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Original poster

Moving us all into one bedroom?

54 replies

RadAsHeck · 15/12/2018 19:22

...to defeat the cold?
Hiiiiiii. 'All of us' is me + DD + cat + hamster. We live in a very old, draughty cottage (rented) and every winter it's freezing.

I've just been up to DD's room (attic) and thermometer shows me it is 12 degrees. When the heating is on it creeps up to 15/16 but because the loft is so poorly insulated and the floors so draughty and the windows so badly fitted (cheap landlady) it gets cold very quickly. By contrast, my bedroom is slightly warmer. I'm thinking of moving DD's mattress into my room along with the hamster so we can all at least sleep comfortably. I can't keep the heating on all night - it goes off at 10 and comes on 2-4 at the moment. Her rooms is almost unbearably cold. She has a winter duvets, hot water bottle and a blanket.

I don't mind squeezing us all in together, but I feel bad for DD that she has to do it. I feel weird about it, like I'm letting her down by having such a shit house (it's nice in the summer!)

OP posts:
glamorousgrandmother · 15/12/2018 19:59

When my daughter was 7 I bought my first house (single parent ) with no central heating and draughty windows. My dd slept in bed with me, both in fleecey pyjamas, until I could afford to get heating put in.

Didyousaysomethingdarling · 15/12/2018 20:05

Can you find out what EPC the house has, your Landlord should have given you the details when you rented the house?
As from the 1st April 2018 there will be a requirement for any properties rented out in the private rented sector to normally have a minimum energy performance rating of E on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect from 1st April 2018 and for all existing tenancies on 1st April 2020. It will be unlawful to rent a property which breaches the requirement for a minimum E rating, unless there is an applicable exemption. A civil penalty of up to £4,000 will be imposed for breaches. This guidance summarizes the regulations. There are separate regulations effective from 1st April 2016 under which a tenant can apply for consent to carry out energy efficiency improvements in privately rented properties.

mumsastudent · 15/12/2018 20:09

within the next year or so rented accommodation will have to be:
www.landlordsguild.com/new-energy-upgrade-rules-for-buy-to-let-homes/

VioletCharlotte · 15/12/2018 20:18

Makes sense for her to sleep in your room while it's so cold. I've had my dog in bed with me for the last two nights as it's so cold downstairs.

reindeermania · 15/12/2018 20:19

I'm biased because I have no central heating and no plans to get it, when it broke I intended to save for new. But then after two years and realising that actually, decent duvets and blankets, hot water bottles, and layers mean we don't need it. We have a log fire in the living room which is always warm. Otherwise much of the house is very cold, ice inside the windows on occasion, but it's fine. We are happy and sleep soundly. Wear more layers, add blankets and hot water bottles, draft proof , insulate etc. It's better for the environment and the wallet.

Skatersbeskating · 15/12/2018 20:19

Bubblewrap on the windows works but you really shouldnt have to do all this. I doubt your rent is cheap.

Let her sell it, I have been in exactly the same boat OP with a newborn baby. My landlady was the same.

It was on the market for about a year.

I remember crying in the shower, it was 6 degrees in the bathroom one day.

I saved & saved & saved for a deposit for a new build , as I felt so damn miserable.

I know summets are good, but its not nice being cold.

Is it damp at all?

Im sitting here now vest, cardigan, & PJ bottoms on, no socks on. It has necer gone below 17 degrees in here without the heating on.

My fuel bills are a lot lower.

chocolatespiders · 15/12/2018 20:22

I have seen people cover windows with bubble wrap to make double glazing.
I would move dd in with you though.

Snowwontbelong · 15/12/2018 20:29

We actually had snow in our bedroom window last winter!!
Rented old house with jammed open windows!!
Solved the chilly nights though....

Flannelette top and bottom sheets!!
And a fleece mattress topper!!
And pillowcases!!
Honestly too warm now!

KnittingSister · 15/12/2018 20:31

Or put a pop up tent in her room, she would warm up her space in the tent really quickly.

Dowser · 15/12/2018 20:32

Maybe a dehumidifier as well...but a decent one Is a £100

bertielab · 15/12/2018 20:33

I will never ever go cold in a house.

This house is beyond toasty. We have log burners, underfloor heating, radiators -also plug in heaters as emergency if the energy efficient eco system ever packs up -we have three complete different sources of energy. Triple glazing etc

Plug in heaters. Electric blankets. Teasmade. Thick socks. Hot water bottles, fluffy blankets as many dogs on the bed as will fit and as many children as want to come.

Please don't leave the hamster in the cold. It could freeze to death. They are supposed to live in warm climates.

Your local council does have rules and reg on rented accommodation and heat -so it might be worth contacting them. They will come see if it 'habitable' and take measurements.

INeedNewShoes · 15/12/2018 20:36

Oil filled radiator (around £60 for a biggish one). They are cheap to run and come with a thermostat. I think they're pretty safe. In the winter I used to have mine on a timer to come on before I got home.

That teamed with a dehumidifier would make a real difference. Damp cold is hard to live with.

bookishly · 15/12/2018 20:52

PLEASE DO NOT KEEP THE HAMSTER IN THE COLD!

Sorry for the bold but it is extremely important. Don’t listen to pp saying to leave them where it’s cold and from what you’ve said, that temperature is awful for hamsters. Even if you don’t want the hamster in your room just put it in the living room or kitchen or anyway warm! They are supposed to live in warm climates. You sound lovely though and please don’t think I am trying to be confrontational but you need to think of the hamster as well. X

Youmatter · 15/12/2018 20:53

Treat it like a big fort/adventure/sleepover.

She’ll soon be laughing herself to sleep and won’t forget those moments.

(It’s one of my fondest memories, it just felt so.. family)

Gohackyourself · 15/12/2018 20:59

Just a thought .... could you not swap bedrooms? You into hers?
Adults are better able to regulate their temperature than children .
You could pile up with blankets etc?

WTFIsAGleepglorp · 15/12/2018 21:06

Please think about finding somewhere else to live.

What you are spending on heating the place is probably overtaking any cheap rent you're paying.

ForalltheSaints · 15/12/2018 21:15

If it is a temporary thing for a few nights then go for it. You should in any case be looking for somewhere else.

Original poster
RadAsHeck · 15/12/2018 21:45

Thanks for all your responses, it's been really helpful to see my situation from the outside. I'll start looking around for somewhere in the new year so we won't have to do this again. It's nuts. I think with some places there is only so much shoring up you can do before you think meh, just launch it into the sun.

bookish I wouldn't leave hammy up there! Poor tiny baby. She is in my room with DD and they both have their own hot water bottles (hammy has one under her raised cage beneath her bed). Look forward to her bouncing round her cage all night like a dervish.

OP posts:
Original poster
RadAsHeck · 15/12/2018 21:47

P.s Will see if we can swap rooms if January/February are bad - never thought to do so before because she's always snuck into my bed since she was a tot.

OP posts:
cestlavielife · 15/12/2018 22:36

Oil filled plug in radiator
Or oil free one They work on thermostat and aren't too expensive you can leave on all night

lifetothefull · 15/12/2018 23:07

My guess is that she loves it. I bet in years to come, when you have moved into a comfortable, well heated place, she will look back fondly on the times she got to snuggle up with mum to keep warm.

Maelstrop · 15/12/2018 23:44

Only one person has mentioned an electric blanket! It's the one thing I rely on in the winter. I also currently use the electric radiator my tenant had whilst they fixed his boiler last Christmas. It's incredibly effective (Dimplex).

If you landlady is being a twat, I'd just move, tbh, I couldn't be arsed to ask for stuff and for her to refuse/delay. If your tenancy hasn't run out, speak to Shelter to get correct legal advice.

Ohyesiam · 15/12/2018 23:51

How old are you
Op? I grew up in The 70s . There was ice on the inside of the windows in the mornings and we used to get dressed in bed! I never thought twice about it, never asked my friends if their houses were the same, it’s kust what winter was like,
I certainly never considered that my parents had a shit house, or that anyon should feel sorry for me.
Kids need to be loved and listened to, kept safe and fed. If you can like and trust them too, all for the better!

Don’t worry you’re doing fine.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 16/12/2018 00:05

Generations of people have grown up with no heating upstairs though. I was 8 when we had central heating put in. Before that we had a fire in the kitchen and one in the living room and that was it. Yes it was cold but we had sheets and blankets and eiderdowns and hot water bottles and in bed we were fine.

I'm not saying it is ideal, I'm not saying it's not much much nicer to have heating, but until you can manage a move she'll be fine with the right bedding.

I also lived in a student house with no heating, ice on the inside of windows, an inadequate duvet and no money to buy better bedding. That was miserable until I got it sorted.

Nacreous · 16/12/2018 00:18

My house gets down to 14 overnight, but the old house was even colder. We had/have: an electric blanket, a 15 tog feather duvet, fleece PJs, socks for wearing in bed and hot water bottles. Don't even use most at once really, but the electric blanket is a nice treat to warm the bed up. A chair solution may be a "heat pad" which is like s tiny electric blanket. I really don't think you'll need to be in the same room of its "only" getting down to twelve. I'd also wear a thermal vest to bed and tuck that in to my PJ bottoms of I was cold. Twelve is obvs v chilly but can definitely be managed with appropriate bedding. My granny gave me my 15 tog duvet though, I dread to imagine how much they cost!!