COVID-19 Lockdown House Improvements!
As many of us are spending more time at home during the Covid lockdown there are a number of things that you can do to make your home drier comfortable and of course cheaper to heat ready for when the chills return in autumn.
We’ve compiled a short list of things that you can do hopefully don’t require the need to leave the house to buy extra materials although it is still possible to book deliveries from a local hardware shop or arrange a click and collect at larger stores such as Wickes or B&Q, collection could be incorporated into your daily walk as many of the items we mention are not heavy to carry home!
If you do have to buy anything goes without saying that you should follow Government advice on social distancing.
So here is a list of jobs that can be done to make your home cosier when autumn comes – it seems a long time away but you’ll be pleased when it comes around.
- walk around the house. Sounds simple but check for any damage to roof tiles especially around the hip areas where you see larger tiles bedded into thick cement. These are often problem areas. Also look around chimneys to check that flashing hasn’t come away or lifted – it should be flush against any tiles or slates between the chimney and the roof itself. Flashing is usually grey lead or felt. If you do notice any problems they definitely need sorting out but this is best carried out by a roofer or builder when things return to normal.
- Hunt out any drafts. Although warmer there are still some cold days and some chilly north winds so walk around the house and see if you can spot where any drafts might be getting in through gaps in doors or windows, through your loft hatch or even the letterbox. Draft excluder is cheap and cheerful and pays for itself in no time.
- If you’re able, take a look in your roof space and anywhere else where you know pipes are exposed. You may be paying a lot of money to heat the loft every year by not lagging pipes or where they are not lagged to correct thickness. Standards have improved and lagging used to be there simply to stop freezeups rather than heat loss, so you might find pipes covered in brown hessian which doesn’t really do the job very well. Use some grey foam pipe lagging which can be bought cheaply and is very easy to fit, you simply push it over the pipes. It will really save heat loss but it will also reduce the chance of any freeze ups in winter.
- Check the brickwork on the outside of your property for any cracks or gaps remember to look at the pointing (the cement between the bricks) to see if any has been eroded. If so, this will need to be looked at as soon as normality returns or rain will get in possibly wetting insulation and certainly creating a cold and possibly damp problem.
- Consider investing in a remotely operated heating thermostat. These have come on a lot in recent years can be linked to a phone app and will allow you to turn your heating and hot water down when you’re not in the home. This means you can have a warm home to come back to you when you’ve been out, but if you’re delayed you can change the heating so that you won’t be empty house.
Just 5 easy ways to use time wisely and save £££s when winter returns.
All the best from the team at Cavitech during these trying times.