Preparing for winter III

redlady_1

Have you had a look outside to see whether there is an obvious answer? Or in the loft? I have had quite a bit of mould around the windows lately, even though they are open most of the time so it could be down to weather??

jem132

Hiya i am really sorry i have been away for a while i have had a lot going on i have moved house unexpecatly so all my winter prep in the other house seams like a waste of time i have no hot water or central heating and no money to fix it and its freezing arhhhhhhhhhhh arhhhhhhhhhhhh what can i do thats cheap and quik as i have no time now its nearly the middel of winter

Thanks

prepareathome

I managed to get one of each bulb, but then had to pay full price for a 25w one as son came round and saw the one in use here so far and asked me to order one for him. He came round with two 16kgs sacks of flour, one white bread flour which cost £5 and one wholemeal for £6 - his job is delivering them and he has been doing it a year but they only told him a couple of weeks ago if he wants to buy anything he can, just ask for a price. So asked him for the flour and now asked him to get me a product list, and ask the price of self-raising flour ( a couple of friends who share it with me, but they don't make bread) and the price of sugar - 25kg sacks ( friends would take some of that) so hoping they will be such good prices as well, his firm supply baking ingredients to shops, cafes etc who bake their own. What I am surprised at is his boss charged him only cost price not the price he sells it on at, but definitely not complaining

Only place I have to store all these goodies is study as although combi-boiler lives in there it never gets that warm as radiator never goes on, couldn't as a 3 shelf unit sits in front of it filled with all my store of toiletries but rest of room has become dumping ground and not even room for the flour sacks, so tonight I will go in and start tidying it up, in middle of room is a two seater boudoir chair and so much has been dumped on it and around it, lots of empty boxes I want to keep so will open loft and chuck them up. I want to actually be able to access the bookcases round the rest of the walls as want to remove some of the books and put food stocks in them.

So like you redlady_1 if we suddenly do have very bad weather this winter I will be able to make some bits - I also have bought some egg substitute £2.69 and is equivalent to 66 eggs so ordered another two boxes from health food shop ( only one for me) so we might end up on a high carb diet but at least we will eat, oh yes that reminds me need to see what can be used as an oven that would be heated by a camping stove or on a fire - if stuck could light one in one of the still open bedroom fireplaces.

Confuzzled

tugrin wrote: »

Oh pooh - I was really hoping to get a couple of the bulbs but was out at docs (AGAIN)!
Worringly I have discovered 2 patches of damp in the sitting room, one in the corner at ceiling height on party wall and the other much bigger half way up the wall riht by the window????????? What on earth is causing that? It must be penetrating damp of some kind but I cant see anywhere outside where this could be happening.
Have got the dehumidifier going full blast to try and remedy - but am seriously puzzled.

for the ceiling patch i'd say check the gutters aren't blocked and there isn't a leak in the roof or ceiling above if it's got one above it

for the one by the window it might be that the windows aren't sitting properly in the frame or the frames have warped and dampness is seeping through from outside... i make these suggestions following years and years of watching home renovation shows, these are common culprits for both of the two listed spots

hope you find out what it is and can get it sorted ok


on my end of things, today i decided to order a dehumidifier, i've had a lot of condensation this year, never have had it before other than in the corner of my bedroom window and on the loo but this years it's really bad already, perhaps it's cuz i have the house more snug than before but even leaving the trickle vents open isn't helping and the laundry is just taking forever to dry so i decided that the dehumidifier would help on both fronts.

managed to find a 10L one with good reviews for a decent price (did some shopping around) from very which is nice because i can just use the 12 month interest free thing, i already paid £26 tonight towards the account rather than buying some stuff from approved food i really don't need so i'm well on my way to paying for it

i also managed to finally get all my food stores in one place and neatly arranged. it's a bit of a squeeze but at least with everything in one place i will be able to 'go shopping' in my wardrobe more easily now.

i am ready for darned near any disaster....aside from a massive growth spurt and serious hollow leg syndrome on my daughters part :rotfl:

prepareathome

jem132 wrote: »

what can i do thats cheap and quik as i have no time now its nearly the middel of winter

Thanks

Plenty of warm clothes
Hats,
Gloves
Scarfs,
Hot water bottles
as cheap as you can find fleece blankets to hang at windows and doorways - attach them to the curtains on window side.
Bubblewrap stuck on windows
The clingfilm that goes as double glazing - I did once years ago use ordinary clingfilm but I will not say what my language was like in doing so but I got it up and it was brill. Kids of course did like to poke a hole in it, but just stuck another piece over it - all hidden under nets anyway.
Draught excluder for doorways
More fleece blankets to cover yourselves with on couch - someone somewhere on the forum made ponchos out of them, not sure how they did it properly but a hole in middle and held in place by a belt would keep you warm even if didn't look great

Am sure plenty more ideas just cannot think of them at moment

:mad:

Thriftkitten

While on the subject of lightbulbs, I have a rented eco house from a local housing asociation, the lightbulbs are a nightmare, money saving supposedly, however they are a bayonet fitting but have 3 prongs instead of 2, does anyone know where I can get these, the normal hardware stores dont have them, so only lighting half the house.
Starting to look like wee willy winky after 8pm.:mad:

[Deleted User]

Thriftkitten wrote: »

While on the subject of lightbulbs, I have a rented eco house from a local housing asociation, the lightbulbs are a nightmare, money saving supposedly, however they are a bayonet fitting but have 3 prongs instead of 2, does anyone know where I can get these, the normal hardware stores dont have them, so only lighting half the house.
Starting to look like wee willy winky after 8pm.:mad:

I live in an eco house and we have those same light fittings. I could only find those very expensive bulbs on the net and they are a rip off. We recently bought 3 good bayonet fittings from b and q and have replaced 3 so far and been able to use our normal bulbs. They are easy to change, just make sure that the electricity to those circuits is turned off. Keep the other fittings and replace if you move

I am just wondering aloud as more of you seem to be getting condensation and having to pay for expensive electricity. Are you too sealed up? Every house needs ventilation and that is why draughty fireplaces were a good thing. Check air bricks are fully uncovered and at least some window vents open. Condensation and mould are so bad for you, better being wrapped up against the cold

Thriftkitten

kittie wrote: »

I live in an eco house and we have those same light fittings. I could only find those very expensive bulbs on the net and they are a rip off. We recently bought 3 good bayonet fittings from b and q and have replaced 3 so far and been able to use our normal bulbs. They are easy to change, just make sure that the electricity to those circuits is turned off. Keep the other fittings and replace if you move

I am just wondering aloud as more of you seem to be getting condensation and having to pay for expensive electricity. Are you too sealed up? Every house needs ventilation and that is why draughty fireplaces were a good thing. Check air bricks are fully uncovered and at least some window vents open. Condensation and mould are so bad for you, better being wrapped up against the cold

Thanks for this, was starting to go mad looking for these stupid bulbs, will flutter eyelashes at an old B+Q man and see if he can help me as no idea what i am doing!;)

singlestep

I'm totally scunnered today. Had some difficult customers, so to speak. Shouldn't have worked all weekend because I'm paying for it now and am fuming over my normal weekday workload that's usually no problem. Am now [STRIKE]skiving[/STRIKE] taking a break.

While I was putting away my summer clothes last night, I came across some Christmas presents I'd completely forgotten about buying (back in September) and some spirits. I'd put them well out of sight of little visitors.

Last night, I checked my first aid kit, bulbs, torches, spare charger, lighters and anything that has batteries. I realised I need a new flask, too. I'm going to make sure I have some cereal bars or something to keep in my bag (and home and work) should journeys take longer than expected and have reorganised it to make sure I have everything I'm likely to need... I hope!

23rdspiral

CoNfuzzled, can I be cheaky and ask which dehumidifier you went for? It'd be good to have a heads up to help me look. Can I ask anyone else who has one too?