Winter. It might come round once a year, and if you are not prepared it can end up costing you a fair bit. This year has seen a dramatic rise in home working and many of us will be spending more time in our home this winter than ever. So making sure your oast house is ready for the upcoming season is essential.
Here are four tips to make sure you are prepared for whatever this year's weather has in store for us:
Make sure your oast cowl is turning in the wind
Starting at the top, it is essential you check your cowl appears to be in good working order before any bad weather begins. Cowls make an oast house, they are their literal crowns, but they also bear the brunt of the relentless British weather.
The original oast cowls needed to turn in the wind to fulfill their purpose and they are still designed to work like this. If your oast cowl is not turning in the wind then it needs to be looked at.
Ensure it doesn't need refurbishment
Even if your oast cowl is still in working order it may be in need of a refurbishment. If the original bright white colour is a distant memory and the cowls look a little worse for wear, your oast cowls may be in need of a clean. To find out more about how we clean cowls, you can read our expert cleaning oast cowl tips.
Make sure you do not have any missing tiles on your roof
Take a close look at your roof and carefully check the state of your tiles. Loose tiles on your oast house can cause issues such as leaks and over time missing tiles will damage your roof. Loose tiles can be blown off your oast roof - particularly in bad winter weather - so it makes sense to fix them before they get worse.
Make sure your home is well insulated
Energy prices are rising - a lot. This is something we are all aware of and many of us are concerned about. This winter, even more so than ever before, it is essential you limit how much heat you lose. Of course, good insulation and efficient heating systems are a big part of this but there are some simple steps you can take today to keep your home cosy:
- Use your curtains. Curtains play a vital role in keeping your home toasty. Make sure you open them in the morning to make as much use of whatever sunlight there is and then close them as soon as it gets dark to conserve heat. A substantial amount of heat from your home escapes through the windows so good fitting and warm - and even better thermal - curtains can make a huge difference.
- Roll out the rugs on uncarpeted floors. Oast houses often come with stone and wooden floors. Whilst this delightful decor is part of the charm of living in a traditional building, it can be cold. Rugs are a great way to keep your feet warm and to stop drafts.
- Leave your oven door open after cooking. You have just spent a considerable amount of time heating it up so why waste all that heat?
- Stop drafts in their tracks with draft excluders and by filling in any gaps around windows or doors.
