Insane draughts!

[TiddleTaddleTat]

So we moved into our 1930s semi a few months back, when it was warmer.
We've had a new boiler out in and new roads. Electrics rewired. The property is in process of being redecorated so we have bare original floorboards atm before we put down carpets once lining and painting is done.

The draughts are insane in the master bedroom!! I've spent hours stuffing rope and pieces of wood in the largest gaps. This has made some difference, as have the thick interlined curtains (bay window) but there is literally wind whistling up into the room and I'm freezing cold.

I wondered about insulating under the floorboards? Screwing pieces of ply on top of them? Clearly carpet will help but we are 3-4 months away from that so need something to get us through the winter!!

[TiddleTaddleTat]

New boiler put in
New rads
.::

[foxatthewindow]

I feel your pain! We are living in a 1920s house that we are refurbishing. None of the windows shut, except the ones that are painted shut. We are also just coming to the end of a rewire, and awaiting lining paper and paint!

[LittleLongDog]

There’s a stopgap thing you can buy to put in between floorboards. I did mine and it worked really well. Could you also buy a rug?

[LittleLongDog]

stopgaps.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Lqc29fl5QIVCLTtCh3pJwybEAAYASAAEgL0XPD_BwE

[loulouscandi]

We had a similar problem in our last house. We used round foam stuff which you wedge between every floor board. Took quite a while but did make much more difference that I thought it would. I think it’s called draughtex, Comes with a little roller thing to help push the stuff in.
Maybe draught excludes on external doors, just thinking then maybe as much draught won’t get into the house and push the air around as much

[Soontobe60]

Get a draught excluder for the bedroom door ( or make one! Could you afford a really really cheap carpet as a stop gap? Anything else you do will be a waste of money.
I’d go and choose your new carpet and underlay then also ask if they’ve any cheap roll ends they can throw over the underlay until you’re ready for the proper carpet. It won’t matter if the cheap carpet gets paint or mess on it, and you’ll be draught free!

[TiddleTaddleTat]

Ah thanks for all of these ideas already!

Draught excluder - good idea. I have these on other doors (made) so don't know why we don't have one on bedroom door yet.

I have already insulated front door well with brush strips and an interlined door curtain which has made loads of difference

I have the foam draughtex stuff and have used it in about 1/3 of the room, jute rope, wood bits and filler for the rest. It's just under the actual bed I haven't done, but I guess that's worth doing.

I have covered almost all the floor in cheap rag rugs and old rugs already.

As for the underlay and a cheap interim carpet, when I've spoken to carpet fitters (have got a number of quotes and chosen already) I've been told to absolutely hold off until decorating . In particular it's going to be very disruptive to need to move bed and furniture etc several times.

I feel like it's also the position of the upstairs window that must be facing some sort of directional wind. Downstairs has same large bay but with heating on happily gets to 20c. The bedroom simply cannot get above 15c at the moment.

[gonewiththerain]

I’ve got an old cottage I lined the upstairs floor with 3 mm ply
Stops draughts and carpet lays better because the floor is smooth.

[Soontobe60]

For under the bed just throw down a couple of old sheets/blankets/duvets as you won’t see it!

[TiddleTaddleTat]

I feel like I need to physically block the draughts between the floorboards (draughtex , rope etc or cover the lot in ply) as well as carpet/rug. The rugs aren't cutting it as the draughts are still coming up. I guess I could try and get some rugs with rigid backing from charity shops etc to stick under the bed. Filling between gaps in floorboards is horrible work and especially thankless when it will be covered anyway!!

[TwattingDog]

Have a look on Facebook selling and Gumtree. There's always someone giving away carpet they've lifted from their houses. We got a pristine one from a couple who had bought a house and were recarpeting.

[Rollercoaster1920]

Do you have loft insulation at all? Where is the heat going?

[TiddleTaddleTat]

Yes I understand from the EPC that we have loft insulation up to current standards. Loft is also carpeted (but not converted).

[PigletJohn]

bare floorboards are naturally draughty.

If you can be bothered, take them up and lay moineral quilt (tyhe brown stuff treated with ecose that does not shed dust and fibres)

At the least stuff it round the edges of the room, where the draughts mostly get in. This will also stop dust and dirt blowing up under the skirtings, which is what stains your carpets black.

Hoover out while you have the boards up. You will be surprised at the dirt.

Look for holes in the ceilings, for example where pipes or downlighters have been shoved in.

If you have replacement windows, pry off the trim strip that hides the gaping crevasses between the wall and the new frame.

[TiddleTaddleTat]

Is it worth putting the ply down or laying mineral wool under floorboards , or will good underlay and carpet be enough?
We're doing everything ourselves and limited for time and budget.
I guess if we lifted floorboards to lay insulation it would make my gap-filling efforts a waste of time

[PigletJohn]

I think ply is worthwhile if you are putting down vinyl flooring or "lino" otherwise the edge board and gaps will cause wear lines.

They are a nuisance when you want to take a board up e.g. for wiring or plumbing, or in a bathroom after an overflow.

Insulating under the floor is certainly worthwhile if the floor is coming up for any other reason.

If you are lucky and the floorboards run parallel with the external wall, you can take up a couple of boards next to the wall, which is usually the worst source of draughts, especially if there is the little roof of a porch or bay window against it and the builders left it gappy.

Keep your cat or hamster locked in another room.

[TiddleTaddleTat]

Hmm thanks, this is worth thinking about.
We could access under floorboards by the bay quite easily, but there's a risk they'll get damaged when taken up/put back down...
My husband thinks it's a non starter (not very DIY inclined however).

What does the insulation attach to? Does it need to be cut into strips to fit between joists?

Yes, our floorboards run parallel to the external wall. Some of the gaps are huge actually - up to 1cm. No wonder ...

[PigletJohn]

The mineral wool squashes to fit into irregular gaps so does not need precision sizing. You can cut it with a bread knife or large wallpapering scissors.

[TiddleTaddleTat]

Thanks all, we will have a go with insulating under worst bit of floor by external wall, then fill floorboard gaps, and cover with rugs and this should be enough until we get our carpets.

[TiddleTaddleTat]

Pah. Just come back to check this thread. We are only just decorating the master bedroom now and still haven't insulated under the floors , the draughts are mental.
Booked carpets in for early April and bought a thick wool underlay.
I was thinking of overboarding the floorboards still, either using 3mm hardboard (cheapest) or 6mm exterior grade ply.
We have already insulated under the bay window. There was 1930s plaster... and a big gap... then the tiled bay window. No wonder that area was freezing.