Preparing for Winter V

mumf

Si_Clist said:

Scrimps said:

Its only a small end of terrace. It has the same slate roof it was built with in the 1930s so it has lived its life and will need to be done before we plan to leave (when we die) ...

Really?  Our slate roof went on when the place was (jerry-) built in 1898 and it's still going strong despite it being in the thick of things during the 1987 hurricane.  If and when it does need replacing, it'll have to be slates because it won't take the weight of tiles without major upgrading of the roof timbers.  That's one reason why solar panels are out for us.

Our house was built in 1902. The East pointing side is still good . 32 years ago we had a new set of slating on the West side ( that catches most of the weather) . Ironically,the builder used re- patriated slates that were in good nick! 

That’s a good point about mounting solar panels too…

maddrivingmamma

This week I have been sewing a huge door curtain from a very heavy fabric from the charity shop for 6 pounds. I also got sealed curtain liners for 3 pounds. Now today we have to put up a pole which is metal and I have brought recess brackets so it can be attached to  the side walls beside my front door rather than above it. I am looking forward to not having a draught blowing in. 
While my very old sewing machine is up ( inherited from my MIL), I might do a door snake from an old pair of Jean's.  Maybe even try and make a dog face on it. 

Auntycaz

I made my door snakes out of the legs of a pair of skinny cord trousers that had a faulty zip and were destined for the bin. They were just the right size and only needed each end of the legs sewing. Handy if like me you don't have a sewing machine.

Wednesday2000

I will put this link here as well.  How to keep warm without heating as money-saving tips go viral - Daily Record

I have done quite a few things on my winter to-do list. We finally got a date for our kitchen door to be fitted next week and I am getting the extender poles delivered today for my door curtains. I am going to look for a second hand sofa or a chair tomorrow.

I still haven't painted the shed. It is such a boring job, but it shouldn't take that long so I should just get it out of the way!

I have a donation bag for the charity shop (I can't remember what I put in there now) but I am going to look through it and see if there is anything I can keep and use as pet blankets or as draft excluders.

Loubie47

I've not long moved into a bungalow (local Authority) it has a ground source heat pump air heating that runs on electric as we have no gas here so I'm anticipating that its going to cost a small fortune as its an ambient heat rather than the piping hot radiators of gas central heating... with that in mind I went out and filled my old gas canister so that I have a portable gas fire for those really cold times. Other than that Im still using those same fluffy sox, I have a heated blanket and copious hot water bottles.
I have dragged the single gas camping stove in from the van and managed to do a bulk cottage pie last night which will keep me going for a few days just brown the top in the air fryer... I also have a Jackery 500 portable power thing which I use for electrics and charging in my van, I am bringing this in for the winter and seeing as  a sunny day I have the portable solar panels out front as I type and its juicing up the power bank rather than me using the electric to re charge it after our weekend away last week.

C_J

C_J said:

@SuperMoose Thank you for the Turtle Doves reminder. The link didn’t work for me but searching eBay found their new listing, so I ordered a pair. An offer code popped up for £5 off, valid until tonight, so the wrist warmers ended up costing me £2.99 including postage. I’m delighted!

My Turtle Dove wrist warmers arrived today - you can't choose the colour with these factory seconds, but I was very pleased to find they had sent me a pair in a beautiful shade of purple - my favourite colour. There was a little dot sticker marking the imperfection on them - the tiniest little snag on the cuff that is almost imperceptible.

They are so soft and warm

Wraithlady

Toonie said:

I'm wondering whether the cashmere might be a good fit for me. I find "normal" wool to be itchy so would be interested in trying out something else if others find it soft. Might wait for my PIP cost of living payment to come through and treat myself to a pair on ebay. If no good for me, I'll send on to my sister.

I have the same problem with wool (it's the processing, apparently) but I've had absolutely no problem with the cashmere I inherited from my MIL, and they are really warm.

fionaandphil

@Loubie47 you will need to let us know how you get on with the heat pump. We have been looking at them for years but they don't look suitable for our old house so I'd be interested to know how you get on over the winter. We've been trying for years to install more eco friendly power but have failed - roof facing the wrong way, too many trees and shading etc

markin

How long and at what temp you run a heat pump for hot water makes a huge difference in running costs.

Si_Clist

fionaandphil said:

@Loubie47 you will need to let us know how you get on with the heat pump. We have been looking at them for years but they don't look suitable for our old house so I'd be interested to know how you get on over the winter. We've been trying for years to install more eco friendly power but have failed - roof facing the wrong way, too many trees and shading etc

Note that Loubie has a ground source heat pump.  Not the sort of thing you can easily install in the average old property ...