Simple Pleasures
. . . Another problem with these windows is that they don't seal shut. Even when you have them closed and latched, there are still significant cracks around the edges where cold air seeps in. Well, if you're lucky, it only seeps in, but usually it kind of blows in instead . . .
Dear Daniel,
I'm excited! Do you want to know why? Because we no longer have cold draughts coming in around the edges of our living room windows! Let me explain.
In the countries of the former Soviet Union, many people live in multi-story apartment buildings that the Communist government constructed to make sure that everyone had a place to live. While these buildings did manage to put a roof over everyone's head, they were very basic. The building materials and construction techniques were cheap, and the result was that everyone had to put up with certain inconveniences in their homes. Of course, everyone lived with the same inconveniences, so maybe it didn't matter that much.
One of the inconveniences is poor electrical wiring. One American electrician who visited Kyiv said that if the buildings here were in the States, most of them would be condemned because their electrical wiring is so unsafe. (Of course, that may tell you more about how strict the American building code is than about how dangerous Soviet-Era apartments are, since millions of people still live in them, and you don't really hear about horrible things happening to them because of the wiring in their homes.)
Another inconvenience is the style of windows that was used in these apartments. They have wooden frames and two panes of glass separated from each other by about three inches. The double panes of glass are a good feature, since they keep the apartments from losing too much heat in the winter. However, I can't think of anything else about these windows that is good. First of all, instead of both panes of glass being mounted on a single frame, they each have a separate frame that is attached to the window frame by hinges, so that the windows open into the apartment like two little doors, one right behind the other. So in the summer when you have the windows open, the wind can make the two frames bang together, and sometimes this actually breaks the glass!
Another problem with these windows is that they don't seal shut. Even when you have them closed and latched, there are still significant cracks around the edges where cold air seeps in. Well, if you're lucky, it only seeps in, but usually it kind of blows in instead. Two days ago I was eating lunch in our main room (living room/dining room/office), and I was watching our lace curtains sway in the draght from our closed windows! Since it's gotten cold now (in the 30s), I decided that it was time to seal our windows. So today I took adhesive rubber sealing strips and made our living room windows almost draught-proof! What makes me so excited is that we can still open and close them. Often the way people seal them is by glueing strips of old wallpaper over all the cracks. Not only is this ugly, but it's lots of work to clean off in the spring, and you have to do it all over again the next autumn. What I did today is effective, semi-permanent, and virtually invisible when the windows are closed. Now I just have to do the windows in our bedroom, the kitchen, and our apartment mates' bedroom!
Love, Sharon
