Weathersealing my older windows

Earlier this week I finally got to weathersealing the 4 older windows in our house. These are aluminum-framed, double-paned windows. About half of them have lost their seal, and do get foggy near the bottom, some days. The windows are 35 years old. They need replacing, and we'll get to that in the next few years. Until then, I want to make them as airtight as I can, just to keep us more comfortable.

I used the same product that I used on our doors. I picked up 3 packages of foam weatherseal at Home Depot for about $2 a package. These three were enough to do one sliding glass patio door, two large sliding windows, and one smaller transom window.

On sliding windows and patio doors, I found there was quite a gap at the top and bottom of the moveable panels. This really surprised me. Throwing a quilt over the windows in winter was just like stapling a piece of fabric over a hole in the wall. 

So I patched up these gaps with small pieces of the weatherseal. I'm hoping this helps. Then I weathersealed all around the perimeter of the moveable panels of all the windows. Since my windows are bronze, I bought brown weatherseal. In hindsight I should have bought black. The brown is really tan, and probably better suited for natural wood-toned doors and windows. But I won't fret about that now. I may add a final strip of dark brown duct tape, sealing the weatherseal to the window frame, as that would cover it as well as give me that tighter fit I'm seeking.

There were also these small holes, 1/8-inch wide by 1/2-inch long, in the tracks of the sliding windows. I have no idea what those are for. But I put a piece of the weatherseal over each of those tiny holes, as well. 

The previous owners had drilled holes through the aluminum frame to install a pin-type lock for the sliding glass patio door. They had drilled in the wrong place -- twice! And left two holes in the frame. I covered those with weatherseal, too.

At Home Depot, I also checked out the shrink-to-fit plastic window coverings. They're about $7 for a patio slider and $5 a piece for windows. I haven't decided if I'll go that route, too.

Once weathersealed, the first thing I noticed was that it seemed quieter in the first room I did. I can still hear some outside noises, but I think it really is quieter, which would mean better sealed, right?

$6 for supplies. I don't know if we'll actually save $6 on heat. We may, or we may not. But I'm hoping we'll be more comfortable and those two rooms will be draft-free.