There are bits I missed out, - the floor was cold as there was a cellar beneath which the previous owners had used to store junk. We had it cleared by our local scrap metal man who was delignted with most of the junk he could use or sell then he and his mate boarded the ceiling, a difficult task but worthwhile, keeping the cold and Victorian dust in its place.
We bought a (cleaned) blanket from the dry cleaners sale of uncollected items, (4£) pinned and glued it against the door frame with a slit cut out for the mail.
We then didn’t use the front door, whether entering or to random callers, letting
in a howling gale with poor heating recovery, sure the fire service would not approve,
but in case of emergency we could rip open the door.
We hung the heavy curtain against the wall so there was a gap, with about a foot of it on the carpet, which absorbed the cold,
In spring it came down, no damp mould, nasty smell, aired on the sturdy line.
We advised friends and family to walk round the side of the house or we drove around to park and into the back garden gate, into the house through the (extended) utility room and kitchen, which was great bringing in food shopping but then into the middle part of the house to access the under stairs cupboard for coats boots etc.
We also had at what I thought was huge expense, after the first cold winter, a bi fold
glass porch door, as the fromt door was indented, so that packages and parcels could be left, fine in the summer but meant we either picked them up on the way home or walked around the house to fetch them in winter.
If anyone is still reading they will possibly be rolling their eyes thinking what a palarva.
Well this is what its like when you buy a handsome Victorian house which has been run down for decades, the struggle to keep warm, spending weekends diy ing, evenings after work rubbing down filling in, painting, etc., through spring and summer rewire, new bathroom, (mega expensive) boiler and radiators replaced to be shivering in winter and why, after seven years, after bringing it back to life, in
spring sunshine with all windows open, front door opened, daffodills in every room,
sold in two days to a delighted young couple to enable a move into a home almost hermetically sealed.
(plain, modern, chic, characterless, warm)
The next Christmas we had an ecard from said couple with pictures of them not
in jolly Christmas jumpers but t shirts, sitting in front of a red glowing woodburner
How happy we were for them.
@Miriamfriend you will be fine, insulation is the key, narrow pine floor boards
look good in photos in style magazines, the reality benefits from sealing and covering,
also we discovered, heavy duty lining paper on the walls, makes an astonishing difference to acoustics, warmth, tiny cracks inevitable in an old house, then we glied cork on the north short window wall, also stuck translucent film on the lower windows which had a (slight) warming effect
importantly, also run a de humidifier overnight, another source of amazement,
damp air takes longer to heat - there are videos about this on YT - tackle draughts, have heavy curtains lolling on the floor.
We have been in homes where door curtains are 4 inches above the floor -
what is the point of this when cold air is heavier than warm and your curtains are swaying in the draught?
Toolstation and or Screwfix are excellent sources of tools, draught excluder,
advice and information, the assistants in stores mega helpful,
you can request catalogues or look online if you havn’t already, its serious stuff,
where we bought our small neat Midea dehumidifier, empty frequently.
Once the walls are warmed through thoroughly they will hold the heat.
You could keep us posted, have a blog ?!