I need some good weatherstripping products for old double hung windows.
The sashes are mobile and not painted shut.
I am looking for products to apply to make them more efficient and keep them lookin nice from out and inside.
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Take a look here:
http://www.conservationtechnology.com/building_weatherseals_sliding.html
Sash cord and wood stops, or something of a slightly newer design?
Old windows
We live in a 100 year old house with the same problem. I removed the trim strips from the inside and outside and "tightened" them a bit. Left the thickness of a folded business card for the gap and waxed the tracks. That stopped a huge amount of cold air and also stopped the rattles when the wind blows.
Double Hung Window Weather Stripping
Conservation Technology (in Baltimore MD) is an excellent source for all types of weather stripping. I have been going there for the last twenty years. I refurbish an average of 200 windows per year ( double that when doing library or government buildng projects) in Washington DC.
I have had to develop different treatment protocols for the many different field situations. Some of the brush weather seals will not work if the existing jamb is out of plumb, or if the window is racked along wil dropped sills and headers. I prefer to place leaf seals on new parting beads, and also on the upper sash meeting rail, upper sash top rail, and lower sash bottom rail. In this way, all perimeter edges of the two sash are "pressed" against opposing stops (and the lower sash meeting rail). This is especially important in the DC area because the spring & summer are very humid and the winter is very dry. The margin clearences go from jam-tight to 1/4" gaps at the changing of the season.
I saw a window weather stripping segment on This Old House a few years ago. They got it mostly right, but missed a lot of real-life situations that make it impossible to get a smooth operating, weather tight seal. You really need to spend more than just one hour per window set to get things right, and in homes over 100 years old, there can be many hours of extra carpentry involved.