By sealing around the edges of the loft hatch, you can prevent cold air from the unheated loft area entering the living space. We call this an “easy-win” as it doesn’t require a high level of DIY competency: measure the opening, cut the draught excluder to size then stick it to the frame – not to the hatch door -, and you’re done!

Open chimneys create tremendous heat loss in homes. They create a phenomenon called “the stack effect” also known as “chimey effect”. It occurs because there is a pressure difference between the outside air and the air inside your home caused by a difference in the air temperature. That pressure difference is the driving force for the effect to occur.

Warm air from your home will rise inside the chimney because it is lighter than the cold air outside. This causes a reduction in pressure which draws in cold outside air, usually from around doors and windows, creating the chilly draughts that you can feel (and sometimes hear when it’s windy).

We consider this another “easy-win”: you can use a “chimney sheep” or an inflatable draught excluder called a “chimney balloon”, or even an old cushion in a plastic bag, to stop the stack effect wreaking [spelling] havoc in your home. BUT, please remember that if your chimney is not capped about 80 cms of rain fall down it every year – so take out your blockage during the summer to let the chimney dry out to avoid damp.

Written by: Dori Jo