Preparing for Winter

fayhare

Something I have done when living in drafty baywindowed flats is to stuff the big gaps with newspaper/toilet roll and then seal up the whole window with silicone sealer. It's easy to take off with a sharp knife come spring and if you use the clear stuff you won't see any little bits left behind.

Confuzzled

fayhare wrote: »

Something I have done when living in drafty baywindowed flats is to stuff the big gaps with newspaper/toilet roll and then seal up the whole window with silicone sealer. It's easy to take off with a sharp knife come spring and if you use the clear stuff you won't see any little bits left behind.

i've done this before too and it's very effective. so effective in one place i swear it was the only thing holding part of the rotten sill together!

it makes a big difference though and if you combine with bubblewrap and or fleece you'll stay toasty warm!

purpleheather2810

I have put up the new tab-top curtains in dd's room and used safety pins to pin asda cheapo fleeces to the backs - brilliant. Makes them a lot thicker and substantial. I couldn't give a monkeys what it looks like from the other side as they are upstairs at the back of the house! Hoping this will keep dd toasty warm through the autumn and winter....

SwipernoSwiping

Well... we've patched up a few holes in the kitchen with newspaper and expanding foam filler- bonus in reducing the spider entrances.
The paint hic-cupped - being somewhat more than I planned for the 4 pots it's likely to require - A journey to B&M is on the horizon for that one. Silcone Sealant is ready for the sills that need it. I'm experimenting on how to draft proof the letter box, possibly fleecing it.
Least we are getting stuck in! Thanks ladies...

fayhare

Confuzzled wrote: »

i've done this before too and it's very effective. so effective in one place i swear it was the only thing holding part of the rotten sill together!

I lived in a tiny flat in Nottingham a few years ago where all the windows were rotten and the landlord could't care less. All the windows were basically silicone, masking tape and bubble wrap :rotfl:

Confuzzled

shellieholly wrote: »

Silcone Sealant is ready for the sills that need it.

one really really important thing to note when using sealant on windows... ALWAYS leave at least one window so it can be opened, preferably in the kitchen if possible. you'll need to allow some ventilation in the house and the kitchen is the best place as it's most likely to need it (smoke, strong cooking smells etc) you dno't want to seal the entire place up like a drum that will trap in germs, smells and quite possibly humidity

Confuzzled

well today i managed to get the thermal curtains done and hung up for my daughters room.

i noticed that the size of her window was similar to that of a single duvet and we had a single duvet cover going spare so i had her help me layout the large wooly blanket i had planned as the lining and used it as a template for cutting it into the right shape and size.

i then acted just as if i were putting the duvet cover on a duvet (but instead on the wooly blanket) and pinned it into place. then along the top length of the blanket/duvet cover i hand sewed the brass curtain hooks i bought off ebay. i just did it by eye and spaced them about 2.5 inches apart (you could do more or less depending on the situation)and about 1 inch from the top edge of the duvet. this also gave me a good excuse to catch up on some telly

it took me a about 90 min but they were a bit fiddly to sew on. i had my daughter help me hang it and it's brilliant! the blanket inside is dark red and the duvet is mostly pink so it gives a nice rosy glow to her room when closed. it's also just the perfect length, coming just below the sill. we should be able to tuck it up on the sill. her old curtains had the side by the radiator so long they touched it constantly so i always tucked them up on the sill anyway, didn't want to risk a fire, they're storage heaters.

because of the type of fittings (big wooden rod with rings that have the eyelet for the curtain hooks) they stick out a bit from the window so tomorrow i'll dig out some pretty pink ribbon and sew some on to each side in a wee loop that can be hooked over the cuphooks already there for curtain tiebacks.

this is also a nice solution for us at the current time as it acts as more of a black out curtain, her room has a huge streetlight that shines in at night. it's also easier to open one big curtain than two seperate one as her bed runs alongside most of the length of the window so it's a big win all around :T

i'll do my curtains soon, i'm looking forward to having 'proper' (well properly hung on hooks at least) black out 'curtains' vs something tucked over the curtain rod

Confuzzled

another idea about the thermal curtains i made today came to mind. i have quite a few pieces of bubble wrap that aren't large enough to fill a window and i have saved the pieces i used last year for the two windows (where no one would see from outside that i had bubble wrap up) so they aren't needed for that.

the thought occurs to me, that since i used a duvet cover and the end isn't sewn shut, there is nothing to stop me from taking the curtains down again, sliding the various pieces of bubblewrap inside and then just sewing them down with a few tiny unoticeable stitchs in the corner of each piece.

if i slipped the bubblewrap inside so that it sits between the duvet cover 'curtain' material and the blanket thermal material but towards the outside, no one from outside would notice a textural difference and we shouldn't see it from inside either! we're upstairs so they'd have to have binoculars to even stand a chance of seeing a slight difference (and if they are they better stop perving on my 9 year old! :eek::rotfl:) so this seems like an even better way to keep it toasty in her room as it gets so very very cold (she slept with me many a winters night last year!)

mennie

I have now bought my fleeces - brown - 2 for £3 in Asda and a 13.5 tog duvet.

Need to order my velcro tape from ebay after next payday and I can get going. Still want a flanelette sheet, can only see them on ebay so far.

I have really enjoyed this planning and it has made me feel quite empowered. Bring it on Jack Frost!!!!!

Winged_one

Well, I mentioned to DH that I was thinking about ordering coal rather than getting bags as we need them from petrol station - and he agreed!! So next week, while I am taking a couple of days off, I will arrange for the coalman to come and fill the bunker. (I think the brown leaves around this morning put him in mind of winter's impending arrival!).

We happen to be taking a storage unit from next week, and I think I am going to box up my "height of summer" clothes during the week to put there also, as they are not going to get any more use this year. I am back in long sleeves this morning, considering putting on the "emergency" cardi I keep in the office, and definitely thinking about bringing out the woolly jumpers soon.