Will it be freezing in old house?

[admylin]

We have found a flat atlast - it's a big 4 bedroom first floor flat in a large town house , very old building with really high ceilings and massive windows, but also very thick walls.
Does anyone else live in one of those houses? Windows are new and double glazed but I'm thinking it'll cost a fortune to keep it warm. Will we regret it this winter? There is new central heating (gas) but it's the size of the windows that has me worried, never had such big windows. I'll need a big ladder to just clean the top parts of them.

Get some decent curtains up, they'll make a big difference.

Yes, that will cost me a fortune too - will need all new curtains as even though I have long ones now they won't even look at the new windows!

Do they have to be made of special thermal stuff to make a difference?

velvet curtains keep our 3m high windows warm...easiest if you can make them yourself.

also, being in a block you get heat from your neighbours.

solar heating when the sun does shine in winter is massive also...

if windows are double glazed this will help.
also if you have neighbours above, below and to sides ....it's the external walls that are a bugger and not much you can do about them.

I don't think you need special thermal stuff - a quick google suggests not - but good, thick, heavy curtains are better than thin ones.

Don't suppose there are the original shutters are still there? They're brilliant!

I lived in a similar flat- which is great by the way- and we were kept reasonably warm by the neighbours. In fact, we only had windows in the bedrooms and blinds everywhere else.

Having said that I now live in an old, high- ceilinged house and it's blooming freezing and does cost a fortune to heat. Hmmph.

No neighbours to either side, hadn't thought of that. It's a big old villa with garden all around.

Will start looking at what's on offer in heavy material for curtains.

We live in a big 5 bedroom victorian house. High ceilings and really big rooms. Heating used to be a nightmare, until we had it insulated. (roof and cavity wall insulation)Now we hardly ever need the heating on in the mornings as it retains the heat from the evening before - even when it is really cold. I think we had it on about 5 morning last winter. The rest were fine.
If its insulated well you wont have a problem.

Sorry that is to say I only had 'curtains' in the bedroom and blinds everywhere else! Fortunately I had windows in every room!

Now i'm worried abit as I'm not sure if it is insulated well. When we looked round it was freezing.
Our tiny place now is so warm, I haven't needed the heating on at all yet. It also has small windows.
Next shop will be for extra fleece wear and thick socks for me and the dc I think!

lol shootfromthehip, must admit I was trying to imagine what sort of town house you lived in!

Does it have open fireplaces? Those really create a draught, and there's nothing you can do about it (except light them. )

Door curtains can be helpful too.

long history of living in large, cold houses

No fireplaces so the place must have been renovated a couple of times, the latest owners have put in new central heating in basement and new radiators.

Come to think of it, I grew up in a Victrian freezing cold house with ice on the inside of the windows in winter and no central heating and I'm OK!

LOL, I remember ice on the inside of the windows... with luck, the previous owners will have put in decent insulation at the same time as the new heating, and once you get in and get the chill off the place it'll be fine. Good luck with it all.

Thanks, the move should go smoothly as all our stuff has been packed for months and is stored in the cellar so that's one less thing to worry about! I can concentrate on finding curtains!