This weekend we had our first Draught Busting Saturday in Stoke Newington. This hands-on workshop was pioneered by Hyde Farm CAN and has been picked up by Peckham Power and Transition Belsize amongst others and we thought it was about time we gave it a go.
Draught Busting workshops are held in a local house in need of improvement. Stoke Newington resident Cath very kindly let us loose with hammers in her home and expertly facilitated the group as we got stuck in to the job.
The session focused on fitting draught stripping around the lower half of the sash windows and around doors but we also touched on blocking up chimneys (Cath had gone for a DIY solution of a plastic bag stuffed with material), radiator panels (which are fixed behind radiators mounted on external, heat loss walls), and ensuring that loft hatches are well draught proofed to stop warm air rising up into the loft space.
Draught proofing the upper half of a sash window requires a ladder so that you can get up to the outside of the window frame (you can’t do the upper half of a window from the inside as you wouldn’t be able to open the window).
Just doing the lower half of the window will cut out a substantial amount of the air passing through and cutting out those lower level cold draughts will have a noticeable effect on your comfort. The upper half of the windows can be a project for the future – perhaps we could secure a ladder for a weekend and go round all of the houses that have done the work to the inside in one go.
Draught proofing is a very easy skill to pick up but there isn’t a great deal of practical information out there about the materials and techniques and so it can seem daunting – until you’re shown how easy it is to do, that is. The people who attended the session will now be in a position to share the knowledge with family and friends.
After the success of the first session, we’ll be looking to roll this out on a larger scale in time for the next heating season, around September and October.
If you’re interested in participating then please drop us a line. In particular we are after people living in homes in need of draught proofing who would be willing to host a session in Autumn.
We’ll also be placing a bulk purchase for draught proofing materials so as to make this measure as cheap as possible and so that it pays for itself as quickly as possible.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Please can you send me details of your next draught proofing event .I would like to learn how to do this .
I have just added a comment about secondary glazing as I would like to know more about this as well .
Also are you doing or thinking about internal wall insulation which will be my next project after the draught proofing and secondary glazing .
Great to hear about your eco group
Thanks ,Lois Simes
Hi Lois. I certainly will let you know. Glad you’re interested.
With regards to internal wall insulation, you’ve got to be a little careful. I’m hoping to post more on this soon but will drop you a line in the meantime.