Winter's Here
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 9:35 pmWell, it's almost the middle of January and, apart from a lot of rain just before Christmas, we've been lucky with the weather. Tomorrow is forecast to be a lovely day with temperatures in the day getting to around 20C and only dropping to about 11C at night.
Next week, however, is a different matter. Daytime temps of around 11 to 12C and just 4 or below that at night. End of January and February do get very cold in this area. Nice out in the sun but indoors can be very cold.
There are some things you can do to take the bitterness out, though. Obviously, the type of heating has been discussed many times but all the houses here tend to cool down very quickly once the fire is off.
Windows. You will lose lots of heat from the windows. Especially those aluminium framed ones they seem to like and the double glazing is very thin compared to what us Northern Europeans are used to. The windows don't seem to be fitted very well and can get very draughty so plug up those draughts as much as you can.
A roll of foam insulating tape is very cheap and can be easily stuck inside the window sliders and in doors. This will keep some of the draughts out. Also check around the frames. Many have just been put in and the gaps not sealed correctly. A window sealant around them will cut them out.
The windows themselves get very cold. The best thing, of course, is to replace them with properly double glazed and sealed units but this can be expensive, especially if you don't visit often. You can apply secondary double glazing, as it's called. This is simply double sided taped around the window frames and a thick (ish) cling film material placed on it. You use a hair dryer to tighten it up and shrink to fit.
Do not cover air bricks, outside grills or anything like that. These are designed to give the necessary ventilation and are especially important if you use a gas, wood, pellet or kerosene heater. Draught excluders on the bottom of the doors, though, will help immensely.
Simple things like putting the shutters down will keep some of the heat in and definitely helps to cut down condensation on the inside of the windows.
Carpets laid on the stone or marble tiles also helps to retain the heat. We have two large rugs (both 3x2 metres) which we join together in the winter months and gives us a 3x4 metre covering. Easily rolled up and stored (in our case under the bed) during summer.
You bathroom will also get cold but you may not want to keep the heating on all night (it can get expensive here). We have a 100w electric towel rail which we keep on. It only uses the same electricity as keeping an old light bulb on and 10 hours will be 1 Kw or about 15 cents.
Also keep those slippers handy by the bed for those nocturnal visits. The year before last the temp here in Quesada dropped to zero at night (yep, even had some ice forming outside) so those slippers on the marble floors really come in useful.
I know a lot of us are getting on a bit (well, I am) and it is important we keep warm both inside and out. Whilst we aren't going to get the extremes forecast for the UK, it will get cold from this weekend. Easy enough to stick a coat on when we go out but inside the house is also very important.
I'm sure others will have their own tips for keeping the house, and us, warm.
Next week, however, is a different matter. Daytime temps of around 11 to 12C and just 4 or below that at night. End of January and February do get very cold in this area. Nice out in the sun but indoors can be very cold.
There are some things you can do to take the bitterness out, though. Obviously, the type of heating has been discussed many times but all the houses here tend to cool down very quickly once the fire is off.
Windows. You will lose lots of heat from the windows. Especially those aluminium framed ones they seem to like and the double glazing is very thin compared to what us Northern Europeans are used to. The windows don't seem to be fitted very well and can get very draughty so plug up those draughts as much as you can.
A roll of foam insulating tape is very cheap and can be easily stuck inside the window sliders and in doors. This will keep some of the draughts out. Also check around the frames. Many have just been put in and the gaps not sealed correctly. A window sealant around them will cut them out.
The windows themselves get very cold. The best thing, of course, is to replace them with properly double glazed and sealed units but this can be expensive, especially if you don't visit often. You can apply secondary double glazing, as it's called. This is simply double sided taped around the window frames and a thick (ish) cling film material placed on it. You use a hair dryer to tighten it up and shrink to fit.
Do not cover air bricks, outside grills or anything like that. These are designed to give the necessary ventilation and are especially important if you use a gas, wood, pellet or kerosene heater. Draught excluders on the bottom of the doors, though, will help immensely.
Simple things like putting the shutters down will keep some of the heat in and definitely helps to cut down condensation on the inside of the windows.
Carpets laid on the stone or marble tiles also helps to retain the heat. We have two large rugs (both 3x2 metres) which we join together in the winter months and gives us a 3x4 metre covering. Easily rolled up and stored (in our case under the bed) during summer.
You bathroom will also get cold but you may not want to keep the heating on all night (it can get expensive here). We have a 100w electric towel rail which we keep on. It only uses the same electricity as keeping an old light bulb on and 10 hours will be 1 Kw or about 15 cents.
Also keep those slippers handy by the bed for those nocturnal visits. The year before last the temp here in Quesada dropped to zero at night (yep, even had some ice forming outside) so those slippers on the marble floors really come in useful.
I know a lot of us are getting on a bit (well, I am) and it is important we keep warm both inside and out. Whilst we aren't going to get the extremes forecast for the UK, it will get cold from this weekend. Easy enough to stick a coat on when we go out but inside the house is also very important.
I'm sure others will have their own tips for keeping the house, and us, warm.
