Attach polycarbonate to window frame temporarily

Deanicus

Our house gets unbearably hot in the summer, even with windows open all day. It often leads to temps in the bedrooms of 27-29 degrees

We've just bought some portable air conditioners to help with this but our windows are unusual and the standard adapters for the hot air exhaust will not fit without a large portion of the window being open and defeating the purpose of it!

I want to create a screen using polycarbonate or some other similar material that I can place over the window opening and cut a hole in for the exhaust hose.

I'm looking for suggestions on how to attach this sheet to the wooden window frame but do so temporarily as we would take it down in the winter and/or might want to close the window on occassion. It would need to be somewhat airtight i.e. no glaring gaps where the hot air can just come back in

I was thinking velcro tape but I find it often comes away after time. Was also thinking of something like a less sticky version of plumber's mait or some other putty etc

Ideally something without drilling or screwing into the frame

Any ideas welcome!

Newish house, A or B rated? Close your curtains / blinds.

Lumen

Air tightness tape.

https://www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/product/tescon-no1

It's very sticky so if you have problems getting it off..

https://proclima.com/products/bonding-agents/adhesive-tapes/glumex

Deanicus

Jeremy Beagle wrote: »

Newish house, A or B rated? Close your curtains / blinds.

Built in 2012, B rated if I remember correctly.

As for the blinds and curtains, we've tried all that I'm afraid. Makes very little difference

Deanicus

Lumen wrote: »

Air tightness tape.

https://www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/product/tescon-no1

It's very sticky so if you have problems getting it off..

https://proclima.com/products/bonding-agents/adhesive-tapes/glumex

Thanks for the suggestion! I am little concerned about damaging the frame with that stuff though. Don't want to have to re-stain it every year. Do you know if there is other less tacky options? I don't need proper air tightness really, just enough to stop the air coming straight back in

Lumen

Deanicus wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestion! I am little concerned about damaging the frame with that stuff though. Don't want to have to re-stain it every year. Do you know if there is other less tacky options? I don't need proper air tightness really, just enough to stop the air coming straight back in

Duct tape.

Timfy

Double sided command strips... no damage to the frame and they are low profile so not too much of a gap...

deandean

Adhesive magnetic tape would work.
Put a layer around the window and a layer around the polycarbonate.
Then you can attach and remove any time.
Check, some are polarity marked, type A and type B.
Best of luck!

Deanicus

Thanks guys. Command strips/magnetic tape seem like the solution!

listermint

Unusual problem for a b rated house. Is this Ireland ?


I'd be concerned your attic insulation isn't up to spec. It would be fairly rare occurrence for indoor temps in the late 20s for any more than a handful of days in Ireland. If your house isn't insulated correctly it can't keep the heat in or out.

Any more details on the fabric of the house. Is this the east coast?

Deanicus

listermint wrote: »

Unusual problem for a b rated house. Is this Ireland ?


I'd be concerned your attic insulation isn't up to spec. It would be fairly rare occurrence for indoor temps in the late 20s for any more than a handful of days in Ireland. If your house isn't insulated correctly it can't keep the heat in or out.

Any more details on the fabric of the house. Is this the east coast?

Yeah it's in Dublin. We don't have an attic. It's a flat roof townhouse with a small void between the top ceiling and the roof. I don't know the actual size of this void as we have no access. The roof is lined with some sort of waterproof material and is tilted to allow water to run to the guttering.

It's a 3 storey house and I am mainly talking about the top floor although in general it is usually hot throughout the house. In winter, the top floor is usually the coldest

Given the orientation of the house, the roof gets sun for pretty much all of the day and my theory is that this acts like a radiator at night, releasing the heat into the house. In winter I believe the opposite happens, with the roof bringing cold in. I also suspect that our windows need to be serviced as sound proofing is not the best these days. To top everything off, it is a steel framed house so it's possible heat/cold is conducted throughout the house

Attached are some temps in various rooms right now. It's been cloudy all morning so little to no direct sunlight

listermint

Sounds like a top floor duplex apartment I used to live in. Huge living room space top floor South facing windows which were 14 foot high and 26 odd feet wide. Horrible in summer and Baltic in winter.

odoliam

Heat/glare reflective film for the windows
Will keep out the solar glare/heat and also help keep in heat in winter

one example from a quick google:
https://windeco.ie/residential-window-films/heat-and-glare-window-film/

sunnyone

As a better long term solution, you should also consider roof insulation boards - a roofer will fit them externally and cover with another layer of waterproof roofing material. It’s a really good solution, with the original waterproof roof acting as a vapour barrier. It will cost a few thousand (depending on your roof area) but should pay for itself through reduced energy bills (assuming you intend living there for the next 10 years). It will solve a lot of the comfort issues on the top floor.

Calahonda52

research decrement delay for correct roof insulation and brise soleil for sunny side windows