Draughty House
I have an Old Victorian cottage that is very draughty, I recently had new double glazed front & back doors fitted. I know draughts come down the chimnies, which I don't use but not sure how to draught exclude them.
I'm pretty miffed that , standing by the new back door, I felt a draught coming in the side that the door handle is on. I know it is extremely windy here, bur surely the door should fit well enough not to allow in any draughts?
I'm pretty miffed that , standing by the new back door, I felt a draught coming in the side that the door handle is on. I know it is extremely windy here, bur surely the door should fit well enough not to allow in any draughts?
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Comments
I should get on to the people who fitted your double glazing.....
yes I do.
I agree with Cosin that you should be contacting the dg company, telling them to come round and get rid of the draught from the new door and any other problems you might have noticed from checking everything after it was installed. It's common for the householder to find small problems after a short time, so they will be used to this. Also have you got a written guarantee from them, 5 or 10 years, and if not get one and carefully read the terms and conditions.
In the case of your chimneys draughts, if you don't use the fires any more you could cap the chimney pots on the roof and then block the flues (see next para).
If you use them but only occaisonally then you could either buy chimney balloons or chimney draught excluders and stuff them up the flues (the balloons have a valve to regulate the amount of air inside).
A cheaper way would be to stuff an old pillow or sack full of straw etc. up the flue instead of the balloon. If condensation is a problem either don't stop the airflow completely or have air bricks put in.
In the rented flat I was in before I moved I used clingfilm and that brown adhesive packing tape stretched tight to seal the fireplaces, as the landlord was too mean to cap the pots and hadn't blocked the flues properly. Doesn't look very pretty though so maybe give that a miss in your no doubt beautiful cottage interior.
Chimney balloons and chimney draught excluders: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_st?keywords=chimney+balloon&qid=1419216121&rh=n%3A11052681%2Ck%3Achimney+balloon&sort=popularity-rank
If you've just had stuff fitted and its letting in drafts then get back onto them to fix it, with our house it was a process of slowly looking at the worst draft and fixing that then when the missus was happy onto the next, curtains against the doors, snakes at the bottom of the doors and if the wind really blows and you have a garden plant something to sort of buffer the wind to slow it down
You could have the chimneys and the fireplaces removed but its a complicated structural job and could require a lot of money and planning permission and a lot of people are starting to restore properties to their original state so it may not be as attractive when selling on
Lol. I'll be blocking my keyhole presently
That might sound funny but from that link above ...
After having the two double glazed doors fitted, I was glad to say goodbye to door curtians, door draught excluder strips and plugging up the keyhole (amazing how much cold air used to come through the keyhole)
They are feature fireplaces, capable of being used, but doubt I ever will, and won't take them down.
I have never heard of chimney balloons before and explored that link on Amazon. But because there are draughts in places other than the chimnies, I think I am going to have a word with the builders who worked alongside the door installers, who did other work for me. I have thought for years about fitting a piece of pegboard in the chimney, As I realise that there must be some airflow, but think my DIY days are over, and would rather get someone in to do a proper job.
Don't worry about air-bricks, in 40 odd years in the trade I've never found them necessary if chimneys are capped properly.
Interesting. I was convinced the draughts must be due to the open chimneys. I feel draught around my feet, i was convinced the new doors would end that, but the house is still draughty.
Put some cling film over the fireplace so its secure and see if theres any difference, but generally i'd of said it would be the chimney pulling the air up the chimney, you can get things that will produce loads of smoke so see how they actually move in the house
Air will always be drawn up an open chimney. It'll find its way into the house any which way it can.
Where there is an open fire, you'll also usually find hidden intake vents for the fire - otherwise you'd die of carbon monoxide poisoning.
We fitted a couple of multifuel stoves and the difference is remarkable. Even when they are unlit and it is blowing a Gale outside the house feels much warmer as there is no draught whistling round your ankles and ears.😊
Block the flue but leave a marker, even just a piece of string hanging down from the throat of*the flue with a tag saying "Flue Blocked"
I went to a house years ago where somebody staying in a friend's house over Christmas while they were away, lit a fire in the grate unaware that the owner had blocked it at the pot.:o