Rainy day..........

..... so more D.I.Y.

Today should have been moving day for me but the forecast was not good, overcast and frequent showers, I gave it until 9am to see if it was wrong but it wasn’t, cold and damp weather is not appealing when you are not in a hurry to be anywhere, so I stayed put and decided to do another of the little jobs off my extensive list.

The windows on the boat are single glazed with a simple opening section at the top, the seal around the opening section is just a flat rubber strip and does not seal effectively, there are two drain holes along the bottom edge of the frame to allow drainage of any condensation to outside the boat, the resulting draughts in winter are quite noticeable. 

For the last two years I have used ‘seasonal’ secondary glazing, basically shrink applied clingfilm, the first year it was very effective, the second year the seal diminished due to the residue adhesive left on the frame from the first year. It has two setbacks, once it’s on it has to stay on for the duration of the winter, secondly it looks a bit tatty especially after a couple of months. So having finished the bedroom works I was now able to hopefully improve the situation by fitting removable secondary glazing.

I had purchased 2 sheets 1200x600x2mm clear acrylic from Wickes, I had also obtained 12mm wide self adhesive magnetic tape through Amazon, remembering to get the correct pole type for attraction (two different rolls A & B). I was ready to give it a go.

First job, take down blind and clean window and frame.

Second, fix type A magnetic tape around architrave.

Third, cut panel to size with craft knife (carefully), clean off sharp edges and then fit type B strip onto the already fixed type A. Align panel and press home.

You can't really see the acrylic sheet, that's a good thing!

Refix blind, job done. Repeat on second window.

The panels will be stored below the bed in summer (if we get one) and are simple to fit/unfit, just hold them in position and the magnets do the work, they should eliminate the draughts, help with heat retention and also reduce noise, also they can be removed and refitted easily if the weather changes.

At £30 for each window I hope they will be well worth it, although the clingfilm jobby worked out at only about £1 per window each year it was a bit of a faff to fit and remove each winter. I cannot do the salon windows until I have replaced the distorted architraves, and as yet I don’t know what I am doing about that.

I’m hoping to move on tomorrow weather permitting.

Don't you just hate it when you make a cup of tea only to find the milk is sour and you have to start again!