Preparing for Winter

Ada3050

Just need to divide the total wattage by the number of bulbs and times each by the tariff you are on.

I have one at 1050w so would cost 12p an hour on my econ tariff on full.
I use mine in the colder evenings only to minimise the cost, it would be expensive to use as a main heat source. The cat likes it though!

cheerfulness4 wrote: »

Has anyone had a chance to put one of the halogen heaters on an electric monitor to see roughly how much they cost per hour?

Ought to really ask this on the utilities board but just wondered if anyone here has monitored it.

sammy_kaye18

knithappens wrote: »

I need to get curtain rail holders above my large drafty dining room and kitchen window. I cannot use a drill to save my life, so will have to get someone in to do it,would I be better getting the wood myself, what wood will be suitable? and who should I get to do it, a local handy man, joiner, I really am a novice at anything DIY or getting in trades men. Any suggestions appreciated

Sounds daft but we have steel beams above our kitchen window and our bedroom window which means we cant screw into the top of the window directly and we needed curtains up so we brought an extendable shower pole and have put it in the curtain recess. Think they were £10 in argos.

cheerfulness4

Thanks for your replies Bitter and Ada. They do seem quite economical at adding some quick heat when needed. DS1 bedroom is very cold (extends over an outhouse) and could do with occassionally supplementing the CHeating.
He's 20 so almost responsible enough to be trusted with safe usage.

I tried looking this info up on the utillities board but WOW, after reading some of the replies to innocent questions I ran to the hills. :eek: Now I know why I love the OS bunch so much... no one ever makes you feel stupid for asking questions.

Hippeechiq

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

Sounds daft but we have steel beams above our kitchen window and our bedroom window which means we cant screw into the top of the window directly and we needed curtains up so we brought an extendable shower pole and have put it in the curtain recess. Think they were £10 in argos.

How interesting! I need some cheap way of holding up a curtain over my front door, I wonder if it would put up with having the curtain constantly moved back and forth when people come in and out, or if it would fall down?

Do the poles hold heavy(ish) curtains sammy?

Really, really wish I could sew.....the fleece lining sounds such a good idea for curtains. Well, I can do basic sewing, but I wouldn't be able to do anything like attaching a fleece to a curtain. Just wondering if I'm capable of doing a hem :think: so that I could fold over the fleece and then run a wire through it and hang it on 2 hook screw thingies instead of attaching it to a curtain, it could still be pushed back during the day then :think:......better still, could I wondaweb it? Please say yes someone

If not, I can just about do a stitch, that looks like this - - - - - - - is it backstich :huh: (sorry, I despise sewing and am not sure what it's called)

I feel a bit of a berk when all of you can clearly sew and sew well

jackieglasgow

Hippeechiq some of the fleeces have blanket sticth around the edge, if not then get the scissors out. What I would, (and will) be doing, is to put curtain hooks through the fleece, and the hook the fleece onto the curtain tape that's on your existing curtain. I will look for some sort of picture for you. If you need to put wee holes in, the fleece won't fray either.

So, instead of hanging the hooks onto the curtain tape like so, you would have them on your fleece already, and then hooking them into the tape with the spike, as if you are hanging the fleece onto the curtain. I am terrible at explaining stuff but I hope that's helped.

Ada3050

cheerfulness4 wrote: »

I tried looking this info up on the utillities board but WOW, after reading some of the replies to innocent questions I ran to the hills. :eek: Now I know why I love the OS bunch so much... no one ever makes you feel stupid for asking questions.

I know what you mean, been on there myself!. You just need to work out the cost for each bar per hour, so with mine I know 1 bar will cost about 4p per hour rounded up a bit.

I love mine, nice on a cold evening when its too late to light the coal fire.

Hippeechiq

jackieglasgow wrote: »

Hippeechiq some of the fleeces have blanket sticth around the edge, if not then get the scissors out.

Sorry jackie, I do actually know what blanket stitch is, but not sure why I'd get the scissors out :huh: You need to talk to me like you would a simpleton I'm afraid - I haven't sewn since I was at school 3 decades ago, and then it was a gym skirt, and I hated every moment of it

jackieglasgow wrote: »

What I would, (and will) be doing, is to put curtain hooks through the fleece, and the hook the fleece onto the curtain tape that's on your existing curtain. I will look for some sort of picture for you. If you need to put wee holes in, the fleece won't fray either.

You mean with no hem? just make small holes in the fleece and thread the hook through that hole and then onto the main curtain using a free hole - or whatever that bit is called on a curtain that you thread a hook through?

ETA Right, I've kind of got you, except

hook them into the tape with the spike

What is the spike? The pointy end of the curtain hook in the picture?

knithappens

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

Sounds daft but we have steel beams above our kitchen window and our bedroom window which means we cant screw into the top of the window directly and we needed curtains up so we brought an extendable shower pole and have put it in the curtain recess. Think they were £10 in argos.

thanks for the suggestion, i have done this with netting etc, but i need it to go on the ouside of the curtain recess, if you get what i mean, so I can keep the drafts out by having the cutains block the whole of the window, not just inside the recess.

so think i will stil need a length of wood screwed into the wall so i can hang my curtains,i dont want to just scre a rail into the wall.

knithappens

Hippeechiq wrote: »

How interesting! I need some cheap way of holding up a curtain over my front door, I wonder if it would put up with having the curtain constantly moved back and forth when people come in and out, or if it would fall down?

Do the poles hold heavy(ish) curtains sammy?

I invested in a portier rod off ebay last winter, it was £19.99 i was reluctant to part with the cash, but it was well worth it, i could open and close my door no probs as the rod moved the curtain out of the way, and witha thermal curtain there was no drafts and the front of the house was lovely and snug, just the back to deal with this year

Hippeechiq

knithappens wrote: »

Hippeechiq wrote: »

How interesting! I need some cheap way of holding up a curtain over my front door, I wonder if it would put up with having the curtain constantly moved back and forth when people come in and out, or if it would fall down?

Do the poles hold heavy(ish) curtains sammy?

knithappens wrote: »

I invested in a portier rod off ebay last winter, it was £19.99 i was reluctant to part with the cash, but it was well worth it, i could open and close my door no probs as the rod moved the curtain out of the way, and witha thermal curtain there was no drafts and the front of the house was lovely and snug, just the back to deal with this year

Thanks for that knithappens I did see this earlier on the thread, but my OH is not the greatest at DIY bless him :shhh: and I'm not sure how easy they are to fix, so thought the adjustable shower curtain rail wouldn't involve any skill, lol.

BLIMEY!! I make us sound like a right useless pair don't I?..........I'm sure we must excel in other areas......um........let me get backto you on that :rotfl: