Drafty Sash Windows

Mothership

Hi There

Just joined, great site.

I live in a Victorian property and we are not allowed double glazing. I recently made draft excluders out of curtain lining for the sills and where the sashes meet. They are virtually invisible and easy to make. I can't believe the difference in the warmth. If anyone is interested I'd be happy to provide instructions.

3plus1

Mothership wrote: »

I live in a Victorian property and we are not allowed double glazing. I recently made draft excluders out of curtain lining for the sills and where the sashes meet. They are virtually invisible and easy to make. I can't believe the difference in the warmth. If anyone is interested I'd be happy to provide instructions.

Welcome to MSE. :j

We have the same (listed building, no double glazing) and it's really really cold. But we also have condensation problems and I'm worried a draft excluder would get mouldy.

Do you have loads of condensation too? I wondered if it was specifically to do with old sash windows or just my property!

Mothership

Yes we have condensation too, but the beauty of these draft excluders they are not fixed and you can wash them, or pop them on the radiator to dry them if they get wet.
Our dual fuel has gone up to £398 per month. The house was freezing even with the heating on, I've been able reduce the times the heating is on by about 1/3rd since I've done this.
We have a corner bath which is right in front of a window, it was unbearably cold. I had a bath yesterday when the heating was off and I didn't feel cold at all.
I also made draft excluders for the front door, and a lining for the back door curtain.
I've been in this house for over 30 yrs and its the first year I've not been cold, even with the cold snap we've had.

donquine

You've definitely got me interested! I'd love to hear how you did it. Our sash windows are very wide and much taller than I am, so the heat loss is really damaging our energy efficiency. We had a catch up bill recently which was four figures (no, really!) so I'm willing to try pretty much anything at this point.

The bit where the sashes meet is definitely the worst for cold air getting in/warm air getting out.

Btw, how often do you wash these/hang them up to stop them getting mouldy?

Mothership

Materials needed
54in wide Supersoft Blackout Blackout Lining in cream or White available online from terrysfabricks.co.uk @ £4.99 per metre.

Measure Sills. Cut a piece of lining about 7 in deep, fold along the length about 1 inch (pin all the way along) Fold over again removing the pins as you go and pin along new fold, repeat and tack all the way along, remove pins.

To fit.
Open window and place on sills with the folded edge face down, right on the edge of the inside of the sill, and let the flat edge sit on the sill, when you shut the window all you will see is a small strip of lining fabric. If you do this correctly there should be no draft.

For Sashes
Measure width of window, and depth, (mine were 3 in deep so I needed a 9 inch strip 40 inches long) whatever the frame of your depth, treble it, fold over 1/3rd and fold again, pin and tack all along one edge. Iron.

To Fit
Place cut edge sewn side down on sash (towards the inside of the room). Smooth down, mark where snib is and cut out a piece of the fabric on the folded edge close to the window pane. If you have astricles mark where these are and cut a small v so the lining sits close to the glass, run your hand along the lining and make sure it is lying flat, cut any excess from each end. Close snib. If you want make a paper template of the frame where you need to cut the lining, the neater the job, the warmer you will be.

The blackout lining is designed so very little air can pass through, you still get a little coming in around the snib. but not that much.

I got 4 windows from each 54 in width, ( I got the shop I bought it from to cut the lining the exact length I needed). it worked out about £1 a window, I had 16 windows to do. It was a cheap solution to the problem.
Take care to measure all the windows you intend doing, some of mine were smaller than others width wise but all the same depth.

I did mine about 6 weeks ago and they are still dry. If the condensation wets them , I'd dry them as often as needed, to prevent them smelling musty.

I honestly can't believe the difference these easy to make strips of cloth have made to the warmth in our home , my husband used to have to wrap a scarf round his head in bed.

If anyone wants to see what they look like , I could take a few pictures and try and post them.

Good luck stay warm.

Mothership

Oops! no K in fabric LOL!

whitegoods_engineer

It's DRAUGHT not DRAFT! Draught excluders, D-R-A-U-G-H-T!

Why do so many people use the wrong spelling???

It's not that hard, really!

donquine

Mothership wrote: »

If you have astricles mark where these are

Sorry, but what's an astricle? I have sash windows, but that doesn't necessarily mean I know what all the bits are called.

Mothership wrote: »

I had 16 windows to do.

:eek: That must have taken a while! I'm glad your efforts paid off and you're warm now!

donquine

whitegoods_engineer wrote: »

It's DRAUGHT not DRAFT! Draught excluders, D-R-A-U-G-H-T!

Why do so many people use the wrong spelling???

It's not that hard, really!

Oh, play nice.

Mothership

ROTFLMAO! I wrote that first but it didn't look right.

An astricle is the piece of wood that divides the window into sections, mine have 6 in each sash.

Mothership

It didn't take very long to do all 16 4-5 hrs.