Simple steps for a warmer home
l Fit brush draught excluders around, or at least along the bottom of, your home’s external doors/doorframes to keep cold air out and heat in - simply cut them to size and screw them in place. These can also be fitted to interior doors, although you may prefer to add a piece of wood along the bottom of the door if there’s a large gap, providing you can blend it in with the rest of the door.
l Don’t forget to fit brush draught excluders or a letterbox cover to the back of the letterbox to keep out draughts and also make the back look neater. Even keyholes should be draught-proofed, especially on exterior doors. You can get escutcheons with covers in all shapes and sizes, and they just screw in place over the keyhole.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Adl Single glazing is rarely sufficient to keep your home warm and draught free, but if you can’t afford or don’t want double glazing, you can get various DIY secondary-glazing options. Probably the cheapest and easiest to fit is clear plastic film, which you can buy online or from DIY stores. It tightens over the windowpane when heated with a hairdryer to form a sort of secondary glazing. If you live in a listed building or a conservation area, you’ll be restricted about what you can do with your windows, so this could be a good option.
l Another inexpensive measure is weatherstripping or self-adhesive foam/brush tape, which makes windows and doors less draughty. It’s relatively easy to fit and is especially useful for period windows and doors, which tend to let in draughts.
l One of the draughtiest types of flooring is exposed period floorboards. The best solution is to take up the boards (an ambitious job for a DIYer) or get underneath them (if, for example, you have a cellar below) to lay insulation. An easier solution is to fill the gaps between the boards. You can use a number of materials for this, including thin strips of cork or wood, sawdust mixed with glue, and flexible filler.*