How to seal a wide half-inch window gap
An unusually large gap around a picture window leaves a half-inch space that standard weatherstripping cannot easily bridge. Homeowners try using temporary weather stripping to wedge into the opening, but need a proper, permanent route to fix the draft.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using spray foam or a backer rod
- 2putting some weather stripping in there for the short term
- 3use a pool noodle as a quick draft stopper until you figure out a real fix
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Discovered a big gap next to the window in our new house. How would we go about fixing this? I think I could put some weather stripping in there for the short term.”source ↗
“I have a series of picture windows, and one has an almost 1/2-inch gap that needs to be sealed. Is there a type of weatherstripping I could wedge into the gap, or what is the best route?”source ↗