubber and adhesive tape is great for windows that have large gaps in the porches. Such gaps appear in those situations when the sashes shrink so much that they begin to loosely fit to the frames. Ordinary cotton wool in this case will not help.

The tubular seal must be installed using a special tool and not by hand. Then it won't move or fall out.

To exclude heat loss and drafts, it is necessary to glue the sash around the perimeter with foam rubber. It will contribute to the hermetic closing of the window. Buy special foam rubber with an adhesive side, or take a regular one and nail it to the wooden frame with small nails.

Foam rubber will flawlessly perform its functions for 2-3 years. After that, it will need to be replaced. Tape the top of the frame with tape or soapy paper tape. In the spring, the paper will need to be removed. You can leave the foam rubber for next winter.

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Swedish insulation technology

A very popular method at present. In fact, it was not invented by the inhabitants of Sweden. The method owes its name to the material used for window insulation - EuroStrip. And already the material was created by Swedish specialists. This technique is also known as "groove seal".

The main difference of the method from other existing ones is that it allows not only to insulate windows for the cold season, but also partially reconstruct them. Windows are not glued, i.e. if necessary, they can be opened in winter. Such insulation serves an average of 15 years. You need to buy the mentioned material and use it according to the manufacturer's instructions.

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Window insulation with sealant and paraffin

Suitable for filling small gaps. Wash the windows and let them dry. After that, you can apply sealant. Do not use the composition if the air temperature has dropped below +5 °.

The composition is easily applied to any place with the help of a construction gun intended for this. You can remove the sealant that accidentally got on the window sill or frame with a rag soaked in gasoline. From the glasses it can be knocked off with a knife.

The method using paraffin is suitable for sealing small gaps. It is necessary to melt the paraffin, draw it into a syringe and fill the existing gaps. Use a clothesline to fill large gaps. Another string will do. Push the rope into the cracks and fill them with paraffin.

The method is efficient and durable. It will last at least 2-3 years.

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Using a tubular seal

Modern and efficient way. Based on the use of a special seal made of silicone rubber. Manufacturers claim that such material can be painted and it normally tolerates dirt and temperature changes. The tubes can have different structures and diameters, therefore, when choosing a seal, the size of the existing slots should be taken into account.

The seal is marked. Focus on it:

"E" - sealant for gaps no more than 2-3.5 mm.
"R" - sealant for gaps from 3 to 5 mm.
"D" - sealant for gaps up to 7 mm.

Determining the size you need is very easy. Take a piece of plasticine, wrap it in foam and clamp it between the frame and the sash.

The technology is very effective and allows you to partially restore windows, and not just close them up for the winter. However, it is quite expensive, and the material itself requires certain handling skills. Suitable only for windows without serious defects, which were looked after during use and maintained in good condition. If the frames are not in the best condition, there is a violation of the window geometry, the wood is partially rotten or dried out, then repairs using this technology will cost almost the same as new plastic structures.

If you wish, you can try to do everything yourself. You need to do the following:

Remove all window sashes from hinges.
Mark a place for the groove in the window frame.
Select a groove along the perimeter of the frame with a cutter.
Cut a groove in the window frame with a cutter and roll up the sealing material.

The seal is rolled up and glued into the groove. It is necessary to do everything so that it does not fall out and does not shift over time. At the end, the sashes are hung back on the hinges. If the window is old, you may need to replace the fittings or even work on aligning the geometry of the structure. It is very difficult to do this without the appropriate skills.

With an appropriate ratio, such a sealant can serve up to 15-20 years without problems.

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Self-insulation of windows: 4 ways that you will be interested in

Hello. Today I will tell you about self-insulation of windows in an apartment and in a country house. Thermal insulation of windows is a very important stage of real estate renovation, which should not be neglected if you are interested in the energy efficiency of your home and moderate heating bills.

General information

To date, there are many ways of thermal insulation. The choice of one of the methods depends on the type of window.

This time you will learn how to make ordinary wooden windows and modern double-glazed windows warmer. In addition, I will talk about how to insulate openings outside the house with my own hands using inexpensive polystyrene foam.

Thermal insulation of plastic double-glazed windows

Qualitatively made plastic double-glazed windows are equipped with special rubber seals, which, due to a snug fit to the frame, prevent the passage of air from outside into the room.

The areas through which the cold passes are:

joint of a plastic frame with a window sill and slopes;
glass.

So, what methods of metal-plastic double-glazed windows can be used for insulation?

Seam sealing

Even after high-quality plastering of slopes, a microgap remains. If this micro-gap is not closed, it will cause cold air to circulate and condensation to form. As a result, a fungus may appear at the junction of the slopes and the frame.

To close the gap, you will need the following materials and tools:

Sanitary silicone in a tube;
Mounting gun for working with sealant;
White Spirit;
sharp knife
Awl;
Paper napkins.

Instructions for sealing seams are shown in the following diagram.

Let's take a closer look at these steps:

With the tip of the awl, we expand and align the gap along the entire frame;
We moisten a paper towel with a thinner and carefully wipe the joint of the slopes and the frame;
We prepare the tube for work, namely, we cut off the plastic tip with a knife, insert it into the gun and wind the cone of the nozzle;

We fill the gap with sealant around the perimeter of the double-glazed window;

If necessary, we level the seam and clean the adjacent surfaces from contamination.

Sanitary sealant is completely removed with white spirit within 20 minutes after application. After 20 minutes, it will be very difficult to remove the sealant.

Now the most important thing to know when filling the gap between the slopes and the frame with sealant.

Typically, silicone is applied as follows. A person stands up to the window sill, puts the tube with a cone to the gap at an angle of 45-60 degrees and leads the tube towards himself.

As a result, the sealant is squeezed out by a worm, and it has to be leveled and smoothed with a finger, after which it is necessary to clean the adjacent surfaces. Even if you remove the silicone influxes, a layer of several microns will still remain and after a couple of weeks a strip dirty from dust will be visible in this place.

So that the silicone gets exactly into the gap and nowhere else we apply the cone of the tube at an angle of 45 degrees and lead it forward, and not towards ourselves. As a result, the tip of the cone itself will align the seam and there will be practically no pollution on the sides.

Not every silicone is suitable for insulating ordinary double-glazed windows or a balcony with panoramic windows; in extreme cases, we use sanitary sealants that will not mold later.

Glass insulation film

Plastic windows at home can be additionally insulated with heat-saving film. No, now I'm not talking about pasting the frames with tape, it's useless here, I mean shrink film, with which you can create an additional air chamber between the glass and the room.

Do you know that the greatest heat losses on modern double-glazed windows are recorded not in the frame area, but directly on the panes?

Manufacturers convince us that argon or other inert gases are pumped between two glasses, which are less thermally conductive compared to air. But the problem is that the gas layer works for 2-3 years, after which the space between the two panes becomes airy.

Solving this problem is not difficult, as I showed in the diagram.

Consider the steps listed in the diagram in more detail:

First, we clean the dust and wash the inside of the double-glazed window from dirt;

The glass adjoining the frame is easiest to clean from accumulations of dirt using a hard toothbrush. Glass is well washed from the most difficult contaminants by vodka applied from a spray bottle and subsequently collected with a special scraper.

After the washed surface has dried, we glue double-sided tape along the perimeter of the frame;
Next, trying not to get dirty, we cut the thermal film according to the size of the perimeter glued with adhesive tape;

Gradually remove the protective tape from the adhesive tape and glue the film;

The surface of the film will be wavy, but it doesn’t matter if we heat it with the usual one;

After the heated film has cooled down, the surface will be perfectly smooth like glass.

The use of thermal film cannot be called innovative, since this technology was used back in Soviet times. Then the usual polyethylene oilcloth with the help of a wooden glazing bead for the winter was stuffed on the window from the outside.

And what did we get as a result? As a result of such installation, the room was darker than usual, and one could forget about the beautiful views from the window until the arrival of spring.

The use of a special shrink film is completely devoid of such disadvantages. Again, if earlier, with the onset of the warm season, the oilcloth was dismantled from the frames, today it is not necessary to do this at all, since the thermal film is absolutely transparent.

By the way, in summer, an additional air gap between the glass and the film will prevent the penetration of heat into the room.

Thermal film with the same success can be installed both on plastic double-glazed windows and on wooden windows. True, in the latter case, wooden frames will have to be pre-aligned and painted.

Thermal insulation of wooden windows

Wooden windows are installed in your apartment or house and even foam rubber insulation does not save you from the cold? Of course, you can change the old wooden structures for plastic double-glazed windows. On the other hand, you can leave environmentally friendly wooden windows, but make them much warmer.

Elimination of heat loss using Swedish technology

Now I’ll tell you how to insulate wooden windows for the winter using Swedish technology.

Many have heard something about the Swedish technology, but not everyone knows what it is. In a few words, the Swedish technology for the restoration of wooden windows is a complex work, as a result of which a wooden window in terms of thermal conductivity will be comparable to plastic double-glazed windows.

The main stages of working with old windows using Swedish technology are listed in the following diagram.

Let's consider the above steps in more detail.

Shutters are removed from old wooden windows and carefully laid on a flat surface;
Doors and frames are inspected for damage and contamination;
The surface is washed, and damage to the wood is eliminated with putty;

A groove is cut along the perimeter of the sash with a special cutter;
Sawdust and shavings are blown out of the groove;

A special tubular seal is inserted into the groove and rolled with a pressure roller;
The gap at the junction of glass and wood is filled with silicone or acrylic;
The sashes are put on the frame, after which the assembled structure is ready for operation.

If the glass in the frames has cracks or small chips, they must be changed immediately, otherwise there will be no sense from the insulation.

So, now you know what Swedish technology is. The question is, how expedient is it to do the listed work with your own hands or still order the restoration of windows to specialists?

It would seem that for a question, because specialists will have to pay, while with your own hands you can do everything for free. But, in fact, this is not the case, because you have to buy a router and a pressure roller. The price of such a tool is high and it is unprofitable to buy it in order to do window insulation once.

External thermal insulation with expanded polystyrene

Do-it-yourself wooden windows can be insulated not only from the inside, but also from the outside. The method that I’ll tell you about now is the best solution for budgetary thermal insulation of a country house.

To perform thermal insulation, you will need the following materials and tools:

Extruded polystyrene foam (material that does not absorb water and almost does not let air through);
Mounting foam;
Sharp mounting knife;
Ruler and marker.

What can be insulated with polystyrene foam? This method will allow you to seal old architraves or finish external slopes without the need for cementing. In addition, neatly executed cladding will surely decorate the facade of your house.

Instructions for performing thermal insulation are as follows:

We measure the width of the slope;

We take into account that the width along the length of the slope on old windows can be different, so we use the largest value.

In accordance with the measurements, we cut pieces of polystyrene foam approximately 0.5 m long;

We apply mounting foam on the slope and apply a blank of polystyrene foam;

We hold a piece of polystyrene foam for 1-2 minutes until the foam grabs a little, and then glue the adjacent sections of the slope in this way;

After the inner side of the slope is pasted over, we perform similar work on the casing.

Expanded polystyrene, which is shown in the photo report, has a high density, and therefore can be used without additional finishing. However, if you choose to plaster your home, foam board trim can also be plastered over a paint grid.

You can learn how to plaster foam boards from my relevant articles.

Conclusion

I told what I knew about the insulation of windows in the house. Do you know of any effective ways besides those listed? Tell about it in the comments to read. In addition, I recommend watching the video in this article, I think it will be interesting.

What should be done first of all in order to save heat in your house or apartment when cold winds blow on the street and the temperature steadily starts to slide down? The answer is simple, first of all, it is necessary to resolve the issue of how to insulate windows for the winter.

In fact, do-it-yourself window insulation does not require special skills.

One of the cheapest and easiest ways to insulate windows (one might say "old-fashioned" method) is sealing windows with strips of paper smeared with paste. Previously, it is desirable to caulk technical cotton wool or foam rubber in the gaps of the windows. If there is nothing suitable at hand, then the newsprint is torn into small pieces, soaked in water and the gaps between the frames are plugged with the resulting mass. For this work, use a sharp knife with a thin blade, a screwdriver with a flat edge, or any other thin, sharp object, even a metal ruler.

Paste preparation:

2-3 tablespoons of flour or starch;
0.5 cups of cold water;
1 cup boiling water

While stirring the flour (starch), gradually pour half a glass of cold water. After the formation of a homogeneous mass, pour a glass of boiling water in a thin stream.
Don't forget to keep stirring the mixture. Make sure that the thickening paste does not form lumps so that the mass remains homogeneous. If the mixture does not thicken well, it can be heated on the stove (stirring constantly) until bubbles form on the surface of the mixture.
After that, cool the paste by placing the dishes with it in a bowl of cold water. The paste is stored in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container. But do not forget that every day its adhesive qualities are deteriorating. From practice, the paste is well stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Warming process:

"insulators" (medical wool, cords for drying clothes or thin foam rubber) are inserted into the frame slots (it is important that they fill the cavities completely);
paper is taken, the desired piece is measured, smeared with paste;
the product is pressed against the frame, air bubbles are removed, the strip is extremely carefully ironed with a rag.

Moisten strips of paper with warm water in spring. After 5-10 minutes, the dried paste will swell, and the paper can be easily removed. You just have to wipe the frame with a damp cloth.

Instead of a paste, you can use ordinary laundry soap. Dampen it in water and run it over the paper several times, “wash” it well. After that stick to the window.
The disadvantage of this method is that if the slits are very air-permeable, the paper will not last long. When sealing the cracks, the strips of paper will not fall off until spring. Dampen the paper in the spring and it will easily come off the windows.

Can be used instead of paper strips stripes of light fabric. The technology is similar to the previous method and is as follows:

filling frame slots with the selected material;
wetting the fabric with soapy water for the purpose of subsequent gluing;
gluing strips to insulated places, removing air from under the fabric surface.

If you do not want to mess around with paste / soapy water, windows can be sealed special sticky paper (paper tape), which is sold freely in retail trade. But keep in mind, if you have old painted windows, removing the indicated tape in the spring may leave paint from the windows on it.

Another way to insulate wooden painted windows. Cover all cracks with regular gypsum putty. It is sold in hardware stores in the form of a white powder.
Dilute the powder with water to the density of softened plasticine. It is best to cover the cracks with your hands, without any tools. Wipe the spots with a damp cloth to remove excess putty. On windows painted with white paint, the places where putty is applied are practically invisible.

In the spring, such windows open easily, while most of the putty crumbles. The rest can be easily removed.
Throughout the cold period of time, windows smeared with putty do not let cold air in at all, they retain heat well.

Another method worth mentioning is filling window cracks with paraffin. To do this, ordinary candle paraffin was heated in a water bath at a temperature of about 65-70 degrees, and then this paraffin was poured into the slots using the same heated syringe.

For high-quality and long-term insulation of wooden windows, use silicone sealant. In this case, it is advisable to purchase a lever syringe. The cylinder with sealant is inserted into the lever syringe and by pressing the lever the necessary portion of silicone is squeezed out. It is better to use a transparent sealant, in case of accidental contact with windows, it will be hardly noticeable.

Warming process:

To do this, first remove the frame from the hinges and lay on a flat surface.
Using a sharp knife or a flat screwdriver, remove the glazing beads from the entire perimeter of the frame: lift the wooden glazing beads that hold the glass (as it were, “tear off” slightly), then remove the lower, side and at the end upper glazing beads.
After removing the glazing bead, the glass is removed from the frame. This procedure is best done with cloth gloves to avoid cuts.
Clean the glass landing sites from dirt and dust and apply silicone there with a lever syringe. It is better to take transparent silicone, it will not be so noticeable if it hits the glass.
Put the glass in place, secure with glazing beads. The frame is hung in place.
It should be noted that glazing beads often break when removed, so make sure you have spare glazing beads. They are sold in building supermarkets or in "wooden" markets.

Advice: In parallel with this method of insulation, you can immediately repair the frames (since the frames have been removed: o). Remove old paint, putty cracks and knots, cover up cracks. At the same time, you can change the fittings by installing more modern and reliable locks and valves. All this will also affect the thermal insulation of the apartment.

An effective and inexpensive way to insulate windows is use of adhesive polyurethane seals with a tubular profile. This method is great if cold air enters the apartment through the gaps between the frames. True, this method is rather a repair and insulation of windows, as they say, “in one bottle”, since it will not be possible to do without additional work.

The insulation is attached to one of the sides of the window frame - along the perimeter of the transom. When closing, the frame will bend the seal at an angle, and thus block the passage of cold air in the slot. Remember, the products adhere well to the base at a temperature of at least ten degrees. Therefore, do not postpone thermal insulation indefinitely. The sooner you do it, the better.

It is important to position the seal in such a way that the frame bends it, and does not slide over it. Otherwise, there will be little sense from such warming.
Before gluing the sealant, the surface of the frame must first be prepared - remove peeling paint, clean the frames from dust and dirt.
If necessary, the surface of the frames can be sanded with fine sandpaper, degreased with acetone or a solvent.

You can glue in one row or, if the width of the frame allows, in several, parallel to each other. If you chose a sealant with an adhesive surface, it is better to nail it around the edges with small carnations for greater fixation.

An indisputable plus of tubular profiles is the ability to open or close the valves at any convenient time. Thanks to this, airing the premises in the cold season ceases to be a problem.

Tubular profiles have a durability of five to six years.

And finally, consider another way to insulate windows - window insulation film. You can use ordinary plastic wrap. They fix it outside the window, and if the windows are located at a height, then from the inside.

The entire window is covered with a film, fixing it along the outer edge of the frame. The film must be evenly stretched, otherwise the wind will tear it in places of slack.
Choose a frost-resistant film, ask the seller about it in advance. Usually a frost-resistant film of a yellowish tint.

The film is fastened with pushpins through some kind of lining (you can use cloth electrical tape, or cut pieces from a denser film) in order to avoid tearing the film at the attachment points over time.

If you have an industrial stapler, it will make your task of attaching film easier. Under the brackets, you also need to put a lining.

A relative innovation was the use of heat-saving films. They let light into the room, but do not "release" infrared radiation from it, thus retaining heat. Such a film has two sides, one with a metallic sheen, conducts current, the other does not. When sticking a film on glass, it is imperative to make sure that it "looks" at the street with its metal side - that's the whole point.

It should be glued with an overlap on the frames, fixed with adhesive tape. If you stick it carefully, its presence will not even be visible.

There are many ways to insulate wooden windows. Choosing the best one for you, based on cost, labor and reliability, is not difficult. Whatever method you choose, the main thing is that it keeps the heat in your house to the maximum.