Draughts from outside can come into your home through gaps around doors, letterboxes and even keyholes. Poor fitting windows and doors is a major headache for any home owner. Draught Proofing Sash Windows

Have you got a draughty hatch? - The Loft Boys

Make sure you keep outside ventilation in areas where there are open fires or flues, and in rooms where moisture is produced, such as kitchens and bathrooms. His interest in renewable energy and sustainability was first inspired by visits to the Royal Festival Hall heat pump and the Edmonton heat-from-waste projects. In 1979In a new build, it will be necessary to insulate a loft hatch to comply with Building Regulations and, to be honest, it would be difficult to find a new loft hatch that is not insulated and airtight (to a degree, at least). Gone are the days when MDF or plywood is used to create loft doors in new homes. If you don’t want to install double glazing, you can still cut down on draughts by trying the following: There are different types of loft hatches in every home. So you’ll need to consider what kind of insulation is the best for you. The simple answer is that cold air is coming into your loft space under the eaves (just underneath the edge of your roof). And some of that air is passing through the hatch into the liveable part of your home. The problem is worse if you’ve got a cold loft – e.g. one that’s not insulated at all or only insulated at the joist (loft floor) level and not up to the rafters (a warm loft). We go into more detail on cold vs warm lofts in our insulation guide. Don’t worry though, cold air is supposed to be coming into your loft (more on that later). But if it’s coming into your home then that’s not good for anyone! So why is that cold air entering through the hatch? Areas to focus on are floor boards, skirting boards, where window and door frames meet the wall and the ceiling-to-wall junctions. The less obvious areas are keyholes, kitchen cupboards (where pipes are likely to penetrate walls), loft hatches and downlights.

Stormguard Bryseal Around Door Draught Excluder Seal | DJM Direct

Alternatively, you could use a draught excluder. All sorts of shops sell draught excluders, or you could even make one yourself by filling a large piece of fabric with old clothes or rice.It’s important to distinguish between draught-proofing and insulating your loft hatch as these are not the same thing. Insulating a loft hatch provides additional material to prevent heat from escaping from the loft hatch. Examples of insulation might be blanket insulation or loose-fill insulation. Find our full guide on how to insulate your loft hatch here. The simple lift-out hatch (those without a hinge) can be insulated by gluing a plastic bag to the hatch, filling it with insulation material and taping the bag closed. It is effective, cheap and the bag prevents the insulating fibre from getting disturbed. Once you have covered the obvious spots around the home, try draught proofing some of the less obvious spots. Loft hatches are an area where lots of heat can be lost, so make sure that the hatch fits snugly and some draught proof strips have been fitted around the edges.

Slikseal — Stormguard

Thereafter, the movement of people around the house, moving in and out, and naturally opening and closing windows and doors will deal with other ventilation needs. And finally, if you have the very old style of loft door that isn’t hinged or even attached to anything fear not! You should be able to use the techniques we’ve talked about above to draught-proof and insulate that too.Around door and window frames, there are a wide range of self adhesive draught excluders that will do the job reasonably well, although some brands may need replacing every few years, as they have to put up with some big changes in temperature over the course of a year. Draught Proofing Other Areas It is not only external doors that need draught proofing. You should also draught proof internal doors if they lead into unheated or uninhabited rooms as this in turn will also prevent the lowering of the overall indoor temperature. Draught Proofing Loft Hatches What's more, insulating a loft hatch can help to prevent possible issues with condensation in the loft space. Warm, moist air can be drawn into a loft space through a loft hatch. When this air hits cold surfaces, such as the roof timbers, it will condense. Condensation on timbers can result in rot and decay over time, damaging the roof structure. Tim is an expert in sustainable building methods and energy efficiency in residential homes and writes on the subject for magazines and national newspapers. He is the author of The Sustainable Building Bible, Simply Sustainable Homes and Anaerobic Digestion - Making Biogas - Making Energy: The Earthscan Expert Guide. Brush style excluders are fine in most applications, but if you have wooden or tiled floors, an under door excluder may work better. These are normally made of a soft rubber or foam and they are fixed to the base of the door and plug any gaps in this area.