Preparing for Winter

pnq06

Unfortunately Keth the hall is where most of the cold comes from... The stairs lead straight upto the living room so there's no doors to shut or anything (In pic 1 I'm standing on the stairs, then pic 2 I go up the stairs and pic 4 is me in my living room :eek: if that makes any sense?!?!).
The bedroom thankfully has a door but is still very cold as its over a tunnel, however I have put a big rug down under bubs cot as I don't want her feeling the cold from underneath. The underneath of our bed has got space but I think I could probably do with filling it a bit more- didn't think of that

The kitchen has no door but remains warm when the oven has been on Could probably do with putting a rug down in there.

As we only have a bathroom door and bedroom door (as well as the front door) I will check for gaps etc. later.

The windows are old sash wooden ones and only single glazed so they definately need something doing with!!!

With the storage heaters on last year we could still see our breath in the bathroom/hall so it might be an idea to extra rugs etc. And we only have a shower so again another good idea about running it for a few mins before using the bathroom

Love the idea about moving everything into 1 room but we haven't got enough space for that (in pic 3 I am standing against my back living room wall and the back walls in the bedroom and kitchen can be seen :eek: ), with bubs coming along everything has tripled in clutter!!! Then again it could help with soaking up a bit of the cold

Sorry if I've just sounded like I've brushed over your ideas I ask for your help and then dismiss it- how rude of me!!!
Hopefully I've given a bit of a clearer guide of my shoe box- I mean house :rotfl: I only needed to take 4 pics cos that is literally the size but its mainly the hall and stairs where we lose most heat or gain most cold

I really appreciate your response hun xxx

kethry

pnq06 wrote: »

Unfortunately Keth the hall is where most of the cold comes from... The stairs lead straight upto the living room so there's no doors to shut or anything (In pic 1 I'm standing on the stairs, then pic 2 I go up the stairs and pic 4 is me in my living room :eek: if that makes any sense?!?!).

hmmm yeah i think so. it does look, however, as if the stairs are in an enclosed bit.. basically i'm asking if you think it might be possible to stretch a long curtain rail across the stairs and have one very large curtain, ceiling to floor, blocking out the stairs? it would cost a fair bit, because to be worth it you would have to have heavy curtains (like velvet), probably with some lining, but i think it might be worth it in terms of what you'd save in heating. it wouldn't look too great (unless you made it look like a tapestry!) but do you care about that? You can also put something over the rails - even just cardboard tied on either side would help.

pnq06 wrote: »

The bedroom thankfully has a door but is still very cold as its over a tunnel, however I have put a big rug down under bubs cot as I don't want her feeling the cold from underneath. The underneath of our bed has got space but I think I could probably do with filling it a bit more- didn't think of that

i would put - if you can afford it - either a large rug under as much of the bedroom as possible or small rugs forming a pattern over as much of the available floorspace as possible.

pnq06 wrote: »

The windows are old sash wooden ones and only single glazed so they definately need something doing with!!!

yep.. i really would look into the heat shrink stuff, and lined curtains if you haven't already got them

pnq06 wrote: »

Love the idea about moving everything into 1 room but we haven't got enough space for that (in pic 3 I am standing against my back living room wall and the back walls in the bedroom and kitchen can be seen :eek: ), with bubs coming along everything has tripled in clutter!!! Then again it could help with soaking up a bit of the cold

oh lordy!! I think you need to move, if you can. I often complain about our small flat (housing association 1 bed ground floor) but we've at least room to swing the cat (or dog, as it happens, in theory at least) - and we're not sharing with a baby! still, that doesn't sort things for you in the short run. wish i could help with the clutter one - boxes is the best thing i can offer (and our own home is bad with the clutter..)

pnq06 wrote: »

Sorry if I've just sounded like I've brushed over your ideas I ask for your help and then dismiss it- how rude of me!!!
Hopefully I've given a bit of a clearer guide of my shoe box- I mean house :rotfl: I only needed to take 4 pics cos that is literally the size but its mainly the hall and stairs where we lose most heat or gain most cold

don't worry about that, hon, i'd rather offer useful suggestions! i honestly think, if you can jerry rig something, that a curtain blocking off the stairs would be your most useful way forward. If you're clever with the material then even when you move you can use it for other areas in a new house - e.g. covering external doors, as i think you were suggesting. I would even go so far as to say that if you had to choose between a curtain blocking off the stairs and a curtain over the front door, to go for the one blocking off the stairs (although both would be better, of course).

hope that helps!

keth
xx

pnq06

Sorry hun I see what you mean about the stairs looking enclosed- I only wish they were!!! Here's another pic taken from another angle


I think the curtain idea would work wonders!!! I would probably need 2 very large heavy ones but it would block the stairs, the window, the hall and the bathroom :j Will have to remember to shower in the morning or afternoon :eek:

I need to line the curtains but shall I get proper lining or is there an ms way to do it

I will go bargain hunting tomorrow to see what rugs, mats etc. I can pick up.

And lastly, yep the house is tiny!!!!! What you see is what you get!!!! We defo need to move but can't afford it and now got bad credit rating :rolleyes:

thanks again hun xxx

kethry

pnq06 wrote: »

I think the curtain idea would work wonders!!!
I need to line the curtains but shall I get proper lining or is there an ms way to do it

hmmm. I would suggest proper lining in the long run, but an OS way to do it in the short run would be to use newspaper. The free newspaper that gets stuffed in the door (if you do get such a thing).. this is more if you have a sewing machine. Get the proper curtain, the velvet or whatever, you have a couple ways forward... either get enough so that you can essentially loop it at the bottom and secure the bottom of it at the top of the curtain (so your length has 2 layers).. or buy some cheap cotton to make a backing for the curtain. Then sew newspaper to the cheap cotton. It is a bit of a fire risk so i would do the proper lining as soon as you can afford it, and i would spend the extra to get material that is fire resistant (this is especially so if you intend to have equipment up against it - like the TV that i think i can see in that picture). It really comes down to your pocket and what you can afford and who is making it... if in doubt though, think in terms of layers or fluff - the reason carpets/rugs work is because they're thick enough to hold "bubbles" of air, same reason you get goosepimples (the hair on your arm stands up to trap the areas of air that are easier to heat), so if you think in terms of replicating that, you're onto a winner. Actually if you can figure out something strong enough to hold it up, you could do a lot worse than hanging up a couple of thin summer duvets!! (I know that sounds slightly ridiculous but .. you know what i mean).

keth
xx

Justamum

I know that turning your boiler down a couple of degrees can mean a big saving, but we have a Vaillant instant boiler. It doesn't say what temperature it is on. There is one dial numbered 1 to 9 which presumably means water and heating will be at the same temperature. Does anybody know what these number equate to and/or what number would be the best to put it on? Thanks in advance.

pnq06

kethry wrote: »

hmmm. I would suggest proper lining in the long run, but an OS way to do it in the short run would be to use newspaper. The free newspaper that gets stuffed in the door (if you do get such a thing).. this is more if you have a sewing machine. Get the proper curtain, the velvet or whatever, you have a couple ways forward... either get enough so that you can essentially loop it at the bottom and secure the bottom of it at the top of the curtain (so your length has 2 layers).. or buy some cheap cotton to make a backing for the curtain. Then sew newspaper to the cheap cotton. It is a bit of a fire risk so i would do the proper lining as soon as you can afford it, and i would spend the extra to get material that is fire resistant (this is especially so if you intend to have equipment up against it - like the TV that i think i can see in that picture). It really comes down to your pocket and what you can afford and who is making it... if in doubt though, think in terms of layers or fluff - the reason carpets/rugs work is because they're thick enough to hold "bubbles" of air, same reason you get goosepimples (the hair on your arm stands up to trap the areas of air that are easier to heat), so if you think in terms of replicating that, you're onto a winner. Actually if you can figure out something strong enough to hold it up, you could do a lot worse than hanging up a couple of thin summer duvets!! (I know that sounds slightly ridiculous but .. you know what i mean).

keth
xx

Hmm think I'll stick to proper lining- we have no door on the kitchen which worries me as it is!!!

I've set myself a target to get some curtains or something alike for £15 max and then I can still afford to buy a door curtain for downstairs

I'll also rumage the local charity shops for rugs and rags that can be used and get OH to sort the windows and doors out :j

xx

Yategirl

pnq06 wrote: »

Sorry hun I see what you mean about the stairs looking enclosed- I only wish they were!!! Here's another pic taken from another angle


I think the curtain idea would work wonders!!! I would probably need 2 very large heavy ones but it would block the stairs, the window, the hall and the bathroom :j Will have to remember to shower in the morning or afternoon :eek:

I need to line the curtains but shall I get proper lining or is there an ms way to do it

I will go bargain hunting tomorrow to see what rugs, mats etc. I can pick up.

And lastly, yep the house is tiny!!!!! What you see is what you get!!!! We defo need to move but can't afford it and now got bad credit rating :rolleyes:

thanks again hun xxx

Hi pnq06 Think Kethry has some great ideas there for you!

For thick curtains - look for velvet door curtains on ebay - I picked up a pair of 8ft fullylined velvet curtains for £40 last autumn for our front door - they are used and not a colour I would have chosen if buying new BUT.. it really does make a difference (and I have a spare door curtain if I need it!) - you do need to keep watching as they do seem to get snapped up!

For rugs.. I have noticed IKEA are selling rag-style rugs for about £10 each - they are thickish and would be I think a good extra layer for your floor. I am planning to get some for my son's bedroom (which is bare floorboards and we cannot afford to carpet it) plus a couple for kitchen/dining area which is lino covered (as we have dogs and young children!) but the rugs can be washed when needed - always good with kids!!

Another thought.. try and get some flanelette sheets for yours and bubs beds... we have one as a top sheet (and I must try and get some more for bottom sheets) and it really does make a huge difference to warming the bed!

Ask on freecycle if you have one local.. (ask parents/grandparents... they often have stuff tucked away!).

hth, YG

Yategirl

what about looking at "handmade"-style quilts - often found in charity shops for a door curtain - are thick.. usually ok patterened and often big enough and cheap!

jcr16

i bought some proper curtain linings couple years back for just £1 a meter. i don't know who from , but i just goggled curtain linning and it came up with loads of companys and after looking at loads of site's i found it for £1 a meter. .

Justamum

One thing I do have to do before winter sets in - buy a new cat flap. When we moved into this house the cat flap was faulty, then the flap bit broke off completely so now we have a gaping hole in the back door!