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Victorian house keep warm life hacks sought!

96 replies

slugjelly · Yesterday 21:54

Hello,
First winter in my draughty north facing mid renovation Victorian house looming. I’m already cold. What hacks do you have. Do I need small heaters? Heated blankets? Dehumidifier? There must be some way to make it better apart from hot water bottles. I have central heating, but need to seriously supplement it.
Yours freezingly,
slugjelly

OP posts:
rosagarten · Yesterday 23:00

slugjelly · Yesterday 22:44

Right. So next question is how can I quickly get curtains sorted on a bit of a budget (not too badly but you know what I mean)? There are no existing rails as the previous man had little hook things screwed right into the sash frames.

Edited

Most of my sash windows just have a curtain rail screwed into the sash frame. So if you went into a DIY store tomorrow and purchased a Swish style curtain rail (something fairly light) you just attach it to the sash casing using a screw drive is usually fine (i.e. you don't actually drill the holes). It depends how high your ceilings are - my windows either have roman blinds or a swish curtain rail and curtains fitted directly to the sash box, not fitted to the wall. You just extend the end of the curtain rail 15cm - 20cm each side. My curtains are lined with just regular lining fabric, you might need to put a bit of wood up to properly fix the rail to if you had really padded posh curtains which would keep the heat in but are expensive. You could also consider thermal lined roman blinds?

The least expensive way of getting curtains is either to buy them ready made or make them yourself. You could probably get ready made curtains altered if you needed them to be. I used to know a second hand curtain place so maybe they still exist. Getting curtains made is an expensive business - roman blinds use less fabric but are pretty expensive to get made too.

IndigoBabble · Yesterday 23:01

slugjelly · Yesterday 22:26

I would have got a wood burner but I heard it is bad for asthma, which my daughter has.

We had a house with 2 wood burners in when my daughter was younger - didn’t effect her asthma and they were a fantastic source of much needed heat!

KatiePricesKnickers · Yesterday 23:01

You sanded the floors so you are wanting the floorboard look, not carpets.
As per a PP, you will need to take them up and insulate between the joists.
In the winter, I end up using wide cello tape to tape round all the windows to stop the drafts.

Tortephant · Yesterday 23:03

Moveoverdarlin · Yesterday 22:59

No they’re not. Every house has to have an EPC whether it’s a 200 year old dilapidated miners cottage or a swanky harbour-side penthouse.

They have one at the moment although this is currently being reviewed, BUT they are of zero value as they aren’t designed for such properties. Its a tick box requirement and nothing more.

PigletJohn · Yesterday 23:03

Easy and cheap, with the best payback because it cuts heat loss so much, is mineral wool loft insulation. I will only use the soft variety treated with Ecose, which is brown and des not shed irritant dust and fibres. It is actually made by Knauf, but widely sold as an own-brand. It will be badged "Ecose" on the wrapper.

If there is old yellow fibreglass in the house, I would seriously put on goggles, gloves, a mask and overalls, and strip it out into bin bags which I would lower carefully onto an old blanket under the loft hatch. I would use a builders canister vac to clean out the dust in the loft, and I would take off my overalls and PPE standing on the blanket and bag them up for laundering before going into the bathroom for a thorough shower or bath, including hair wash. It is that bad.

Next, full length insulated curtains on every window, and on Portiere Rods over the doors (this is a cunning design that lifts them when you open the door so they don't drag on the floor).

Block all disused fireplaces, leaving a brick-sized ventilation hole to prevent damp from internal condensation ( yes, it is a thing)

You might not be able to afford good curtains yet, but if you have just moved in, fit good curtain rails throughout, screwed to the wall in a way that I can explain in DIY, before you decorate. Look up standard sizes for ready-made curtains to decide the height. Even a horrid cheap curtain, or sheet of decorators polythene dustsheeting, will cut heat loss.

Do not put radiators under windows. Heat loss due to thermal gradient is enormous with old windows, and worse still if the radiator is under them.

If you have to use electric heaters, fan heaters give a quick burst, but are expensive to run. I recommend oil-filled radiators, which give a slow, even heat and can be low power, or turned down, to keep a bedroom tolerable and dry even on a cold night. Better still, they get no hotter than a teapot, and will not start a fire or scorch a jumper or newspaper you accidentally drop on them. Fan heaters, and especially exposed element electric fires, are very much more dangerous on this regard.

Do not buy miniature heaters that fit on a socket and are advertised on the 'net. They are not safety approved and are very dangerous.

Finally...
All electric heaters are equally efficient. They all turn 1kWh of electrical energy into 1kWh of heat energy. Do not be misled by adverts that try to make you think a magical expensive heater will give you more heat for less money. It is a physical impossibility, like trying to pour two pints of milk out of a one-pint jug.

Tortephant · Yesterday 23:05

slugjelly · Yesterday 22:44

Right. So next question is how can I quickly get curtains sorted on a bit of a budget (not too badly but you know what I mean)? There are no existing rails as the previous man had little hook things screwed right into the sash frames.

Edited

Your best spend is a cheap and quick spend. Magnetic secondary glazing. You can make your own if you want the totally budget option, buy Perspex and cut it to size, use magnetic tape on the frames.

this will make more difference than anything else you can do.

OrangeFlower14 · Yesterday 23:11

Tortephant · Yesterday 23:05

Your best spend is a cheap and quick spend. Magnetic secondary glazing. You can make your own if you want the totally budget option, buy Perspex and cut it to size, use magnetic tape on the frames.

this will make more difference than anything else you can do.

Didn’t know this stuff existed it would’ve been really handy

chillibuns · Yesterday 23:12

I have a heated gilet, it’s great in the winter.

EleanorMc67 · Yesterday 23:27

Get big wool rugs for the centre of each room - old ones from Marketplace or antique warehouses etc, or new ones.

Thick lined old velvet curtains - also often on Marketplace!

Someone else said sheepskin slippers. I also recommend Christie microvelour & towelling dressing gowns, which are so cosy in the evenings - they're fab! I think the men's & women's are the same. Get them oversized so that they're a bit longer.

www.christy.co.uk/products/cosy-mens-robe

EleanorMc67 · Yesterday 23:31

Oh, & get curtains long enough to puddle on the floor slightly. That will help reduce draughts from windows too.

MrsMoastyToasty · Yesterday 23:36

You can get thermal underlay for under carpets. I have it in my office/spare room which is built over our garage.

Some black out blinds are thermal too.

PigletJohn · Yesterday 23:47

For your curtain rails in a Victorian house, there might be a shallow brick arch, or a hidden wooden lintel, above the window. In rare cases, and larger, expensive houses, there may be a window made of real or concrete, or Coade stone, including lintels.

In most cases you will be drilling into raggedy old bricks of variable quality, set in crumbly lime mortar. Do not try to use a screw driven into the plaster, it must go into the brickwork.

Here is one of my many previous posts about screwing.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/3941114-DiY-help-please-curtain-pole?reply=97570370

HappyNooYear · Yesterday 23:54

Ikea cotton velvet curtains. And the track that you can attach to the ceiling. The curtains are really long so they should cover the whole window top to floor. You could also double it up with a cheaper insulating curtain layer.

rugs!

sheepskin slipper boots (basically uggs)

in bed electric blanket. On bed and on sofa heated blanket.

mugs of hot chocolate.

cashmere anything.

good luck. Lived in 1 and by god it was cold.

HappyNooYear · Yesterday 23:55

If the windows have shutters then get them working and use them

PigletJohn · Yesterday 23:59

Agree with the electric blanket. Costs pennies to run, gives you a comfortable nights sleep, and can be used to prevent unhealthy damp bedding.

You might need a small oil-filled radiator at night as well, if you have chest complaints. I have an 800W one, turned low, in tbe bedroom, that is used if the house gets cold at night.

HappyNooYear · Today 00:00

If you have functional chimneys then get an Esse wood burning stove. They scrub out the max possible particles.
but you will need a chimney sweep first to make sure it’s not clogged with soot.

and a wee spinny fan thing that directs the heat outwards into the room.

get your teens cashmere wrist warmers so they can do homework. I’ll never forget my fingers being chilled to the bone and trying to write an essay.

chattyness · Today 00:03

Line your wooden floors with plywood before adding underlay and carpets

CallMeFran · Today 00:25

I was told new log burners are ok even for people with asthma. Might be worth checking with a professional as that would make a huge difference.
curtain rails can be bought very cheaply and try fb marketplace if you can’t afford your chosen style of curtains just yet. Curtains at the front door always makes a vast difference in our house.

OriginalUsername2 · Today 00:25

I used to live in one. I remember we stuffed twisted kitchen roll around the edges of the sash windows and there was a noticeable improvement - there’s probably a product you can pay for to do the same thing but we couldn’t afford much.

If you can, definitely get extra heaters rather than relying on blankets and hot water bottles because the air in the rooms can get so cold you see your breath and your face feels icy.

stormsurfer · Today 00:26

I have asthma and have found the wood burner much better for it than damp cold draughty living space. Might be worth researching types of burner?

PinkViola · Today 00:40

I wear a t shirt with a fleece over it with a fake oodie over that in the depths of winter

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