To close off the front room for winter?

[Bemyclementine]

My house is an end terrace, old, cold, draughty, solid walled. I am already struggling financially. Oil C/H. Typical terrace layout.

The doors and windows are terribly draughty.

The rooms are quite big, abd the middle room can easily be a living/dining room. The only issue is the tiled floor which is FREEZING on your feet but I have a good rug covering most of the floor.

If I use the back door, we needn't go in the front room or hallway at all.

Anyone else thinking of something like this?

We do this every winter. We turn off the radiators in our front room and one of the bedrooms upstairs that isn't used. We have a conservatory too that's freezing in winter so we barely go in there from December - March.

Yes you could do that, but keep an eye out for mould forming.

I was going to say this. Unfortunately you may need to heat the room.

I'm hoping i coukd maybe just have the hallway and front room radiators on a low setting. We don't seem to have a mould/damp issue, maybe because the house is so well ventilated!

It's kind of the way that we used to live in the winter - thick curtains, rugs, draft excluders and heat one or two rooms instead of the whole house. My mother still lives like this.

Use draught excluders on your windows, even if it’s those snake things on the windowsills or towels half way up a sash window. Stop whatever heat you are paying for leaking out, and only heat what you need (hot air rises etc). This is reasonable whatever your financial circumstances.

*draft x2 😳

I've done it myself before. Was living in a one bedroom rented flat, single glazing (some panes cracked) with NO heating supplied.

I bought a calor gas heater and was lent an oil filled plug-in radiator.

I lived there for over 20 years. In really cold spells I moved the calor heater and the radiator into the bedroom and set it up as a bedsit. Dived into the freezing cold kitchen to cook food to the back to bedroom to eat

The really cold spells only lasted a week or so. Not comfortable, but definitely not life threatening.

This is a temporary bump in the road. It may lead to lasting change because of excessive fuel consumption, which is good for the planet we inhabit.

Humans are very resilient, generally. Of course, there will be casualties- always have been, always will be.

I will look into draft exudes, I'm not sure hiw I can make it work though. The windows and doors are UPVC doubke glazed, but old, and the draft comes in around the openings of that makes sense . I think the doors are the worst.

So sad we have to do this.

I was doing ok this time last year. Now my wage only increased £100 a month and my mortgage alone doubled. No idea how I’ll cope in a few months.

@BMW6 the ony trouble for me is that I am already at the limit of my finances. I use the heating much ess than anyone else I know. No shower, dont use tumble dryer or dishwasher. Electric was £38 gone up to £63. Oil has doubled. I can't limit usage any more than I am already.

Just heat one room
Thick curtains and draught excluders. Hot water bottles in bed
That what we did before central heating became a thing

www.mumsnet.com/talk/ninety_days_only/4620110-idea-for-making-energy-price-raises-irrelevant?reply=119533523

It may just need adjusting so it fits snugly again. There are you tube videos on how to do this

Shouldnt need to heat it, but leave the vents on the wall/window open to let a little bit of air through. They won't be using the room so there shouldn't be much moisture in the air.

@Itsnotthesameasitwas wow I will be trying that tomorrow! Thank you!

My house is the same OP. I plan to heat and use the front room only though, as the middle room will benefit from 'borrowed heat' from the kitchen, and is protected by its position, so less likely to get damp if unheated that the front room.

I voted YABU because I think if you do this, the fabric of the room will get very cold and this could make the rest of the house colder (similar to how a bedroom over a garage is always colder). If you can’t afford to heat it I’d just turn off the radiator but leave the door open and continue to use it because your body heat warms it to some extent. Use it as a home gym?!

No. Keeping half the house cold is false economy. The other half will be harder to heat/use more energy, and as a few pps said, you will get the rooms going damp. Poor idea!!! Keep the whole house at a lowish temperature, and open the doors throughout the house so the warmth can get through and be even all over.