Preparing for Winter

annie123

mardatha wrote: »

Can anybody suggest something to keep my cat cosy ? He's a big ginger stray who adopted us. Somebody has been bad to him because he has no teeth at all on one side and is very wary, esp of men. It's taken 2 years but now he is very cuddly and will lie in the porch in the sun, and roll around to be tickled. Won't be picked up though.
The husband doesn't like cats and wont let me bring him inside--plus he sheds hair like nobodys business and he wont come in anyway, so all I do is feed him far too much and made a wee bed on an old rug inside my stick box. I have got him proper cat beds but he wont go inside even in snow and howling rain - he seems to need to be free and open where he can see all round and do an escape if need be.
The stick box is big, almost 5ft high and 4ft wide --so its not cosy . We took the sticks out for him LOL. Would hay do for him , or hamster bedding ? I tired old jumpers but they get damp quick .

Poor thing, I have never understood why people are cruel to animals, good job he found you
Hay would work well, could you insulate the box with bubble wrap maybe?
My SIL works at battersea dogs home and has mention that some of the wilder cats they have, have liked to sit on shredded paper, so maybe put some of that in as well.

mardatha

ok Annie ty. Its bloody freezing up here this morning. He is sat on a sheet of polystyrene then an old rug --but he just looks so open to the wind although I have propped a bit wood up as a windbreak - I wanted some kind of bedding. Will go and tear up my precious copy of the Scotsman LOL

annie123

If he doesnt like the cat thingy to closed in, what about a raised roof/surround ? bit like a hide. taurpalin or something like that? but, as you are in 'windy land' not sure how long it would stay up!

Welshwoofs

elliewild wrote: »

since i havent got a carpet i also took the opportunity of buying damp proof paint for the floor. we have damp problems but cannot afford anyway of solving them. so far the paints working well (b&q) hope it still makes a difference when the carpets down!

boyfriend wants to get velcro on edges of windows so that theres no gap between window and curtain - might keep some heat in - maybe slightly unsightly though!

any tips of damp/crumbly houses - let me know!

Unfortunately the damp-proof paint won't work for you long-term, it's really best for painting over areas where there was damp. You'd have been better off buying a waterproof membrane to put under the carpet.

Do you know if what you have is damp or condensation? If it's damp, it is rising or penetrating? Penetrating damp is caused by such things as faulty guttering/downpipes, blown render, gaps round window frames etc. It may be worth investing £4-5 for a damp-meter from Ebay which can tell you some basic things... if you run it over your walls and the beeping goes mental near the skirting but then tails off as you go up...it's rising. If it goes mental in patches higher up, but is generally ok at the skirting then it's penetrating.

If you have rising damp you will eventually have to get it treated. There's a couple of choices here too - if you intend to ever sell the house you'll really have to get in a professional as you'll then get a guarantee and buyers will want to see that. If you don't intend selling you can save yourself a lot of money by doing it yourself. Traditionally damp-course was applied by drilling holes into the bricks and pumping through a liquid chemical. These days there's a product called Dryzone which is a cream that's applied through a standard applicator gun into holes in the mortar. That makes it easier to DIY!

Even if you go for getting the professional in there are money saving options. For instance when Mr WW and I bought this cottage it had rising damp and the entire downstairs needed damp-proofing. We were quoted £1,800 to do it. However when we asked what the cost would be if we took off the internal plaster/external render to 1.3mtrs and sorted the replastering out ourselves, that price dropped to just under £400!! If you have a friend who's a plasterer (Mr WW is a plasterer himself), then you'll save that way.

newlywed

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

Try using cheap fleeces from ikea to line your curtains - I have done this and it works a treat also put blinds up at the windows and OH is going to build some secondary glazing from acrylic sheet

Thanks, will keep that in mind - a blind isn't really too practical year round as the floor length curtains cover a single patio door as well as a full length window along side . They are double glazed but fitted by Housing Association so not exactly draft proof :rolleyes: as the door doesn't seem to seal properly.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

[quote=Welshwoods

Traditionally damp-course was applied by drilling holes into the bricks and pumping through a liquid chemical. These days there's a product called Dryzone which is a cream that's applied through a standard applicator gun into holes in the mortar. That makes it easier to Do[/quote]

We're doing the dryzone on an area near our front door this weekend,they did'nt do this bit when they did the dampcourse for rest of the house.
Just a few questions if you don't mind,is the dryzone efficient and is it just the mortar you put it in and not through any brick.I'm a bit confused as some of the houses I've seen round here seem to have holes through some of the bricks on the outside.Any advice before we do the job would be welcome.Thanks.

Caterina

Has anyone had experience of insulating the internal walls of the house (dry-lining with insulating materials and then replaster on top)? Is it expensive? Thanks

Caterina

ksh123

annie123 wrote: »

cant see anyone on here paying someone to make a door curtain and then paying someone else to put it up not moneysaving but if you dont want to have a go buy something like this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110293078592

then buy 2 cup hooks,a 3' piece of bamboo (garden section of diy store) and some shower curtain rings from diy store.
put cup hooks in wall above door...not difficult
put shower curtain rings on curtain.....same as sewing on a button
put pole through rings
put the whole lot on the cup hooks.....
job done

Thanks for your reply.
That all sounds a very good idea and even within my (very limited ) capabilities.....I wonder tho if the cup hooks will hold the weight of the curtain OK?

ksh123

Caterina wrote: »

Has anyone had experience of insulating the internal walls of the house (dry-lining with insulating materials and then replaster on top)? Is it expensive? Thanks

Caterina

My neighbour wanted to get rid of her artex (lucky thing wish I could get rid of mine - its artex city round here :wall: ) and her husband got some chipboard or similar from work and put it on the walls and then just painted/wallpapered over the top. Looks good and presumably also adds extra insulation.
HTH

sammyjig

Caterina wrote: »

Has anyone had experience of insulating the internal walls of the house (dry-lining with insulating materials and then replaster on top)? Is it expensive? Thanks

Caterina

I don't know about the sort of insulation you are talking about but where we used to live we had a wooden wall under the front window and it was really cold. We put some of that polestyrene (sp) wallpaper on the wall and then papered over it. It really worked well. The wall was warm to the touch and the room was a lot warmer.