Insulation and draught-proofing mystery - anybody have any suggestions?

nic99nic

I have a mystery, and a theory, if you have 5 minutes spare, and like to solve things:
There is a persistent cold draught in my 1920's house. I have checked everything, but can't find it, and I hate spending money heating a draughty house.
I have searched everywhere, prowling about with a candle flame, but I can't find the source, and am beginning to feel stupid, now.
Can anyone think of something I haven't?
1. Front door - taped shut and out of use, with a draught excluder, plus velvet curtains drawn fully across, and the letterbox has a flap cover both sides. It's not that.
2. Floorboards - covered up with rugs, sometimes two rugs, to be sure, and I've been on hands and knees checking. It's not them.
3. Windows (upstairs and down) and doors  - all double-glazed, most of them recent, all seals and cracks are draught-free, and locked shut. I've checked every single one twice. It's not them.
4. Air bricks - there are air bricks, yes, but they go under the floor, I know exactly where they go, and have checked the floorboards & skirting above. It's not them.
5. Boiler flue - it's foamed in, and so is the extractor hob flue, and there is no draught from either of those, so nope, not them.
6. Chimney - unused, now stuffed tight with two pillows in a bin bag, and there is no draught coming down there any more, so not that.
7. Loft - insulated, the hatch is secure, and there's no draught coming down from there anyway - in fact there is no draught upstairs at all, so it's not that.
8. Cat flap - admittedly, does let in a little bit of a draught, but I put a cushion against it when the cat was kipping, and the draught was STILL THERE. So it isn't that.
9. Random external holes in the wall from old pipe-work etc - I've checked, and no, nothing
What have I missed?
My last remaining theory is this, and I wonder if anybody can back me up on this, or laugh me out of town. There is a set of 5 of those fancy bi-fold doors, newly installed. They're all sealed tight against draughts, so there is no problem with them per se. BUT - would it be possible that they are basically an expanse of cold glass, and they are causing this draught from convection...?? Or is that a crackpot theory? The only way I'd know for sure would be to put up a curtain rail, and hang curtains all across those doors, but that's a whole separate project. I've held a candle there near the doors already, in case, but it doesn't do its flickery 'there's a draught' thing. Maybe because a convection draught is more crafty and subtle?
Anyway, I'm fed up with it, so suggestions welcome, or any validation of my cold glass bi-fold theory would be very welcome,
Thanks all! 

Biggus_Dickus

Wooden floorboards will probably?? mean a void space below  them that is effectively open ('ish) to the  outside atmosphere  through air bricks etc.

Wooden floorboards can be quite a good insulator but they are usually not overly draught-proof especially when they’re old. Often they move/warp slightly and very small gaps/chinks that aren’t readily apparent to the naked eye can allow cold air through. Lots of tiny gaps mean lots of tiny entry sources for cold air;...it can all add up to a large amount of cold air entering the living space.

Other obvious entry points are the small  gaps between the floor boards and the walls. These gaps may be obscured by skirting boards.

My daughter had the same problem as you when she moved into her house a few years ago. Trying to keep the downstairs living area warm was nightmare in winter,...and expensive.

The solution was to completely fill/insulate the narrow gaps between the floorboards and the walls around the perimeter and lay new wooden flooring atop the floorboards (12mm wood flooring and 5mm wood fibre underlay). The difference in comfort level throughout the living areas was dramatic.

There was also another problem with the kitchen which allowed cold air into the house. Although the kitchen floor was very well tiled right up to the walls we found a large square hole in the floor hidden underneath the kitchen sink unit. The ‘hole’ itself  was very necessary as it was the entry/exit point for the kitchen water/waste pipes etc  but it was immediately adjacent to an exterior air-brick just below floorboard level....it was like having a window open in the kitchen!

I bought a large  roll of rock-wool loft insulation (£19 from B&Q)  and we managed to fill the ‘hole’;...it was a bit fiddly due to the confined space under the kitchen unit but the rock-wool was (eventually!) packed tightly around all the pipes/gaps,...the hole was also very tightly filled and effectively made draught proof.

Other small gaps around the pipes where they entered/exited through exterior walls or the floor were also plugged. Once again a major and immediate improvement in the temperature,... not only in the kitchen but the entire ground floor.

Rock-wool is excellent stuff for filling draughty gaps etc;...it’s not messy as such and you can poke it in almost anywhere! Don’t forget the gaps around radiator pipes if they come up through the floor.

I appreciate new flooring may not be an option for you but my daughter hated her old flooring so having the new floor fitted was a win-win really.

I hope you find the above helpful. Good luck and keep ‘plugging’ away!

P.S. I don’t know anything about glass bi-fold doors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teapot55

Maybe you could monitor room temperatures in different parts of the house? 

Gerry1

A candle creates its own updraught so it will be fairly insensitive to down draughts, especially if it is spread across a wide area rather than concentrated into a narrow crack.  Try a joss stick instead !

dogshome

Good advice from Biggus_ Dickus

As child lived in a large house with a fully fitted carpet in a big sitting room with suspended flooring,  a strong North/ South wind would lift the carpet off the floor except at the edges where it was pinned down.

Very non U, but bum a cigarette from someone to use as a draught detector, the smoke trail will not only show where it's coming from, but also where it's going

nic99nic

Thanks everyone, really appreciate your time and thoughts. I thought we could be onto something with the idea that lots of little draughts up through the floorboards might collectively add up to one big one, as it is indeed a suspended timber floor with the void underneath (and air bricks, as there should be). So - I have just collected up all the sleeping bags and duvets that we own, and spread them all across the living room floor where the floorboards are, two layers deep. I was SURE that must be it, but no, dammit, there is STILL an icy draught, and it's not even that cold outside. I am totally at a loss!
Next, I'm going to pull off all the kick-boards in the kitchen and see if there are any exterior gaps underneath (like the pipework hole & rock wool solution). I will also be wandering around with a joss stick to see if that helps narrow it down (good idea too!)... It's got to be something specific - my last house was 150 years old, single-skin brick in parts, with a damp old cellar, and a suspended timber floor, so you would expect that to be draughty, but it was nothing like this!

Biggus_Dickus

nic99nic said:

Thanks everyone, really appreciate your time and thoughts. I thought we could be onto something with the idea that lots of little draughts up through the floorboards might collectively add up to one big one, as it is indeed a suspended timber floor with the void underneath (and air bricks, as there should be). So - I have just collected up all the sleeping bags and duvets that we own, and spread them all across the living room floor where the floorboards are, two layers deep. I was SURE that must be it, but no, dammit, there is STILL an icy draught, and it's not even that cold outside. I am totally at a loss!
Next, I'm going to pull off all the kick-boards in the kitchen and see if there are any exterior gaps underneath (like the pipework hole & rock wool solution). I will also be wandering around with a joss stick to see if that helps narrow it down (good idea too!)... It's got to be something specific - my last house was 150 years old, single-skin brick in parts, with a damp old cellar, and a suspended timber floor, so you would expect that to be draughty, but it was nothing like this!

It certainly is a mystery;...I reckon it could be Poltergeist activity.

Hold an emergency séance...one knock for ‘yes’, two knocks for ‘no’ and all that.

nic99nic

Following all the advice so far, I can only conclude I must wrap myself in insulating rock-wool to stay warm, whilst waving a lighted joss stick around, and knock occasionally on tables to summon the undead (or just as effectively, knock on occasional tables!?). I will look like a deranged, smoking Wookiee with a furniture fetish. Situation normal, etc.  😂. Hey ho, at least I have tried everything else, nothing to lose. Thanks all!

Biggus_Dickus

nic99nic said:

Following all the advice so far, I can only conclude I must wrap myself in insulating rock-wool to stay warm, whilst waving a lighted joss stick around, and knock occasionally on tables to summon the undead (or just as effectively, knock on occasional tables!?). I will look like a deranged, smoking Wookiee with a furniture fetish. Situation normal, etc.  😂. Hey ho, at least I have tried everything else, nothing to lose. Thanks all!

Poltergeist aren’t the undead,...they are the actual dead;...you’re thinking of Zombies,...don’t summon that lot whatever you do.

Just a few final thoughts though;

I’m a bit paranoid about cold draughts myself, tbh,...I know from long experience that even very small exterior gaps can quickly cause uncomfortable cold spots in any house.

For every cubic foot of warm air that exits  your house through some orifice or other a cubic foot of cold air will be dragged into your property.

It’s as important to prevent warm air exiting as it is to prevent cold air entering.

Back to the kitchen: do you have a dryer with an external ‘through the wall vent’?..if so fill the gap around the vent tube as it exits through the interior wall. I had a dryer repositioned last year and come winter the draught that was coming through the cavity around the outside of the vent tube was inordinate.  A handful of Rockwool sorted it!

Check all bedrooms: do any of the (1920’s) bedrooms have fireplaces/flues?....are the ceilings sound?...have a look under the ceiling light fittings and check for overly large holes that may lead straight through to your attic. Same with bathroom.

Upstairs airing cupboard?...if your hotwater tank is in there check/fill the holes around all the entry/exit pipework etc.

I’m all out of ideas now but one last thing,...wet your hand if feeling for cold draughts,..it makes locating the smallest cold niche a little easier.

As I said earlier, just keep ‘plugging’ away...I’m sure you’ll see an improvement eventually.

 

 

 

 

 

JC_Derby

nic99nic said:

I have a mystery, and a theory, if you have 5 minutes spare, and like to solve things:
There is a persistent cold draught in my 1920's house. I have checked everything, but can't find it, and I hate spending money heating a draughty house.

Surely you cant have a draught in your whole house?
aaah
"7. Loft - insulated, the hatch is secure, and there's no draught coming down from there anyway - in fact there is no draught upstairs at all, so it's not that."

I think then this is a draught like i used to have where the cold damp cellar below the front room sucked all the heat out of the front room

2020Craig

Have you got any electrical sockets on outside walls? These can be cold spots that can go unnoticed.