How to make my house warmer?

[Sausagefingers9]

Does anyone have any tips? Upstairs is always lovely and cosy but our downstairs is freeeeezing. It’s all laminate downstairs and carpet up.

I can feel a breeze through the cupboards on windy days though. And all along the extension wall, there is a draft coming in along the floor.
How can I improve the heat?

Wall cavity insulation maybe? We had that done in our previous draughty Victorian house. Sometimes you can get it completely free depending on your income/benefits etc. Our 3 bed semi cost about £250 to have done, really made a difference.

Balance radiators so downstairs gets more heat. Hot air rises. Possibly raise boiler temperature for radiators.

Draft proof windows and doors. Also skirting board gaps and floor board gaps if bare floor.

Fit carpet. Buy new doors and windows. Ensure render on exterior walls is good.

Will look in to cavity insulation.

We do have a radiator in the living room that will only get to luke warm, I think that makes a big difference. Tried all sorts but it just won’t heat

Get your boiler checked out and radiators bled if the radiator wont heat up.

Yy to cavity wall and roof insulation.

Carpet your ground floor. Or lots of rugs

Watching this with interest OP. Same boat here, just spent thousands on new doors and windows. Going to look into cavity insulation too. I just cant continue using 500lt oil a month!!

I’ve bled it and still won’t heat like the others. It’s very frustrating!

I’ve just gone round putting tinfoil wrapped cardboard down the back of the radiators, will see if it makes much difference.

What is under your laminate floor? When we moved into our house the living room had laminate laid straight onto floorboards and it was freezing. We took it up, put hardboard over the floorboards to stop draughts, then carpeted, and it's a lot better now.

You could also look at the skirting boards to see if there are any gaps where draughts can come through or doors to places like understairs cupboards that might not be well insulated. You could put clear sealant along the top and bottom of the skirting boards if there seems to be a draught from behind.

You could also try thermal linings for your curtains.

We had a radiator that wouldn't heat up. There were two problems - the system wasn't balanced properly and it was full of crud. We had it replaced when we had a new boiler. That was in our sitting room too. Much better now.

How are your windows OP? I've heard bubble wrap put over them can seal in the heat. Might look a bit off but at least you'll be warm and may save on some gas! I've also been struggling with radiator issues and have also posted on Mumsnet lol. It's supposed to snow tomorrow too! Got to be warm. A really hot bath never fails to warm me through too. Blow drying hair after a shower or bath in ANY room heats it's up beautifully too. Draft excluders are cheap on eBay and held with laminated floored room doors. Keeping curtains closed helps trap heat. If I remember any more I'll let you know OP.

Have you had your radiator that won';t heat up flushed? Usually the top edge gets hot the rest is cold as the middle is full of crud.

Get your plumber to power flush the radiators. Consider fitting thermostat valves to each radiator so you can turn the downstairs ones up and the upstairs ones down.
Fit thermal insulation boarding under your laminate - even 6mm thickness will make a big difference. Seal gaps round skirting etc.
Cavity wall insulation can be a bad idea if your wall faces into the prevailing wind and rain. The insulation breaches the damp proof layer and can transmit damp through to your internal wall. Having the air gap in there keeps it ventilated and prevents this.
More expensive options are double or triple glazing on all windows and a new boiler - it will help, and you will save a few hundred a year in gas bills, but have to spend thousands to achieve it.
Cheaper tips include draft excluders on doors and draft proofing the letterbox, plus getting some good thick winter jumpers or snuggle blankets.

"I’ve bled it and still won’t heat like the others"

Turn the hot ones down or off. All of them.

Do the cold ones now heat up?

A radiator that needs bleeding will be cold at the top (because there is air there, not hot water) and hot at the bottom. If that is not the case it doesn't need bleeding.

We had someone out to clean it, we’ve turned all other radiators down and it still won’t heat. It’s an even heat all over, just not at all hot.

Thanks for all the tips!

Turn all the others off, then. If it is getting warm all over it is not blocked.