Frequent Questions

Here are some of the questions that we get asked most frequently with our answers

Draughts and ventilation

Questions about draughts and ventilation in general

Will I feel warmer if my home is less draughty?

Yes!  you should also be able to turn down your thermostat down a bit too and that will save you even more energy.

I have been told that draught proofing will make condensation worse! Will it?

Draughts are nothing more than uncontrollable ventilation, they do too much when it is windy and nothing when it is calm. It is important to ventilate but very wasteful of energy to do so using draughts. Please see this page.

Draught proofing problems

Questions about specific draught proofing problems

I have sliding sash windows, what should I do with them?

You should draught strip them with routered in brush strips to the head rail, meeting rail and the bottom rail, replace the parting beads with a proprietary ones with brush seals already fitted to them. We quite like this from Historic England, please see p 15 in particular.

You should also draught seal round the frame inside and out and check that no draughts are coming through the frame, check under the sill, through the sash box and over the head and past the pulleys etc.

About DraughtBusters

Questions about DraughtBusters and the draught proofing services it offers

Where do your clients come from?

We advertise and we run seminars. Some clients come through the council’s Winter Watch scheme, some via a local debt advice agency.  Clients also come from local GP’s, churches, charities and many are recommended by existing clients. They also,  like you,  come through our website.

Where do volunteers come from?

Most of the volunteers sign up from Transition Town Reading, some from the Rotary Club,  from the council itself, some from client families (they ask “can we help you”).

What if I can’t afford it?

Don’t worry! Help may be available so contact us anyway (you have done well to get this far).

How much does it cost?

Our initial budget was £50 per household but this proved too high and currently we are averaging £22 per home. We buy materials in bulk and not from DIY superstores though.

How long does it take?

We operate a “one stop shop”.  When we arrive we do a swift survey, talk to you about what we want to do and then if you agree we get on and do it all there and then. The draught proofing is usually all over within two hours and generally within ninety minutes from arriving at your home!  See here for what our clients say about us.

Do you have a flier or poster?

Yes please download it from here

Can you help us set up a similar project in our town?

Yes!  We can give advice, talk to you, help, train you, point you in the right direction and encourage you to do it. It is all very simple.