Draught-Proofing Old Windows and Doors Naturally

There is nothing quite like the first properly cold snap to make you notice every gap in an old house. You feel it on the back of your neck as you walk past the front door, or in that little curl of cold air that laps at your ankles under the window. The good news is that you do not need new windows, a builder, or a budget-busting renovation to fix it. Some of the most effective draught-proofing is old-fashioned, cheap, and gentle on the fabric of the building.

Start With a Feeling Test, Not a Shopping List

Before you buy anything, spend twenty minutes finding out where the cold is actually coming from. On a breezy day, dampen the back of your hand and run it slowly around window frames, skirting boards, door edges and the gaps either side of a chimney breast. The wet skin feels a draught far more keenly than dry. A lit incense stick or a tissue taped to a cane works nicely too, wobbling when air moves past it.

Then prioritise. Seal the rooms you heat and use most — the sitting room and the bedroom — and leave the porch, utility and any outbuilding until later. Chasing every small gap in a pantry while the living room sash whistles is a waste of a weekend.

Simple Seals for Sash and Casement Windows

• Brush pile strips are the quiet hero for sash windows. They come in depths of roughly 5–10mm and slot into the gap between frame and sash with a thin adhesive backing, so the window still slides. Look for strips with a flexible fin rather than stiff bristles.
• Self-adhesive foam or rubber strip suits casement windows that close against a flat rebate. Clean the frame first with a damp cloth and let it dry, or the strip will peel off by January.
• Check the meeting rail on a sash window — the horizontal bar where the top and bottom sashes overlap. It is a common culprit and often needs a slim strip along its length.
• Silicone sealant is fine for gaps that should never open, such as between frame and wall, but never block the small drainage slots at the bottom of a frame. Trapped water rots timber.

Also check hinges, catches and latches. A slightly loose window that no longer pulls itself tight will leak regardless of how much tape you apply.

Doors: Brush, Blade and Bottom Bars

Doors are usually the biggest single loss in an old house. Start with the easy pieces: a brush strip on the inside of the letterbox, a small cover over the keyhole, and a slim seal around the frame rebate. These take minutes and cost very little.

For the bottom gap, work out how wide it is before choosing. Gaps up to about 10mm suit a brush strip fixed to the door. Deeper gaps, or floors that slope, are better served by a rubber blade or a springy flap, which rides over uneven boards. Fit the strip so it just kisses the floor — press down hard on a wooden door in a damp November and you will be planing the bottom come spring.

Heavy Curtains, Hung Properly

A good pair of lined curtains is one of the most effective insulators you can put on a window, but only if it is hung well. Skimpy curtains that stop short of the sill simply let the cold air spill out behind them.

• Choose full-length curtains that finish at the floor or a whisker above it.
• Extend the track or pole at least 15–20cm beyond each side of the frame, so the fabric covers the wall as well as the glass.
• Fit a pelmet or a simple wooden batten across the top to stop warm air escaping behind the heading.
• Add thermal lining or a wool interlining if you can manage it — the difference is remarkable, and it also muffles traffic noise.
• Let curtains overlap slightly in the middle where two panels meet.

Draw them before dusk, and open them in the morning to let in whatever sun there is.

Door Snakes and Other Soft Barriers

The humble door snake earns its keep. A tube around 90cm long and 10–12cm across, filled with wool off-cuts, dried rice or buckwheat husks, sits snugly against the bottom of a door and stops the creeping draught. You can make one from an old jumper sleeve, a length of cotton duck, or any sturdy fabric you have to hand. Rice gives it a pleasant weight that holds it in place; wool off-cuts are lighter and quieter on bare boards.

For a genuinely draughty back door, use two — one each side. Better still, hang a thick wool blanket over a pole across the doorway to create a temporary inner lobby. It works well in hallways and looks rather handsome in an old cottage.

Let the House Breathe

Here is the bit people forget. Older homes are not sealed boxes, and they should not be. If you block every gap, moisture from cooking, bathing and breathing has nowhere to go, and it will find the coldest surface it can — usually a window reveal or an exterior corner — and condense there. Damp walls feel colder than dry ones and are far more trouble than a draught.

So keep a trickle vent open, or open a window wide for ten minutes first thing in the morning to purge the air, then shut it again. Keep bathroom and kitchen extract running a little longer than you think you need. A house that breathes gently is warmer, drier and altogether kinder to live in through a British winter.

None of this needs to be expensive or done all at once. A few strips of brush pile, a properly hung curtain, a door snake filled with wool off-cuts — done over a couple of weekends, they will change how your house feels when the wind gets up.