Any tips for warming up a freezing house?

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We just moved into our first house. We knew it like be cold because the survey highlighted how old and pants the windows and doors are so that’s first on our list, but while we are deciding what style to go with and getting a quote for that to be done in January, I’m looking for any tips.

I’ve got some of that thermal cling stuff which will work on a few of the doors but not all the windows due to where the fastenings are.

I’ve ordered some thermal curtains for the patio doors, bay window and internal door that leads out onto the porch.

We have a log burner so making sure we have plenty of wood.

The heating system is pretty good all the radiators Chuck out a decent amount of heat but it’s a three floor house, so with the poor insulation, hard to keep the heat in.

Am I missing anything obvious?

If its damp, a dehumidifier will make it easier to heat

It doesn’t seem to be! We are going to get one for
The conservatory which is single glazed and basically a lean to (long term plan is to knock it down and build a brick one in its place) is a little damp so I’m thinking of getting one to go in there.

If you have a fireplace Chimney balloons are very effective at keeping heat in. Just remember to remove them if you’re lighting the fire!

Curtains should make a large difference. It's quite cold where I am so me and my hottie have become quite close!

I tend to stick to the warm room for changing/drying off after washing. I guess the log burner room must be the warmest?

buy some of these!

Thick curtains will make a huge difference. I live in an old house with ancient windows, and yet it is pretty cosy. I have had to take curtains down in one room as I am painting it, and it is so much chillier without them.
Also draught excluders help.

If you’ve moved from somewhere like a warm flat it might just be a case of getting used to being on the cool side. It’s part and parcel of living in an older house. We set our heating to 21 but in reality that gets most of the rooms to about 19 and that’s about as far as we can realistically go. You do get used to it!

Draught excluders. Chimney balloons. Close doors as a matter of course. Carpeting rather than wooden floors. Close window vents.

The log burner room is pretty toasty :) it’s the living room/dining room.
We have moved from a toasty flat so I think that’s part of it - we got the house for the space, size and potential to renovate over the next five years and knew we were getting a better price due to some of the work that needed done, although apart from the windows and doors and some questionable DIY it’s in pretty good shape.

We do have some vents near the windows they’re kind of built in and not ones you can close, I was wondering if I could stuff them with newspaper or something, I will see if I can post a pic.

Those fraught excluders look good, I’m not sure they’ll work on our door frames though as they are very old so slightly raised if that makes sense. I’ll do a bit of research thanks for the suggestion!

I’ll also look up chimney balloons although we are going to be using the fire a lot I think so might not be practical.

I was wondering about insulation foil behind the radiators and think I’m going to get an electric blanket for the beds.

The middle floor does seem to warm up quickly once the heating is on, so that’s good, it’s the top floor that loses heat but we aren’t up there much at the moment, it’s become the dumping ground for all the unpacking we still have to do! 😁

Thank you for the tips!

Keep all the doors shut and just make sure the room you're sitting in is warm

You can get a little metal fan that sits on top of the log burner which blows the heat out into the room.

Lakeland do radiator fans, that also blow the heat into the room.

I got some reflective silver foil to put behind my radiators so the heat doesn't go into the walls (from screwfix). U can just wrap card board with aluminium foil.

Pull furniture away from radiators, especially a sofa!

Draft excluders on the bottom of the doors, even internal doors. Keep the doors inside closed. Rooms warm up quicker with the doors closed.

Hope that helps XX

Do B&Q still do that clear film you stick over windows with double sided tape and heat with hairdryer to get wrinkles out? Actually worked quite well for us with really draughty windows.

Log burner fans help a bit, closing doors behind you too.. ideally if you have stair doors so the 3rd floor can resemble the artic without it sucking heat up. There’s draft tape for round doors that’s cheap as hell too.. door brushes etc all are usually sold in the same bit in b&q so it turned into a one of everything for us .

Also check if you’re entitled to any help with insulation. With child benefit we got solid wall done for £200, our loft was fine and the boiler got a check up too but if any of that could’ve been done we’d have got a discount on that too. Your energy supplier might have a section on their page about it.

We just moved into our first house

How recently? It can take a couple of days just to warm the fabric of the house if it's been left unheated for a while.

Yes to a logburner fan we got one from an e bay shop for 23 pounds

Is the loft insulated? You may find you're losing a lot of heat upwards if not

Have a proper house warming party. People do warm up a house. Seal the windows with insulating tape. Seal up rooms you aren't going to use for a while. Curtains as you have recognised, but also curtains or old blankets across the doors. Do you have a letter box or cat flap? These can also cause a problem.

Insulate the attic
Cling film on inside of windows or have wooden/ glass frames made for inside of windows (secondary glazing)
Put cardboard covered in Tinfoil down the back of the radiators
Close all the doors
Draft excluders on all the doors
Lag your pipes
Put rugs down on wooden floors or over thin carpet. Even better lay new carpet with Rick underlay
Keep heating on low all the time
Good luck

Check the insulation in the attic. You may need to add to it. We recently put silicon around the window frames, inside and out, to help prevent draughts. Do you have a letter box? If so tape it up and get a post box you can attach to the outside wall instead.

Curtains and blinds make a huge difference.

Feel along window sills for draughts and seal them with a bit of silicone. Wilko do one for a couple of quid that you don't need a cartridge holder for.

Draught excluders for internal doors.

Lots of cozy blankets and layers

Tuck your curtains behind your radiators

Install thermal blinds behind the curtains

Open curtains and windows in the day when the sun shines in but close them before it gets dark

After using the oven, leave the door open (if safe with no pets or young dc) to let the heat dissipate into the room

Close internal doors where possible and use draught excluders

Just stay in in the warmest room in the evenings. No need to heat up the entire house if you're not using all of the rooms. Get a couple of warm fleece jackets for when you need to venture out into the kitchen to put the kettle on!

Don't block the vents. They're there for a reason. You need them to prevent any carbon dioxide build up from the fire.

Close any rooms you're not using. Hang curtains at the doors where you can.

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This kind of draft excluder is good, you can flip it over it it fills the gap from a slightly raised door.

Mats help to hold heat too, especially on bare floors.

Tape round the window joins (frames and openings) with that draught excluder tape. You'll need to remove it when the weather warms up and you want to open the windows but it makes a big different when it's cold.