Winterizing the home.

[Woody girl]

What do you do to prepare the home for winter, apart from prepping for power cuts, and getting in logs?
I have been putting bubble wrap on the back door glass (yep, I know it's plastic, but it is recycled each year)
The draught excluders, and heavier winter curtains have been put in place. I have a couple of radiators that needed some reflective backing, but I have non left, so decided to make my own cheaper recycled version.
I've cut cardboard to fit behind the radiator and glued crisp packets that I've cut open and washed to remove any greasyness to the cardboard. Covering the packet joins with silver aluminium tape. Slip behind the radiator and there you have a nice reflective surface to radiate warmth back into the room, all made from stuff you'd normaly throw away.
My draught excluders are made from old denim Jean legs, and stuffed with whatever I could find, , old cushions or pillow innards are ideal.
I also put extra rugs on the floor. Especially in places where I might be sat with feet on the floor.
Wool throws on the back of chairs and sofa to wrap chilly legs in, or pop round the shoulders.
Any other bright ideas?

 

[Chris]

If you’d like to borrow my Labrador for a few hours you can have about 3” of fur insulation on every surface of your house.

 

[Herman30]

I've cut cardboard ... you have a nice reflective surface to radiate warmth back into the room.

And the cardboard also acts as insulation (even if you didn´t make it reflective) so less of the heat goes into the wall behind radiator.

 

[Woody girl]

If you’d like to borrow my Labrador for a few hours you can have about 3” of fur insulation on every surface of your house.

I'd love to, but you might not ever get your furbaby back again!
Samoyeds are even better, they make brilliant hot water bottles,and you can get a new wool jumper each year if you save the fluff up!

 

[TLM]

One would want to heat up the walls also, any cold surface in the room has the effect of cooling it down.

It sound like your house is in need of some thermal pics revealing where the heat leeks out or/and cold air comes in.

 

[Pattree]

My wife used to have a soft furnishings business and makes curtains. We don’t change them, but they are blackout and insulating.
Now retired, she makes quilts. Every chair has a quilted throw and the sofa has three.

My role? - well, I bleed the radiators when I switch the central heating on and the immersion heating off.
Then I check over my camp kit and look forward to the longer nights under the stars. OK so I’ll probably sleep under the clouds.

 

[Woody girl]

One would want to heat up the walls also, any cold surface in the room has the effect of cooling it down.

It sound like your house is in need of some thermal pics revealing where the heat leeks out or/and cold air comes in.

It's not too bad
Lots of loft insulation, fairly new double glazing all round, and front door, but the back door is still the old wooden one with glass pannels. I can feel the difference in temp coming off even the new front door glass, so I bubble wrap them and the toilet and bathroom windows for that little bit of extra warmth retention. It's 17° in the house with no heating yet activated.
10° outside at midday, lower temps tonight, but the house will stay constant, slowly cooling untill I put the heating on ,Oct 1st. Then it will warm up ,with a couple of good solid fuel fires in the eves to boost when needed.
Good warm wooly jumper and socks keep me cosy meanwhile.

 

[Tengu]

I found my Hottie today.

Mostly it will be going round turning the heating off after my Father leaves it on and I am baked.

 

[Herman30]

It's not too bad
It's 17° in the house with no heating yet activated.
10° outside at midday.

I concur, that´s not bad. I have experienced equal temperatures inside wintertime.
My girlfriend lived in an apartment with electrical radiators and expensive electric, she paid about 100 euro per month for elecricity. So she kept temperature low to save money; about 17-18C in living room and 14-15C in bedroom. Quite OK when you get used.

Too many finnish people have 25C or above in the wintertime.

 

[Falstaff]

My house has just dropped to 16 deg C, I try to keep it at 18 thru winter but the thermoset is disconnected so that I can finish plastering the pantry.
Please make sure you have left adequate ventilation for air into the room where you have a stove or fire. We had one install where there was a serious incident and a hurt baby, because the young mum put those sausage excluders over the gaps under the doors, and blocked all air supplies. Yes it creates a draft, but keeps you alive!
Get the chimney swept before you start burning stuff! Old soot build up and birds nest attempts make for great chimney fires.
Don't leave it as Sweeps are getting booked up now. Check the carbon monoxide alarm works and is in the right place, not stuck in a corner or low down.

I've cleaned my upvc windows and now need to silicon lube the cantilever hinge mechanisms so that they close and seal properly. Tape up the gaps on the ones where the frame has dropped. Replace the glass in the door that I broke when I locked myself out. duh. Check my funds to upgrade and/or flush and drain the radiators that are old and have cold spots.

Check the tank & pipe lagging, outside tap etc. and that the stopcock works and is easily accessible, before, I/you get a leak/frozen pipe. Crumpled paper in a plastic bag over the outside tap works for me.
Wrap the beehives up with insulation to help them get thru' winter. I use cylinder tank insulation inside black plastic rubble sacks tied around the hive. Final cut of the grass then drain the mower carburettor and tank. Make sure my seeds are all in tins so that the mice don't get them.
Get the wraps onto the sofa and the old sleeping bag that I sit in on the sofa to watch telly. Check the hottie isn't perished! (like last time...)
See if I've got antifreeze in the van radiator, no idea..
Get the big sleeping bag down for winter camping, I was pretty cold last night sleeping in my van in Yorkshire.

 

[Paul_B]

We had a new heating system put in about 12.5 months ago so we had the annual service and safety check to ensure the guarantee is still valid. Only a £100 and they fixed a few minor things like a leaking radiator under the 12 month installation guarantee. With getting the heating put in just before the cold weather comes we were lucky. Plus the company that put it in is run by a youngish guy (unusual for plumbers to be under 50 round here) who is keen to grow the business and keep customers. That means they have an alert on their systems and call us to arrange a service. Just as well because we might not exactly remember.

Other than that our house is always set up the same. It is pretty good for being draught free or low draught, We added insulation where we could a few years ago now along with radiator reflector/insulation behind them. We have warm curtains anyway as they are thermal and blackout. We have our windows and outside doors mostly shut now because it is not warm enough to leave them open. We do open a few windows when needed even now in the colder months.

I do not see there is much more to do. Everything left for us to do is too expensive for us to afford and besides we're on a 2 year countdown towards moving house.

Things like door sausage dogs are no use as our outside doors are draught excluded and we leave our inner doors mostly open anyway. A dog that likes free access and a son who does too means doors never close unless being slammed by an angry/upset 11 yo!!