draught control

paddles

hey,

i did up my living room a year ago with trying to make it more cosy in mind.

i've installed draught things for under the 2 (yeah, i know) doors leading into my living room. i lock one door for the winter. i've got new curtains and got extra thick liner. i put down carpet instead of the yucky laminate floor.

i have double-glazed PVC windows.i have an open fire which i light now most nites. i have central heating and the one radiator in the room is a double one and is really hot to touch. i insulated my attic last year so this is the first winter to really test it out. it's a 1994 semi-d house but still draughty. can cope with most of the rest of the house but when ya cosy up on a winter nite, can't believe how un-cosy it still is.

and i'm NOT a super-cold person.

what else can i do?, that's affordable.

slimjimmc

The fireplace is the source of your draught. The draw from the chimney can be bad enough without the fire but it is much stronger on a windy day or when you've got a fire burning. To get an idea of how much cold air is drawn into the room, heated and wasted up the chimney just feel the blast coming under the doors.

• put out the fire and block the flue pipe with a chimney balloon. The double rad should keep you snug, or
• provide a dedicated air supply outside to under the fire-grate (doesn't suck as much warm air out of the room), or
• fit a sealed stove or inset, preferrably with a dedicated air supply from outside (reduces chimney draw and thus reduced loss of warm air from the room) .

paddles

thanks i thought a stove might be the solution but how much would that cost to install?

slimjimmc

Thats a "how long is a piece of string" question.

Price would depend on what you want... free standing room-heater or boiler, inset stove or just a firefront to fit over your existing opening. Fitting costs would be extra and depend on what work has to be done.

Stoves Ireland is the first website I that Google threw up for me and gives you a good idea what's available. They don't show stove prices except on the special offers (€450 for room heater, fitting extra).

bkb

I have a similar issue with my fireplace draught. It's a nightmare.
Has anyone installed a device like what's in the attached url (I'm not linked to them, am only interested in getting the draught sorted out)

http://ecoefficiency.ie/downloads/CDEinfo2009rev3.pdf

ART6

Like slimjimmic says. If you have any fire that burns fuel other than electricity in the room then it will need to draw in combustion air from outside. The worst offenders are solid fuel fires as not only do they draw in combustion air but they also draw in lots of cold air simply as a result of the thermal lift of the chimney. As the man said, the only way of stopping the draughts that causes is to install an undergrate air supply through a pipe from outside.

blackbox

Fitting an air supply will stop the draught in the room, but it will not improve the efficiency of your open fire.

Restricting the airflow through the chimney will help this, but it is not something I would recommend because of safety concerns. I don't know where you would find someone with the necessary expertise.

A stove is a better option, as it only draws as much air as it needs for actual combustion (very little compared to an open fire). You will certainly be cosy and are unlikely to need the radiator once it warms up - stoves do take a while after lighting before they give off heat. However be aware that intallation will often cost more than the stove itself when you include the necessary bits of flue etc.

If you don't actually want a fire, blocking up the chimney may be your answer if your radiator is big enough. You could test this out using a board to seal the fireplace.