Weep Holes and Drafts

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fritznewton
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2005 6:06 pm

Weep Holes and Drafts

#1 Post by fritznewton »

I had replacement windows installed last month with the majority of them being sliders. The sliders have weep holes on both of the tracks in case you slide both windows open and there is water that leaks in.

I live in the midwest and we had very high winds yesterday which caused me to notice a burst of air would push through the small holes on the inside of the window. It was strong enough to blow out a match when held over the hole. Today, with the winds at a low level, the weep hole still causes the flame to dance and come close to blowing out. If a moderate wind picks up it does blow out.

Is this type of drafting normal? Should I temporarily seal the internal weep hole since we won't have any water getting in during winter? I don't see how the install may have caused this.

Thanks for suggestions.

earwax
Posts: 305
Joined: Mon Nov 15, 2004 4:52 am
Location: West Coast

#2 Post by earwax »

What brand of window is it. maybe they forgot to put weephole covers on.

Guy
Posts: 552
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2004 12:41 pm
Location: Minnesota

#3 Post by Guy »

When sliders are closed and locked there should be no air infiltration from outside. There should also be no air from the inside venting out through your weeping system. The only issue of air leakage would be with a double slider. If you have two active sliding panels this may occur since the weeping track will be open to both sides. Usually these types of windows will have sponge like screens that slide into these holes to stop air flow. They also have a little cover that protects the opening as Earwax was asking about. This is one of the big reasons most manufacturers don't have double acting sliders. They are one of the worst windows when it comes to efficiency.

fritznewton
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2005 6:06 pm

#4 Post by fritznewton »

Thanks for the feedback.

They are double slider and were the only type of window that fit the space to keep the current look of the house. We do have weep hole covers on the outside and they do have the sponge described on the first track. I think I will make a plug to put on the internal weep hole track and see how that goes.

Jo
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2005 2:08 am

water in slider tracks

#5 Post by Jo »

Good luck. we live in the midwest and have two sliders that do the same thing, unfortunately. i think it should be illegal to sell windows like these. unsuspecting people like us buy this style of window and then have wind blowing in and rainwater forming little lakes inside our windows! Both the wind and water will probably continue to come in, regardless of what you do. We use gummy rope caulk to plug the weep holes and at the base of the edge of the "inside" window, to somewhat stop the elements from coming in. If you come up with something that DOES work well, post it here, please. I'd love to know about it!

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