Local Focus winter hacks: Stop the icy draughts

Do you have draughts whistling through your doors and windows?

Dr Nelson Lebo, Eco Design Advisor for the Palmerston North City Council, shared some free and low cost ideas with Local Focus to keep you snug this winter.

Be wary of the foam draught stoppers for windows and doors, he said, as they can be problematic if your timber framing is warped, making it hard or impossible to shut them.

Lebo recommended a low cost alternative called V-Profile Weather Strip.

"It's got a greater tolerance," he said. "So no matter how warped your door and windows are, it's still going to accommodate."

Installation only involves wiping the surface clean and running the strip around inside frame of the door or window, with the V facing outside, Lebo said.

To draught proof the bottom of a door, he suggested an option that's completely free - find an old piece of 4x2 timber and cut it to slightly less than the width of the door.

"Most people are familiar with a door sausage, but the problem with that is it's putting a round peg in a square hole," Lebo said.

"So why not start off with a square peg?"

"Simply take a towel and wrap the piece of 4x2 timber up and tie the ends off and place it in front of the door.

"At the end of winter take the towel and toss it in the wash. Take the 4x2 and put it in a special hiding place where you won't use it. And then next year, if fashions change you can use a totally different colour scheme [with a new towel]."

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