Sitting in a Blast Freezer!!

dagsky

No joke, i seriously feel like i'm sitting in a blast freezer right now!! My heating is on to the max and my hands feel like ice blocks, my toes are number, my back is ice cold! What on earth is going on??! I've checked all windows and doors are closed but there still seems to be this cold air coming in from somewhere and i just can't figure it out. I've stood by all the windows and doors to check if any cold air is coming in through there and i only found that my back door is letting in cold air from around the inside of the door.

The only other thing i can think of is perhaps the roof area. The chimneys were removed and i don't know if they sealed the space up in the roof. Having said that though, when i stand directly under the loft hatch i can't feel any cold coming down from there.

Any ideas anyone? Is there some kind of person i can get round to come and investigate where or why my house id like a fridge?! I've called the homefront people and they've told me i need to wait about 5 weeks to get someone out!!

ic

Are your floors suspended timber? Feel around the edges by the skirting board. Is there any cracking above the skirting boards also are are they sealed flush to the wall? What about around the window frame edges? Are they sealed? Do you have cavity wall insulation and loft insulation? Is the heating on in all the rooms?

jc808

Have you considered putting on some clothes?

dagsky

lol! I am fully clothed! I look like a blooming eskimo they way i'm wrapped up! With the above poster, i have no idea what you mean by suspended timber. I've checked all the window edges and no air coming in through there, checked the skirting boards and no air felt coming from them and no visible signs of cracks above them. I don't have cavity insulation and probably won't have it done due to the possible issue of creating damp. As for the loft, thats not insulated at present but i will be getting in some rolls in friday and doing that myself. Only place i seem to have found air coming in from seems to be my back door but what or how do i stop the air coming in? Its one of those upvc dorrs there.

Suzy_M

Most of the UK is on the receiving end of a cold front coming in from Russia and a NNE wind.

In our area it has been 0C all day BUT with the wind chill factor the effect has been down to -4C to -9C in the last 24 hours (info from local weather station).

Given the current weather conditions a possible source of draughts might be air bricks on any north facing walls. DO NOT BLOCK THEM OFF - but you can reduce any draught by fitting some sort of baffle over them.

Long term you can get purpose made air brick cowls. Quick fix would be to angle a piece of board (even a large tray) against the air brick (with something heavy to hold it in place).

Quick fix for your back door would be a door curtain.

Good news is the temperature should start to rise on Saturday.

macman

Since no-one else has yet asked...what sort of heating system do you have? If it's ineffective at best then it's clearly going to struggle to maintain the temp at present. In my region it's not crept above 2C today.
Get the door draughts sorted out with a roll of stick- on foam rubber draught excluder-a 10 minute job.
But if you have no loft insulation at all then you're just burning money, as 30% of your heat wil go straight out the roof. Why leave the insulation until the middle of winter?
You need the full 270mm to get the benefit of that.
And turning down free cavity wall insulation is rather bizarre.

poppellerant

I would use a few tealight candles and use these to identify any draughts. If that fails, then use a thermometer to identify any cold spots.

cyclonebri1

dagsky wrote: »

lol! I am fully clothed! I look like a blooming eskimo they way i'm wrapped up! With the above poster, i have no idea what you mean by suspended timber. I've checked all the window edges and no air coming in through there, checked the skirting boards and no air felt coming from them and no visible signs of cracks above them. I don't have cavity insulation and probably won't have it done due to the possible issue of creating damp. As for the loft, thats not insulated at present but i will be getting in some rolls in friday and doing that myself. Only place i seem to have found air coming in from seems to be my back door but what or how do i stop the air coming in? Its one of those upvc dorrs there.

Read up and check, what you say is a falacy, get it done or suffer

I can't believe anyone can post as you have without getting the loft done 1st, is this a wind up? sorry but it does sound like it.

Don't, when you have done the other stuff you still need ventillation, controlled ventillation that is, but a modern upvc door should be on top.

And as a final discliamer I am one of the "put another jumper on" brigade, , german army thermals anyone????

dagsky

well the loft does have insulation in it at present, however when looking at it, it is pretty old stuff in there and probably measures no more than 30mm, hence me saying theres no insulation.... The cavity walls i'll have to look into much more detail as my house is an old terrace house possibly built 1930s but i'll have to check.

The tealights idea is fantasctic! That way i can actually check out for incoming air. Anyone able to recommend a decent thermometer i can get from tesco or asda this evening?

Norman_Castle

If you have air coming in air must be going out. Where it is going out you will not feel a draught. Check where pipework goes through walls and floors. Behind kitchen units and bath panels are hidden and can be poorly finished.

when i stand directly under the loft hatch i can't feel any cold coming down from there.

If the loft hatch is poorly sealed you will not feel a draught but warm air will escape into the loft. If the fireplaces have not been sealed air will escape into the loft. Try covering these temporarily with card or plastic and tape.

macman

30m is a ninth of the recommended amount! I'd get that sorted as your first priority-that's where your heat is gojng.
Heat rises, so you won't get a downdraught from the loft.