I need to put plastic on my windows for the winter. It never looks right, and they always pop off during stormy cold winter weather. Any advice?
You will have better luck with the plastic on the inside of the home, between the window and a blind. The purpose of the plastic is to create an air pocket. Shrink wrap will not do that.
the shrink plastic works well, but you need super clean, smooth and grease free woodwork to adhere the double sided tape. it does not stick well to bare wood, so you might first have to paint a line of varnish or poly where the tape will go (and let it dry, of course). My 20's bungalow has Original windows, and until I can get some outside storms made, I'm using the shrink wrap. You're only trying to trap a layer of still air between the the outside glass and the room. Caulking around all the window and floor wood work will go a long way to improve the Comfort level of rooms, too.
Are you using the shrink wrap type plastic (you use a hair dryer to shrink it down)? I have had good experiences from this stuff, but if you can't get a very nice seal between the plastic and the window frame then it's not going to help much. Is the plastic popping off right away, like while you are blow drying it, or later like the next day or a month later? The problem could be from dust or grime or maybe an oily buildup (especially near kitchens) on the window sills and frames. If this is causing your problems, then a good no residue degreasing cleanser could help you a lot. If that doesn't help, then maybe the particular paint on your sills and frames doesn't work well with the plastic attaching stuff. If you can get the plastic in place and start the shrink wrap process maybe you can shrink it a little less, so there won't be quite so much tension on it but it will still be in place and insulating your house. edit: yes the shrinkwrap goes inside the house over the windows and yes it will work fine. Why did this other dude think i was talking about outside? Cause I mentioned dust and grime? The don't know indoors can get dirty, too?
You can use indoor plastic kits. They contain sheets of plastic film, which looks like cling-film, but is slightly thicker. The kit also comes with double-sided tape, and you use this to tape the wooden framing (around the window pane). You then cut out the plastic to fit the size of your window frame and fix it to the tape. Finally, you blow a hair dryer on the plastic, which shrinks it so that it is very tight.
