You shuffle from rug to rug, bump the thermostat a notch, and watch the metre spin a little faster while the chill never quite leaves. We’ve all had that moment when the thermostat says 20°C but your toes tell another story. I still remember the night the hallway stopped biting my ankles. The fix was hiding in plain sight.
Keep the heat you already paid for
Before buying gadgets or cranking boilers, the biggest win is stopping warm air from leaking into the night. A house sheds heat through small gaps, thin glass, and bare floors, and the feeling is more about moving air than a number on a dial. Stand still in a quiet room and you can hear it: the rustle around a keyhole, the hiss beneath a door, the flinch of a curtain lifting at the edges.
My neighbour Sarah thought her boiler was failing; it wasn’t. We taped a thin ribbon to her letterbox, watched it flutter like a flag in a storm, added a brush seal and a weighted flap, then stuffed a temporary chimney balloon while the fireplace was off. Three days later, her living room warmed at lower settings, and her smart metre showed less guilt with every cuppa; the Energy Saving Trust reckons simple draught-proofing can save a typical home a tidy sum each year. Heat you don’t lose is heat you don’t have to pay for.
Heat moves in three ways: it’s carried by air, it passes through materials, and it radiates from hot surfaces. The DIY game is to slow each path a little: seal moving air, add insulating layers, reflect radiant heat back into the room. Think in layers and zones: heavy curtains that kiss the sill, doors closed to corral warmth, rugs where feet meet floors, and a snug loft hatch that stops the stairwell from acting like a chimney.
DIY moves that warm rooms fast
Try a one-hour draught sweep tonight. Light an incense stick or hold a damp finger, move around doors, windows, skirting, letterboxes, and loft hatches, and mark the wobbly spots with masking tape. Fit self-adhesive foam where frames meet, press silicone into fixed gaps, add brush seals to the bottom of doors, clip on a keyhole cowl, and slide radiator foil behind any rad on an outside wall, shiny side facing the room.
Bleed radiators with a radiator key until the hiss turns to a steady dribble, then nudge thermostatic valves so rooms heat evenly rather than all at once. Avoid blocking trickle vents or covering rads with bulky sofas, and don’t smother gaps with expanding foam where a flexible seal is better. Let’s be honest: nobody does that every day. Bleeding and balancing can turn a lukewarm house into a cosy one.
An engineer once told me the quiet truth of winter homes: you don’t heat rooms, you manage air and surfaces so your body feels settled. Close curtains at dusk, tuck them behind the radiator if possible, and use a simple draught excluder at night to calm the flow across a floor. The rituals make the difference, gentle and repeatable.
“You can’t heat the street. Every gap is a tiny open window, and every layer buys you time.”
- Fit brush seals to letterboxes and the bottom of internal doors.
- Add thermal or lined curtains that touch the sill or floor.
- Bleed and balance radiators; use reflective foil on external walls.
- Seal skirting-to-floor gaps with flexible caulk.
- Plug an unused chimney with a removable balloon.
Warmth that lasts, without chasing the dial
There’s a calm kind of comfort that arrives when your rooms stop breathing out as fast as your boiler breathes in. Set a modest baseline—most people settle between 18°C and 20°C—then build a rhythm: doors closed on rooms you aren’t using, curtains drawn at dusk, a morning check for cold corners or damp patches, and a weekly five-minute bleed for any sulky radiator that gurgles. Small habits add up like compound interest, and the payoff is felt in your shoulders and your bills.
Think about surfaces your body reads as cold: bare floorboards, single-glazed panes, and external corners. Lay a rug where you stand the longest, add a secondary glazing film kit for the season, and clip soft pipe insulation around exposed hot-water runs to slow overnight cooling. Warmth is a set of habits, not just a number on the thermostat. Share the ritual with the household, make it easy, make it light, and let each small fix earn its place.
| Point clé | Détail | Intérêt pour le lecteur |
|---|---|---|
| Draught-proof the usual suspects | Letterbox brush, door seals, keyhole covers, loft hatch foam | Stops cold air sneaking in, quick comfort boost, lower bills |
| Lift radiator performance | Bleed and balance, reflective foil, clear space in front | Faster warm-up, even heat, less need for higher settings |
| Layer windows and floors | Lined curtains, thermal film, rugs on bare boards | Reduces radiant chill, cosier feel, quieter rooms |
FAQ :
- How do I find hidden draughts without fancy tools?Use an incense stick or a strip of tissue and move slowly around frames, skirting, and sockets; flickers show moving air. At night, turn off the lights and look for outside glints along seals.
- Is window film actually worth it on old single glazing?Yes, it creates a still air layer that cuts radiant chill and condensation. It’s a weekend job with a hairdryer and pays you back in comfort straight away.
- Should I keep internal doors open or closed?Close doors to rooms you’re heating to stop warm air drifting off, and keep cooler spaces closed so they don’t sap heat. Open them later to air the house when it’s milder.
- What’s the quickest fix if I only have 30 minutes?Bleed radiators, add a fabric draught excluder to the coldest doorway, and pull curtains snug to the sill. Those three moves change how your body reads the room.
- Is it safe to block an unused chimney?Use a purpose-made chimney balloon or cap while the fireplace is off, and leave a little ventilation to avoid damp. Remove it before any future burn; think removable, not permanent.
Brilliant guide! I did the incense stick test and found a gale under the back door. Brush seal on, weighted letterbox flap added, and the hallway stopped nibbling my ankles—definately warmer at 19°C. Also bled two sulky rads; night-and-day. Thanks!