Preparing for winter IV

hollieinbloom

not sure if anyone has seen these before or has them already, but I bought one last year and it was perfect. It's a draft excluder for sliding under the door so you don't have to keep moving it out the way when opening and closing doors. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001RUAP3E/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It works really well but it isn't that great to look at. I re-covered mine in some pretty fabric as this is just black! x

Confuzzled

lobbyludd wrote: »

great - thank you! I have huge victorian windows, double glazed with thick lined curtains and lined thermal blinds that I made myself - but there's still a blooming draft round the edges of the blinds. If I use this hopefully I can also make muslin ones for the summer so that I can have the windows open without the flies coming in.

that sounds like a great plan, happy i could help

the muslin screen is great too, one thing i never understood here is why i've never seen window screens in the uk, in the states almost everyone has them, you can even get extra strong storm screens, and many people have screen doors with locks so you can leave your door open but allow the breeze through

i understand that many windows open differently here but with the option to open inward screens are still and option and are perfect for keeping the insects out, as well as flying debris (had something blown straight into my eye the other day when i was using my indoor clothes drying system!)

one thing some might like to consider too is ceiling fans. if you have a high ceiling like many homes in the states do, you can get fans that blow in BOTH directions, so that in the winter you can switch it to blow the warm air back down. i'm sure there must be some energy efficient models and they wouldn't need to be used constantly, but anyone that has walked up a tall narrow staircase or used a pulley will truly understand just how much of our heat winds up at the ceiling. and of course, in sweltering days a light breeze from the fan is perfect. i understand most of the time air conditioning isn't really needed here, well at least in scotland but when it IS needed a ceiling fan would be a godsend.

Confuzzled

hollieinbloom wrote: »

not sure if anyone has seen these before or has them already, but I bought one last year and it was perfect. It's a draft excluder for sliding under the door so you don't have to keep moving it out the way when opening and closing doors. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001RUAP3E/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It works really well but it isn't that great to look at. I re-covered mine in some pretty fabric as this is just black! x

that's the kind i have, different brand, same look etc. i plan to make my front door excluder based on the same principle just with a wider strip of fabric between the foam strips to allow for the inch drop on the inside of the door. i actually tested that last night, stuck my toes right in there but felt nothing so maybe i won't need to make one. i need to get some stick incense and try the draught test by watching the smoke, don't want to use a candle that close to the carpet :rotfl:

Cheapskate

I've bought new curtains for the littlies' room (hangs head in shame for not making or CS buys!), but they're thermal and blackout, and will last for years. There was a roller blind in there, not had any problems with the other kids in there, but DD is a pain for climbing and being where she shouldn't be, and we were worried that she'd snag herself in the chains, etc :eek: I've found some old flannelette sheets with holes in , that I'm going to re-make into pillow cases for them - too holey for anything else, and the holey remnants will get torn into strips to fill draught excluders.

Our burglar alarm is getting fixed today - had problems with the sensors for ages and other hiccups - so we can use again! Not strictly winter preps, I suppose, but I'll feel more secure when it's fixed.

I'm clearing out the hallway today, so I can measure the door and window area for curtains, draught proofing etc (and cos it's needs cleaning! ), then I can trawl the CS for suitable fabrics, or ask family for anything they don't need.

We're working our way through the pantry/freezer contents, then as soon as the kids are back at school I'll start re-stocking. In addition to normal stocks, I always have extras stored in plastic boxes in the garage, which are the real emergency stocks!

A xo

Scarlet1982

Magnetic tape around the window sounds like a plan.

I was looking at getting blinds, thicker curtains and pvc tape to go around the edges. I have big windows which are single glazed live in rented accomodation so not much i can do other than to block all the draughts myself. I was freezing last winter.

Need to keep a look out for cheap thermal fabric. Hopefully i can get all my windows done for less than £50 i'm not really bothered how it looks as long as i'm warm and toastie.

I also need to seal an unused fire place which looks lovely but not great in winter.

pigpen

Scarlet1982 wrote: »

I also need to seal an unused fire place which looks lovely but not great in winter.

Stuff a few old pillows up the flue that should stop most draughts!!

Mens mags seem to be what gets stuffed up there most often though

Sunshine4

Its raining here today, so this afternoon I am going to be making a few draught excluders with some old fabric and sheets I have here.

Uniscots97

pigpen wrote: »

Stuff a few old pillows up the flue that should stop most draughts!!

Mens mags seem to be what gets stuffed up there most often though

When I volunteered in the CS there was a lady who asked us to keep any large canvases we got in, no matter what pattern was painted or printed on them. So we did and I asked her what she was planning on doing with them. She said she was going to put them across her fireplaces that she wasn't using after blocking the chimney with pillows. For extra warmth she pinned a pillow case to the back of the canvas and then put this across the fireplace. She thought it was an easy way to block it up but have something pretty.

Scarlet1982

pigpen wrote: »

Stuff a few old pillows up the flue that should stop most draughts!!

Mens mags seem to be what gets stuffed up there most often though

Thanks for the tips i've got some cardboard so i'll use that to cover the whole fireplace and look at getting some sort of decorative screen.

kboss2010

pigpen wrote: »

Stuff a few old pillows up the flue that should stop most draughts!!

Mens mags seem to be what gets stuffed up there most often though

The previous occupant did that in my flat for no apparent reason! The fireplace looks like a real old-style Victorian grating with coals so we left it with someone's PhD thesis and an old pillow case stuffed up it. When the landlord finally came round after a year, he asked us why we'd stuffed a pillowcase up the "chimney" of a working gas fire!

Turns out it had controls behind the removable grating and the flue wasn't actually draughty just noisy when the wind blew. I'm glad I never tried to light a coal fire in it, when we asked the guy who looks after the place for the landlord if the fireplace could be used, he told us he wasn't sure because the chimney hadn't been swept in a while :rotfl::rotfl: