Preparing for winter II

oldtractor

Thanks, I think socks and hats indoors are a great idea.

RAS

vest, short-sleeved tshirt, long shirt, jumper or thin fleece, thick fleece, body warmer. Minimum 5 layer on top.

Leggings or thermals under trousers. Shoes or boots with thick soles. Fingerless mitts. Brain-cosy. You can cope down to about minus 5 in that lot with no heating.

Also go for draft excluding.

McKneff

Heavy curtains are a must as are long velvet door curtains, these can be picked up quite cheaply at car boot sales during the summer.

Wilkinsons sell that cling film stuff that cover your windows to make them into double or triple glazing

Pink.

Hi oldtractor,

I've added your thread to the existing thread on preparing for winter where you should find lots of advice. These earlier threads may give you some ideas too:

the ice man cometh! (merged with keeping warm)

Avoid using Gas and Electricity

Preparing for Winter (the original thread)

Pink

jcr16

also keeping the curtains closed on cold days will keep heat in, but on sunny days open then to let the warmth in.

Frugal_Mouse

beedeedee wrote: »

I've just booked someone to come and have a look at some of our radiators. The house is over 20 yrs old now and at the end of the winter we noticed that there were cold patches in the centre of some of them which I would rather fix now, than wait till autumn. Has anyone else had this problem? Did they flush out the radiators individually or what?

Hi beedeedee

I also have a problem with an old central heating system and have been told that a powerflush should put things right. My understanding is that they entire system is flushed, not individual rads. I am currently looking at doing this myself (can't afford it otherwise ). You might find this LINK to hire shop for Central Heating Flusher useful when considering your options.

Good luck!

FM
x

beedeedee

Thanks Frugal Mouse

That's the sort of info I was looking for. We can't do it ourselves nowadays - but it gives a clue that it's not going to be cheap if it costs that much to hire for a day.....

Frugal_Mouse

beedeedee wrote: »

Thanks Frugal Mouse

That's the sort of info I was looking for. We can't do it ourselves nowadays - but it gives a clue that it's not going to be cheap if it costs that much to hire for a day.....

Hope you are sitting down....... British Gas quoted me around £800 :eek: and local guy was about £350 to do the job. But if you know someone who is general handyperson/good diyer they might be able to do it for you.

FM
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beedeedee

OK - Thanks for the heads up - I'll let you know what he quotes......

dandy-candy

candie_gill wrote: »

do you all buy candles to actually use on a daily basis or is it for power cuts and cosy nights?

I'm a dreadful candle hoarder - I can't visit Ikea without half filling the trolley! I used to keep them just for emergencies, but last winter we had them up on the desk and across the mantlepiece and it was so lovely that we lit some everynight. I swear it made the room feel warmer too?!