What is this hole in every window frame?

[Jo]

The temperature in our family room has always been a little different than the rest of the house. We attributed to the wall of windows that made it unique. Recently, I heard a howl outside and felt a breeze blow through the room! So we started looking and found at the bottom center of every horizontal sliding window frame, there is an oval shaped hole that goes straight to the outside. You can really only see it inside if you look down the axis of travel of the window. What is this hole, why is it there, and what should I use to fill it? Anything else I should be aware of? My first thought was to just use the GE Silicon.

Thanks

[DanG]

If this hole goes all the way from the inside to the outside something is wrong.

If this hole is on a flange on the outside, it is probably a weep hole and is very important to the function of the window. DO NOT block the hole if it is a weep hole, it is there to allow water out of the frame. Weather strip and window seal should occur in such a way that a weep hole does not allow exterior air to the inside.

[Jo]

On the frame of the window, it is located about midway along the track that the moving part slides in. It has the same appearance as the hole in this picture ... so I tend to think that it is a weep hole.

What I cannot figure out is how to prevent the air from coming in. In the picture shown, the hole is lower than mine. Mine is level with the track that the window is in (window opens horizontally).

[LayPerson Tom]

Got a photo to share?

tom @

[Jo]

I posted some pictures at

There is a picture of the general window, along the track with the hole highlighted, the outside of the window (it is a different window but the same design, the one with the hole is too high off the ground to easily get to). Finally, as good a close up of the mechanism as I could get.

Thanks,

[a]

Water drainage.

[<aemeijers]

It&#39;s a weep hole. Hard to tell w/o seeing in person, but I think you are either missing some weatherstripping, or the window was mis-installed. It&#39;s a cheap window, and horizontal sliders are pretty leaky anyway, especially aluminum frames. From the visible crud in the third pic, I&#39;d say you already have leakage and/or condensation problems. If the paint is getting bubbly on the surrounding wood as well, that is not a good sign.

If I was staying in the house, I&#39;d add replacement windows to the long-term budget plan.

aem sends...

[George E. Cawthon]

Your window make be made slightly differently. You do realize that the window pane shown in the drawing is the fixed pane not the sliding part? There should not be any direct airway to the outside through the fixed pane. If you can see the hole from inside the house, put a piece of tape over it, or plug it with cotton.

The sliding window usually sits in the frame and can be pulled out by removing the sliding pane and carefully prying the strip up. Under this part there may be holes for attaching the window frame to the house frame. The weep hole may in fact connect with these holes and these holes can be taped over.

Without an accurate drawing it is difficult to say what is wrong since window frames are constructed in different ways. In any case, something is wrong and you can tape over any hole that you see from inside the house, just leave the outside weep hole open.

Jo wrote:

[George E. Cawthon]

I think that hole has a screw in it. The screw holds the window frame to the house and the only reason there is a hole there is that it is necessary to screw the window frame to the house when doing a remodel that doesn&#39;t involve removing some siding. Look at the upright part of the frame and see if there aren&#39;t hole through the window frame (usually covered by the window stops).

Just stuff some cott> I posted some pictures at