I finally snapped after my neighbor told me to 'just use caulk' for my drafty windows

So I been dealing with this really old window in my basement suite for like 2 years now. Every winter it whistles like crazy when the wind hits it. My neighbor Larry sees me trying to stuff foam tape in the gap and he goes 'why dont you just caulk it shut, it'll take 5 minutes'. Like yeah Larry, I want my only basement window permanently sealed. I even looked up the actual fix online. The gap is almost 3/8 inch at the top, caulk aint for that. Ended up getting a proper v strip and weatherstripping kit from Home Depot for like $14 and it actually stopped the draft after I took the whole window apart and cleaned the tracks. Has anyone else had people give them the worst possible DIY advice like its obvious?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela_grant17d ago

Why is it always the neighbor who's never fixed a damn thing in their life that has the most opinions on how to do it? People love to act like they've got all the answers until you ask them to actually help.

blakem3717d ago

Saw something online once about how armchair experts actually get worse as they get more confident, and it totally fits Larry types. Read some study that said people who know the least about a thing are the most likely to give you loud advice because they don't even know what they don't know. Meanwhile the guy who's actually rebuilt his own deck twice just sits there quiet. It's that Dunning-Kruger effect or whatever, where the less you know the more you think you're right. Makes me think of my buddy who tried to tell me how to wire a ceiling fan and almost had me cross the neutrals, then got mad when I checked the manual instead.

murphy.linda17d ago

And honestly that's what kills me about the whole thing. People like Larry will just throw out the most obvious surface level fix without thinking about what happens next. I mean yeah you could caulk it but then good luck opening that window when the weather gets nice or heaven forbid you need to get out in a fire. It's like they don't consider that maybe you want the window to actually function as a window. And the worst part is they act all offended when you don't take their advice. Like no Larry I'm not gonna seal my only basement exit shut with silicone just so I don't have to hear a whistle for a few months. And 3/8 inch gap is way too big for caulk anyway, it would just crack and fall out after one freeze thaw cycle.