Caulking, Weatherproofing & Winter Prep · Cambridge
Caulking, Weatherproofing and Winter Prep in Cambridge
Older houses in Galt, Preston and Hespeler leak heat at the same dozen places every winter. Sealing them is a short job. Doing it before the first frost is the point.
Cambridge winters are windy. The Grand River valley funnels it, and the older housing in all three towns was built before anyone thought about air sealing. The result is a house that never feels warm at the floor, a furnace that runs constantly, and ice on the inside of the window frame in February. Most of that is not a furnace problem or an insulation problem. It is air moving through gaps that a caulking gun, a foam gun and a roll of weatherstrip can close in a day.
Where old Cambridge houses leak
- Window and door frames. Exterior caulking that has split or pulled away from the brick. Interior gaps between the casing and the wall. On original sash windows, no weatherstrip at all.
- Doors. A worn sweep, flattened weatherstrip, a threshold that has dropped, and a storm door with a broken closer that never latches. A back door in a Preston bungalow can leak more air than every window combined.
- The basement. The gap at the sill plate where the frame meets the foundation, around the dryer vent, hose bibs, cable and gas line penetrations, and old coal chutes and windows that were never sealed properly.
- The attic. An attic hatch with no gasket or insulation on the back, and recessed lights and plumbing stacks that go straight up into the cold.
- Fireplaces. An open damper or a damper that no longer seals sends heated air straight up the chimney all winter.
What the winter prep visit covers
The list is agreed in advance and priced in writing. A typical fall visit for an older house:
- Exterior caulking cut out and redone at windows, doors, trim and penetrations, with a caulk that stays flexible in the cold.
- Interior caulking and low-expansion foam at window and door casings, baseboards on exterior walls and the basement sill plate.
- New sweeps, weatherstrip and, where needed, an adjustable threshold on exterior doors. A new closer on the storm door so it actually shuts.
- Attic hatch weatherstripped and insulated on the back.
- Outdoor taps shut off from inside and drained; hose bib covers on. Hoses disconnected.
- Storm windows fitted, or plastic film applied to the windows that leak worst.
- Downspout extensions checked and re-attached so meltwater runs away from the foundation, not into it.
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm batteries changed, and expired units flagged.
- Loose railings, steps and mats sorted before the ice arrives.
Century homes in Galt
The brick houses on the older streets have solid masonry walls, single-glazed sash windows and basements that were never meant to be warm. Air sealing here is about the windows and doors first: cords replaced so the sashes close fully, sash locks that actually pull the meeting rails together, spring-bronze or pile weatherstrip in the channels, and good storm windows outside. Then the sill plate and the fireplace damper. The walls themselves are what they are, and no amount of caulk changes that. What changes is whether the house holds the heat it makes.
Post-war and 1970s housing in Preston and Hespeler
These houses have aluminum sliders or early double-glazed units with failed seals, hollow exterior doors, and additions where the old exterior wall is now an interior wall with a gap along the floor. The biggest wins are usually the doors, the basement rim joist and the attic hatch. Where a window's seal has failed and fogged, that is a glass replacement rather than a caulking fix, and you will be told which.
What this is not
This is air sealing and small repairs. Blown-in attic insulation, spray foam contractors, window replacement and roofing are different trades. Anything touching the furnace, a gas fireplace or a gas line is a TSSA-licensed gas fitter. If a draft turns out to be a bigger problem, like a rotted sill or a foundation gap letting water in as well as air, that gets named for what it is.
Book it in the fall
Caulking needs temperatures above what the product label states to cure properly, and the outdoor taps need draining before the first hard frost. September and October are the months. Evening and Saturday slots exist for anyone on shifts.
Frequently asked questions
Will sealing the drafts actually lower my heating bill?
It reduces how much heated air leaves the house, which is a large part of the load in older housing. How much it changes your bill depends on the house and the winter, and nobody honest will give you a number in advance. What you will notice first is that the floors and the rooms on the windward side stop feeling cold.
Do you do attic insulation?
No. Sealing and insulating the attic hatch and small gaps, yes. Topping up or replacing the insulation across an attic is an insulation contractor's job. If that is what your house needs most, you will be told so.
When should winter prep be done in Cambridge?
Late September through October. Exterior caulking needs mild temperatures to cure, and outdoor taps need draining before the first hard frost. Interior sealing can be done any time, including in the middle of winter when you can feel exactly where the cold is coming in.
Serving Cambridge and surrounding areas. Contact us for a no-obligation quote specific to your property.