How To Prepare An Apartment For Winter Ways And Advice To Keep Warm In Cold Weather

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

• What needs to be done?
• Wall insulation
• Floor and ceiling insulation
• Insulation of windows
• Replacing the heating system
• Replacing doors
• Conclusion

To keep warm in an apartment or house in a cold winter season, it is not enough to have hot batteries. If the housing is not insulated, then utility costs will increase significantly. Therefore, you should thoroughly prepare for the winter and carry out comprehensive work to keep the apartment warm. And the main question becomes what kind of work it is, and how to prepare the apartment for winter.

What needs to be done?

First of all, we will figure out what needs to be done, and in all it is worth noting a number of factors that will help to significantly reduce heat loss in the apartment, namely:

1. Wall insulation.
2. Thermal insulation of floors and ceilings.
3. Thermal insulation of window systems.
4. Replacing the heating system.
5. Installation of a new door system.

Let's take a closer look at each of the processes, and decide how best to organize the work.

Wall insulation

The first thing that will help keep warm in the apartment is to take care of wall insulation, There are only two insulation options:

1. Internal.
2. Outside.

It should be noted that it is not always possible to carry out external insulation on your own, especially if you do not live on the ground floor. Therefore, for self-insulation, internal work becomes the best option. If there is such an opportunity, external insulation will be most effective.

Briefly about what you have to do:

1. For internal insulation, remove all wall finishing materials.
2. Putty the walls and cover them with vapor barrier material.
3. Insulate on top.
4. Screw drywall onto the insulation and carry out the finishing work.

Thermal insulation materials are presented in the trade in a wide range. Choose the ones that will take up the least of your living space. It is more appropriate to produce external insulation with bulky materials.

More details about internal insulation, the choice of material and technology of its device in a separate material.

Floor and ceiling insulation

Do not forget that when insulating walls, you need to insulate the floor and ceiling in the same way.

This is not necessary if you live on the middle floors, with heated apartments above and below you. The only thing that will have to be done is to close up the cracks with a sealant, and also to additionally lay a wood board or carpet.

To insulate the floor and ceiling, you will also have to dismantle the decorative coating and equip the insulation, in the future, the technology of its device depends directly on the choice of insulation.

How to do the insulation of the floor and ceiling with your own hands in a separate material.

If you live in a wooden house and on the top floor, it is useful to learn how to insulate an attic.

Insulation of windows

The next step in the preparation will be the insulation of window systems, there are several options here, and the choice of what is necessary depends on what kind of glazing is provided, as well as what financial costs are expected.

If there is a possibility of large investments in replacing old windows, then seal the installed ones.

But if you do not plan to invest large funds, then you can get by with the following measures:

1. Buy silicone sealant or polyurethane foam.
2. Fill up all gaps.
3. Then plug the windows with insulating tape and cover with paper or tape.

Also, if you live in an old house, remove the windowsills and insulate the voids under them. Sometimes even this is enough to keep the apartment warm, since in the houses built under Khrushchev, there are voids under the window sills, which, when the window sills are removed, can be repaired with mineral wool. This step can significantly reduce the heat loss of the room.

Replacing the heating system

If your apartment has an old heating system, replace it with a new one. It is important to replace pipes and batteries before finishing the walls after completing the insulation work. This can be done with the help of specialists from the housing department. Details about the preparation of the appeal.

Here, the choice of a new system becomes an important factor, therefore we recommend that you familiarize yourself with additional materials.

It is also important to note that if the heating is centralized, then you cannot influence it. This is due to the fact that the heating is carried out by a special boiler room, and the only thing you can do is replace the pipes and radiators in your apartment. But it's worth noting that such a move will not help much (if it can help at all), especially on the first floors.

In this case, you will need to install additional heating devices. The most popular option is the underfloor heating device, you can find out how to install it in a separate article.

Replacing doors

It should also be said that a lot of the heat goes through the doorway. Therefore, if you have the opportunity, insert double doors.

Such a step will maximize the preservation of warm air in the apartment, especially if your apartment is on the lower floors, and there are school-age children in the family who are constantly on the move and have many friends who constantly come and go.

In addition, if it is not possible to replace the doors, worry about their additional sealing, for which you can use special seals, or just small strips of rubber glued around the perimeter of the door.

It is also a good option to equip a curtain made of thick material at the door. It will help reduce heat loss, albeit only slightly.

Conclusion

Each of the points is undoubtedly important and individually will help keep warm. But it is worth noting that only complex insulation works will allow you to save 50% of the heat in the cold season. Therefore, it is recommended to fully perform work on the insulation of the apartment. And besides, take care of window and door structures, which will significantly reduce heating costs, and the apartment will be much warmer.

And finally, a few videos that will show you how to prepare an apartment for frost, and what to do first.

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