Look up glazing. Its very easy to do, and is done on the outside of the window. I cant see the outside of your window, but, because, you have gaps, I am guessing the old glazing has worn out.. A small plastic container of glazing material, is very cheap. Its also not difficult to put on. You must take off what is left of the old glazing first. Clean well. Here is a link, that you might want to read up on. New glazing and a storm window the correct size (can find at a habitat restore most of the time) would save you utility money every month. https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=GGWWXIXNN6XVjwTSiJP4Ag&q=How+to+glaze+a+wood+window&btnK=Google+Search&oq=How+to+glaze+a+wood+window&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i22i30l6.2731.7698..8224...0.0..0.573.3029.19j7j5-1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0i131j0j0i22i10i30j33i22i29i30j0i13i30j0i8i13i30.enB_K4VBZTM

Be carful when you move the window ,the lower part of frame must have rotted away or come loose. The glass can easily fall out and break,possibly injurying you. This is a tad above diy for average homeowner. Appeal to your church or community service for assistan.ce or just pay a handyman yourself.

+1 to HomeSealed comment. You sure that thing isn't beyond saving?

Ashley-

I think glazing replacement is beyond your skill level given your unfamiliarity with what is happening here. I don't mean to insult you; I am simply trying to prevent you from making the situation even worse, and regretting that you opened a can of worms.

If you don't care what it looks like and simply want to keep out drafts, just do a better job with the duct tape. If I were doing it, I'd run a piece of duct tape all across the top of the glass and lapping up onto the sides of the window frame; the top edge of the tape should be just butting up to the top of the frame, but not on it. Press the duct tape firmly onto the glass, but not so firmly that you break the glass; it will help if you can get the fingers of one hand over the top of the frame to support the edge of the glass while you press the duct tape more firmly in place. Then do one or two more layers on top of that first piece of duct tape to stiffen it. Next, cut a piece of duct tape that is exactly the width of the glass, and position it half onto the first layers and half onto the horizontal piece about the gap. Stiffen this by adding one or two more layers. You can make this duct tape adhere to the lower strip that is covering the air gap by pressing with your fingers from behind...just don't cut yourself on the edge of the glass. When this is all done, take a stapler and tack down the strips of duct tape wherever it is sticking to the wood frame just to keep them in place. If there is any small gap in the upper corners, just stick a couple of small pieces of duct tape in those areas and call it good.

Go outside and take a picture of the entire bottom half of the window and then post the pix.

I'm assuming that you have not been outside to appraise the situation? The problem & remedy should be evident. Either the glass has slipped out of the frame--basic Home 101 repair. Or the window frame is rotten and beyond repair. We don't have XRay vision so you are going to have to take a picture of the window from outside.

Or, at the very least, move the furniture out of the way (we can't see through the furniture!) and take a picture from the inside.

I don't think glazing replacement should be beyond the DIY skills of an ordinary person but this issue is way past the typical reglazing project. That sash has major problems and fixing it beyond band-aid level would be best done with the sash removed from the window and laid flat.

Glass does not just slip out of the frame and if it did, moving a large pane of old fragile window glass into position is not a basic repair. I suspect it is a rot issue but that does not mean the window is beyond repair. With modern epoxy products, that sash could likely be returned to usable condition.

Of course, a window salesman will see a cracked pane of glass and recommend a complete replacement. A historic preservation specialist will see a piece of glass with wood around it and recommend repairing the window even if that means replacing portions of the sash. I lean toward the preservation side of that balancing act.

Gazing is not beyond the skill set of a motivated DIY'er. That said, this is not a case of a "window salesman" defaulting to a complete replacement (at least by the comments of HomeSealed and myself).

Some rot is fixable with modern chemistry. That said, if the window has dropped that far, it means that the rot is most likely consistent and of a decent depth, across the entire lower rail of the sash. That, from the one picture here, looks like the entire lower rail is rotted out and that makes it not much of a DIY project at that point vs. someone with some significant carpentry skills to remake the lower rail of the sash.

Thanks for all the advice. I think it is rotten beyond repair (or beyond what I'm able to repair), and I just need a bandaid until I can get a handyman out.

I don't know if your area has a rental inspection program, but that type of problem here would cause a property to fail the inspection and the landlord would be required to repair or replace the window. The landlord might not realize how much the window has deteriorated as some of those problems can hide underneath the paint job until significant damage has occured.


Inspections here require that all windows designed to open must be functional. That means no missing or cracked glass, screens must be present and the window must stay in open position without a stick.

There are different grades of duct tape, and you probably need a grade of tape that sticks better. I have a roll of white Nashua duct tape in front of me that sticks like crazy and I'm pretty sure it would stick to your window. But I have had other duct tape that just wasn't strong enough. Unfortunately, I can't find any identifying numbers on the roll to point you to it.

Nashua tape

This is not an issue to pawn off to the renter. It would be like expecting you to fix a hole in the roof. He needs to understand the seriousness of the issue, and right now, I’m not sure that he does.

Your description may not be adequate to the landlord. He may think it is a minor glazing issue. This is why you take that picture showing how much rot the sash has, and how much water can get in that is likely to ruin his real estate asset. Water damage ruins houses, and it is something that any but the worst slumlords should be happy to address as it impacts their money earning asset.

"There are different grades of duct tape, and you probably need a grade of tape that sticks better. "

That appears to be beyond duct tape of any type to me. The bottom rail of that sash is either broken or rotten, period.

High grade duct tape and staples. Mcguyver would be proud. Until the glass falls our and badly cuts someone that is.

Call your landlord or a professional.

I have seen glass slide down in old frames before and it posed no danger of falling out of the frame. The OP is looking for a temporary solution. I'm not even sure this window is opened...just that it is letting in air because of the gap. I agree the landlord should fix this, but many landlords aren't saints.

Kudzu, that type of sash will have the glass fit quite snug. If it’s slid down that much, there’s something majorly wrong and likely a safety hazard. Treating it as anyhthing less is not responsible advice

Maybe...and the OP said above: "I just need a bandaid until I can get a handyman out." I wasn't giving advice on how to fix this permanently, but it was intended to help someone with limited DIY skills not make things worse.

As a renter, do you have access to a ladder to get up there on the outside and see how messed up it is? I'd probably want to tape cardboard over it and attach it to the house (not the window frame) just to prevent it from hitting the ground!

You can tape reflectix (or those quilted foil car windshield screens) over the entire window to help keep out the cold (and possible falling glass). But again, don't tape it to the wood the glass is in. Just cover the entire window and tape to the trim on the outside edge. You could get a sheet of styrofoam insulation at Home Depot too.

Old original windows have a lot of charm. Unfortunately, they also can have a bit of excess personality!

If your landlord will not allow you to repair the window use a Window Insulator Kit. It's simple, clean the window frame, apply the double sided tape to the frame, apply the plastic for the tape and stretch the plastic with a hair dryer on high. It's the cheapest cure I can think of, the kits are found in the weatherstripping section and require no tools and no skills.

For the glass to have fallen more than an 1" in a double hung sash the bottom rail is either completely gone or rotten horribly. I am sorry a window insulator kit or duct take is not the answer in this situation. If you do not do something to remedy this soon the glass will be on the floor, period.

I agree that the bottom rail on the window is damaged and needs repair, but..

That's the landlords problem and he won't allow Ashley to repair the window so a kit is the easiest and cheapest way to stop air infiltration.

I'm hearing a lot of vitriol for the landlord, but all the OP stated is that he/she doesn't want to REPLACE the window... Ashley, is your landlord aware of the extent of the situation here? Have you asked for attention in the form of repair that he/she is declining? If so, then that he probably deserves the criticism, and I'd add a big +1 to that. If however he only declined replacement of the window, your best course of action here is to send him/her some pictures and get this repaired. Personally, I'd probably call a handyman or window repair person in the meantime to address the safety issue, and then work on getting a rent credit or something on the back end if the landlord is not super responsive.... OR , if you really don't want to make waves, get someone out there asap and eat the couple hundred bucks that it will likely take to get that secured.

Legally, you are required to make the request for repair in writing. Include some pictures to make the situation clear. Request a response within 10 days. Send a written follow up that states that should this safety hazard not be repaired that you will be forced to have it done and deduct the cost of that from the rent that you owe. That’s the legal approach.

If you’re getting a deal on rent, and don’t want to cause too many waves, you still need to document the issue and bring the condition of the property to his notice. For all defects. That protects you should he decide that he wants to blame the window falling out and cutting someone on you. Or the rot that goes down into the wall that the water damage has caused. He could blame that on you because you “never told him” about the issue. You need to notify him, even if he won’t fix it.

A responsible landlord would want the opportunity to keep up his property.

^^^ Excellent advice from Green Designs, particularly the second part.^^^

You shouldn't attempt to fix this yourself. Not only is it not your responsibility, but you could get hurt and that should worry the landlord plenty!

Perhaps you could mention that you asked other people who know and, in their opinion, it's something that could potentially be dangerous.

I get that you don't want to make waves, but please mention to him/her that this isn't just cosmetic...