Stay Support cosy The Chimney
Ventilation
If you have a fireplace that’s Be sure not to not in use, and haven’t confuse draughts with bricked it in and/or capped normal ventilation. Rooms over the chimney pot, a where you have a gas or draught might be coming wood fire require adequate down your chimney. To ventilation, as do ones prevent it, get an inflatable where moisture can chimney pillow. These are build up. available from both fireplace and DIY outlets and cost around £50. You simply hold the bag in place and inflate it until it secures itself within the chimney, stopping the air flow up and down. Don’t blow it up too hard – it’s good if a small amount of air can get past the inflatable somewhere along one of its edges. Ventilation like this is important in older properties that are prone to condensation, damp and mildew. And remember, don’t light a fire without removing the chimney pillow!
The roof and loft
Your home’s insulation should prevent warm air escaping into your loft and out through the roof. However, do ensure that your loft access hatch has an effective seal around it to stop draughts. Just as with your doors and windows, you can use a self-adhesive foam, rubber or brush strip to seal the hatch. Finally, check for cracks in the plaster work where the ceiling joins the wall in all your rooms. Seal them with plaster or PolyfillaTM if draughts are entering that way, or consider fitting some coving.
Illustrations: Tom Hughes
All together now
According to the Energy Saving Trust, if everybody across the UK draught-proofed their homes, the country could save almost £180 million annually – enough to heat 930,000 houses.
www.homeserve.com 09