Stop the Rattling!

It's still snowing. When I woke up (and decided to go back to sleep for two hours before working from home), there was snow mixed with sleet. The sleet slapped itself against the side of the house, pinging the aluminum siding. I looked out, saw cars sliding their way down the hill, and decided to stay put.

So I've been working in my home office all day. It's a pleasant corner room - lots of daylight, cozy armchair for the cat, three big bookcases overflowing with books. It has two tall windows on separate walls. One had a fitting storm window. The other does not.

When I moved in, the taller of the two windows was sheathed in plastic. It kind of made sense, as I bought in April and the house was still winterized to an extent. One of my first activities (other than removing the baseball wallpaper from the master bedroom) was playing the great screen-window match game. They've replaced windows over the years, but apparently never thrown out any of the old storm windows or screens that don't quite fit any window. I spent a long Saturday running up and down stairs, back and forth to the garage, trying to find the best fits. I went through the reverse process my first fall in the house house, searching for the right storm windows. This past spring, when making the switch again, I had the foresight to write the rooms on some windows (ie, "Guest room" or "upstairs bath"), but found I had nothing labeled for the taller office window.

As a result, despite my best efforts, I didn't find one that fit very well. Sure, it blocks some of the wind, especially when coupled by the awesome removable caulk I used to seal it up. But today, as the wind howls, it rattles. Loudly. And often. I want to tape it into place to stop the rattling, but don't want to break my perfect caulk seal. Nor can I really reach it from outside, not without a ladder, which isn't happening in the driving snow.

My vow for next winter: don't bother with a storm window. Caulk, shrinkwrap and call it a day.