A cold draught can come from four places on a window. Find the right one and the fix is often simple.
On a windy day, run the back of your hand slowly around the window — first the seal between sash and frame, then the corners of the frame, then the beading around the glass, then the interior sill line. The coldest point is your leak. Fixing the wrong point is the most common DIY mistake.
The rubber gasket between the opener and the frame compresses over 15+ years and loses its seal. A £15 replacement gasket run and 30 minutes of patient work restores the seal completely. Ask a local window company for the correct gasket profile — take a 100mm sample of the old one to identify it.
The internal or external silicone seal between the frame and the wall can shrink and crack. Rake out the old silicone, clean the surface, and apply new low-modulus silicone (LM). This is a genuine DIY job and can eliminate a persistent draught in an afternoon.
The plastic beads that hold the glass in place should be on the inside face of the window (security), and the small gasket between bead and glass shouldn't be visible or damaged. A worn bead gasket lets air pass around the pane — a common issue on windows over 20 years old and requires a professional to replace the bead run.
If the frame itself is out of square, if the hinges have dropped, if the profile has warped, or if the glass is single-pane, no seal repair will fix it. A frame more than 25 years old with visible warp is at end of life — persisting with repairs costs more than replacement over 5 years of energy loss.
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