Preparing for Winter

Confuzzled

kethry wrote: »

LOL nope i don't think so!! I remember reading a thread last year on saving money on gas and electricity.. it went on for pages and pages, all full of ideas on saving both gas and leccy, and people got quite competitive about keeping the heating off for as long as they could! Anyway, that tip about the duvet was on there, and i didn't do it last year and i remember thinking a few times during the winter "i can feel the cold coming through the mattress" (we've the kind of bed that doesn't have anything between the floor and the wooden bed slats) and thinking that maybe i should get the duvet out to put underneath the sheets. I never did (lazy) but i'm determined to do it this year. see if it makes a difference.

you'll find not only is it warmer it's also much more comfy! i haven't been able to afford a new foam topper for my bed but a thick duvet or two underneath do nearly the same trick and are too warm in the summer but i'm always toasty during the winter!

Confuzzled

pigpen wrote: »

We don't have double glazing at all but are hoping to get the front bay DG'd before winter.. keeping the same wood frames just changing the glass and replacing the seals and filling in the BIG draughty gaps in the joints

a few trick with draughty windows. if you can't afford to replace them and don't need to open them during winter (lets' face it, do you really NEED to open your bedroom window all winter?) then buy some caulk and a caulk gun at the local b&q etc and caulk the windows all around the gaps. if you're quite easy on the caulk you will have an easier time in spring breaking the seal again with your utility knife.

i've done this at a few old places i've rented, one it was mostly because the windows were so rotten they were likely to actually fall out if we had a bad storm!

ALWAYS leave at least one window uncaulked enough that you can open it a bit, i'd choose the kitchen window because of smoke issues when cooking. even then though you can caulk enough of it to take away a lot of draughts but leave enough uncaulked you can open it a little bit (for sash windows at least)

you may wish to leave the bathroom uncaulked if you have mould issues but it's better to fit one of this units that measures the humidity in your room and runs a fan until it's ok again.

another thing you can do for uncaulked windows is to make a doorsnake for it (take some old woolie socks, stuff them with old clothes etc and sew the ends together in the middle, presto, big doorsnake!)

you might also consider buying a large clear tarpaulin and stapling it to your wooden window frames (if you can't afford the instant double glazing or have pvc frames)

i've used all of these methods with great effect!

if your windows are really bad a combination of caulk AND the instant double glazing or clear tarpaulin methods may be wise.

it should be an interesting winter this year for me and my wee one. i've seperated from her father and previously we'd lived in family accomdation through his universities always with free or subsidised heat. this year it's just us living on fumes so i'll be employing every trick in the book that i can manage. electricitywise we're not too bad, currently at 8 units per day (just under 1 quid a day) but the gas useage is scary here because everything is so old and works horribly, cheap landlord doesn't want to fix anything either and i can't find anywhere else to rent cuz all the students snap them all up *sighs* guess we'll figure it out somehow... needless to say you can get an idea of why i'm keenly reading this kind of thread even in the middle of a very warm july!

fedupandskint

I have a single glazed pane above my thick wooden front door. All the rest of the house is DG'd.

Do you think it is worth getting this pane DG'd as in winter I am sure I can feel heat leaking out of it? Plus I live on a busy road and I'm wondering if it will cut down on noise too!

If I get this done I'm hoping it will be more energy efficient in winter and keep the heat in for longer. I put bubble wrap all over it last year (which is still taped in place!) but think I need something more effective.

Any ideas?

Plus will now be on the lookout for thermals, long socks and cheap fleeces ready for winter and make a start on a crahet blanket to cuddle up under. Last year I spent all winter with fleecy blankets wrapped around me to keep warm. Was v.nice!

Confuzzled

recovering_spendaholic wrote: »

I was still well pleased with what I did get though. My friend DID get a new boiler and she and her husband both work, but she is waiting for a new Knee so gets mobility allowance. Sorry if you all know about this already. Web site is http://www.warmfront.co.uk

warm front is only available in england, there is another programme for wales (it kept coming up with the english sites), it took a LOT of digging but i finally found one for scotland too and have sent off my enquiry

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/access/FP/eap

hope that helps

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

I don't know about anyone else but the past few mornings have had such an autumnal feel to them,what with the week sun and a howling wind.
I just want a long summer,winter last year was so cold and I found it very long.
It's made me look over what I need for the winter.
Due to everyone on this board's advice last year I went on overkill and so I don't have to do anything realy so I thought I would invest in another dehumidifyer so I don't have to keep lugging the one I bought last year around.
I think the one I bought last year was a realy good investment and actually saved me a lot of money.
Living in a realy old,solid walled house as I do I would have had to spend a fortune on redecorating due to the condenstaion problems we had in the winter as it was so cold.
Let's just hope we have a long summer,I don't expect soaring temperatures.
I just want to be able to move about without layer on layer to feel comfortable.

larmy16

Goodness me - I have just spent a fortune on room chiller, heavy velocity air circulators etc. because of that horrendus heatwave (sorry to any sun lovers) - and now I am back in my winter dressing gown as it's a little chilly this morning. Not complaining though.

I don't need to buy anything for this coming winter - all prepared. Love this thread though.:)

Seakay

fedupandskint wrote: »

I have a single glazed pane above my thick wooden front door. All the rest of the house is DG'd.

Do you think it is worth getting this pane DG'd as in winter I am sure I can feel heat leaking out of it? Plus I live on a busy road and I'm wondering if it will cut down on noise too!

If I get this done I'm hoping it will be more energy efficient in winter and keep the heat in for longer. I put bubble wrap all over it last year (which is still taped in place!) but think I need something more effective.

Any ideas?

Plus will now be on the lookout for thermals, long socks and cheap fleeces ready for winter and make a start on a crahet blanket to cuddle up under. Last year I spent all winter with fleecy blankets wrapped around me to keep warm. Was v.nice!

A (possibly cheaper) alternative to double glazing the door would be to hang a thick curtain in front of it - if you really want to go to town you can get swinging curtain rails to go over the door frame but my Grandma just had ordinary rails and pushed the curtain aside as necessary.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

We had the fanlight DG above our front door and the difference is amazing.
You can realy feel it's warmer.

fedupandskint

Seakay wrote: »

A (possibly cheaper) alternative to double glazing the door would be to hang a thick curtain in front of it - if you really want to go to town you can get swinging curtain rails to go over the door frame but my Grandma just had ordinary rails and pushed the curtain aside as necessary.

Thanks Seakay,

I tried this already but it makes the room too dark, will look into the DG instead but many thanks for your reply and suggestion :T

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Bloke from the council came last week to inspect the mould. Told me it was my fault because I didn't keep the central heating on 24/7 with the windows open (what?) from September - May. I needed to buy some bleach and clean more. Oh yes, and teenagers make mould. How? Because they're all messy, dirty creatures.

Made noises including 'lack of legal depth insulation' and 'statutory nuisance'.

Bloke from professional mould consultants (whatever the proper name is - called himself the mouldy man) was sent in 3 days later. He says he got funding from council to strip everything back, clean, replaster/regrout, line as necessary and redecorate. Oh, and I get mould because I breathe, council homes are rubbish and home cleaning just changes the colour of the mould and spreads it. So it wasn't my fault.

So hopefully I can get ready for winter without having to plan for sleeping in a room at minus 7 (it did go that low) with water dripping off the ceiling.