FGS we have bought a really cold house...<sob>

[OhGiveUsAPruniPudding]

Victorian
Sash windows
Upstairs is in the eaves
Totally predictable, I know

I am so miserable when am cold
What can we do to keep warm? It's only December, I think if I have to go through another 3 months of this I will cry.

Any tips at all, apart from replacing the windows which is out because a) we can't afford to and b) DH won't - "I like the stripped wood" (I am working on this because he's being a twat about it).

hear him say, not here...

put masking tape around windows to keep draughts out, get that foamy tape for around the doors to keep heat in one room, use draught excluders under doors and keep moving ha ha, I grew up in massive draughty house constantly wearing a fleece indoors all winter, and big slippers!

I need to get a plumber out to have a look at my central heating. The radiator int he spare room/study isn't working and the towel radiators in DD's and the DSs' bathroom are also cold.

Have you tried 'Warm Front' to see if you are eligable for an insulating grant?
Aga/Rayburn, got one, 1st time and love it.

Yep - slippers really help. I was brought up in a cold old house with no central heating and instead of making me hardy it's just made me really soft. Have you got stripped wood floors? We stripped all our floors in the summer we moved in and then really regretted it the first winter - no insulation means the floor is always freezing, even with the heating on all the time. We were always greeted with a blast of icy air every time we went into the sitting room, despite massive gas bills and huge radiators. We've since moved and have gone for insulation plus underfloor heating with wood flooring over the top in our new house ( also Victorian), but if we'd stayed I think an insulating underlay and carpet or a wood floor over the top would have made a big difference. Not cheap or quick to do though. Those oil filled rads you can get from Argos for about £25 are great - we always had one plugged in in the kitchen and it made a real difference.

Fit the draught excluder tape around doors.

DP also puts newspaper in the air vents - loosely screwed up. So still get air flow, but not as draughty. Check pipes going from inside to outside - make sure all gaps are closed around them.

Welcome to our world!

Lovely, but the front faces a seawater loch and the back butts up to a ben, a heavily forested one.

The kitchen has an old coal shed off it and it is so cold, we don't need to run the fridge at all.

We keep the heat on all the time at a low level and crank it up a few hours a day.

The home has secondary glazing, but I still air each room out even for five-ten minutes a day because condensation builds up between the sash windows and the glazing.

Close all doors! Keep the heat in.

my house is freezing too..but the downstairs is all open plan to cant be helped really..upstairs is nice and warm

check your loft insulation
make sure your windows are tightly closed
thick curtains as Wotz said
draft excluders on all the doors
check your radiators are working fully - they might need bleeding
fit those thermostat things on your radiators and turn them down/off in the rooms you don't often use, so you can justify heating the rooms you do use twice as much
get a feather duvet and lots of lovely jumpers and socks, and learn to love snuggling!

oh, and close doors. Otherwise if you have chimneys it creates a draft and all the hot air swoops up the chimney, and if your house is on several levels the heat rises to the top of the house and escapes out of the roof.

Nobody clicked my link, did they?

Pruni, our old house was often cold - the boiler was temperamental. Keep door shut, use draught excluders and don't be shy about keeping a duvet somewhere near the sofa

I clicked on your link hunker. It is indeed very sweater-y.

Your DH is right about the windows - don't replace them unless you can afford wooden sash replacements. Anything else is naff naff naff. Do you have an open fire? At least if one room is warm you can be in there as much as possible. An advantage to not having warm bedrooms is at least the kids won't want to shut themselves away for hours, so you'll end up having more family time. Electric blankets are a good idea too - if your bed is toasty, then a cooler bedroom doesnt matter.

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absolutely no cling film either - it belongs in the kitchen drawer not on your windows. I love my duvet iCod - it isnt a punishment snuggling under it! Having to look at plastic windows in a lovely Victorian house would be more of a punishment for me!

I can so sympathise with you. I have just come back come back from Christmas with my inlaws, and their house is freezing. Not because it is old or badly insulated, but because they believe in only heating a room that someone is actually sitting in. This means that the heaters in the bedroom are turned down until just before bedtime. The hour or so is just not enough to warm the room up though.

D'you know when the house is so cold you feel the cold coming off the walls. Standing a foot away from the walls and you can still feel it.

I bought myself lots of thermal vests (and would have bought longjohns too if I thought they would have fit under my jeans) kept the hot water bottle filled up (and they do not even have a kettle) and put an extra blanket on top of the duvet.

At home it is warm but I still need a blanket on the couch. I always have at least 2 blankets/throws around the place and love to snuggle up with the DCs to watch a film. And lashings of hot chocolate.

Change your wardrobe - the aristocracy don't just wear pure wool, tweed and cord for it's length of service you know.

And a small electric heater in your bedroom that gets switched on at 6pm will also make a difference.

My parents have a big old draughty house which has been freezing for the 10 years since they moved in. Last year they had someone other than the usual guy service the boiler and suddenly the heating actually heats the house and you can bear to sit in the sitting room. They also bought thick curtains for the front and back doors and they make a huge difference. Apparently replacing open fires with wood burning stoves helps heat rooms more effectively too.