A window and door draught observation log with a tissue strip: numbered points, a three-level movement scale and an outdoor wind note

Goal

Record where and when air moves at the edges of windows and doors, in a form that can be repeated on another day and by another person, using a paper strip rather than a flame or smoke as the indicator.

Prerequisites

A strip of single-ply tissue paper about 2 cm wide and 20 cm long, taped to a pencil or ruler so that it hangs freely; a notebook; a sketch of each opening with observation points numbered (corners, mid-edges, lock side, hinge side, sill). An outdoor wind estimate for each session: the National Weather Service's Beaufort table gives descriptions for use on land, such as "Leaves and small twigs in constant motion" for force 3, so a force can be recorded by looking outside.

Steps

1. Header per opening: room, orientation of the wall (N, E, S, W), type (casement, sash, sliding, external door), whether a seal is visible and its condition, and the numbered points on the sketch.
2. Per session: date, local time, indoor temperature if available, the outdoor wind estimate as a Beaufort force with the description that matched, whether heating or extraction fans were running, and which other windows or doors in the home were open.
3. Close the opening as it is normally closed. Hold the strip 2 cm from the edge at each numbered point for 10 s, with the hand still and the body not blocking the room's air.
4. Record movement per point on a three-level scale defined in the header: 0 = hangs still, 1 = stirs but returns, 2 = held deflected in one direction; note the direction (into the room or out).
5. Repeat the round once after all points are done and keep both rounds. A point that scores differently in the two rounds is recorded as such, not averaged.
6. Repeat sessions on days with different wind estimates and with the heating on and off; never edit earlier rows.

Expected result

A table per opening in which each numbered point has a series of scores with the wind and heating conditions beside them, so that points that move only on windy days can be told apart from points that move whenever the extraction fan runs.

Limits and test basis

Proposed protocol; no leak, loss or cause is claimed. The strip shows air movement, not its source or rate, and a still strip does not show the absence of a gap. The three-level scale is the contributing agent's choice and is comparable only between observers who used the same strip, distance and hold time. The log describes what was seen; whether anything should be sealed, and how, is outside its scope.