keeping warm in pre 1900's house

wrightk

we are renting a pre 1900's house will shortly be moving but we need to be able to get through the winter!

The house is a stone built pre 1900's house with sash windows, shutters.
It feels like we are pumping heat into the house all day and its still freezing cold! We have put curtains in front of the front and back doors and used a draught excluder on some of the sash windows but it is still freezing cold!

Wondered if anyone had any tips to make the most of our heating or warm up the house a bit so we can get through the winter!

Many thanks

silvercar

Thermal curtains. Make sure they don't cover the radiators.

Older houses were designed to concentrate heat into small areas rather than open plan living. So keep doors closed and heat the rooms you are in. A few throws or shrugs will make you feel a lot warmer.

It may be more cost effective to only rely on the central heating to keep the house off the chill and use a couple of room heaters to heat the rooms you are in.

mclmsn

My house is also pre-1900 and we were in a similar situation to you, we have been using thermal curtains, most of the rads are under windows so we make sure we tuck the curtains behind them.

I would recommend you check your loft insulation as well as we have checked ours and there is hardly any up there, which we will be sorting out as soon as we can

Arfa__

Sounds a bit like my Dad's place, which I grew up in. Sash windows are great, but bloody draughty. We used to fold up newspaper into thing strips and shove it in all the gaps round the windows. You probably won't open the windows till spring, but was always a laugh when all the newspaper strips fall out, good indicator of the weather warming up again.
A couple of years Dad nailed polythene on inside of window, with wooden battens around to hold in place. That helped a bit. Draft excluders on the internal doors too, just shut off the rooms you don't use. Chimneys stuffed with paper to block them off (if the Jack Doors haven't already), although I've recently seen blow up balloons to do this. Draughty gaps between floor boards? - seal them up with brown silicone sealant. Are the curtains thick, lined, velvet? Hope they're not like these modern skimpy things that are super thin and near see-through. Yes make sure they don't cover the radiators, hitch them up and tuck behind radiators if too long.
If you're just moving in, you'll find it really cold initially, the thick walls are almost designed to hold heat, once left empty to go cold, it takes a while to warm up again.

It may well be daft to heat the whole house, just heat the bits you hang out in. We used to live in the kitchen with the Rayburn/Arga. Wrap up warm, big jumpers and thick socks on all the time. Super thick quilts and hot water bottles at night. Why do you think period costume consists of so many layers and under garments (long johns, waistcoats, corsets, petticoats, evening/smoking/dinner jackets etc)? Its only in modern houses we've become accustomed to mooching about in t-shirts and slacks... A hip flask with strong warming beverage helps too. ;-)

SuzieSue

All the replies above are good and as you are only there temporarily, you can't spend much money insulating the house. So you need to insulate yourselves. You are probably already wearing themals, but you should wear as many thin layers of thermals as you can bear to wear and a thick indoor jacket. If you have short hair then you should wear a hat indoors - it will make a huge difference and you soon forget you are wearing it - my OH was very self conscious at first but now doesn't care and doesn't take it off when we have visitors.

You need to wear warm boots and two or three pairs of socks.

Also, using two 13 tog duvets instead of one makes a huge difference as does wearing a hat in bed.

Try to keep as active as possible and when you are sitting on the sofa have a duvet over you rather than one of those thin blankets with arms that are advertised a lot these days.

wrightk

thanks for all the kind replies. On most of the windows there is velvet curtains.

However i have checked the loft. i doesnt have any insulation whatsoever, but seen as we rent and were leaving in the next few weeks not much we can do about it!

tin foil behind the radiators? anyone used this?

Get_Rich_Slow_2

I used to live in a 1900's terrace and like your it was always cold, in fact unbearably cold. Heating on, draught proofing, seal gaps in floor boards, everything. My solution was to sell up and move to Cape Town!

GRS

warpedchippie

wrightk wrote: »

tin foil behind the radiators? anyone used this?

This will certainly help reflect the heat into the room as will radiator shelves.

If you buy the insulating foil on a roll they can possibly be reused elsewhere when you leave.

Steve