Winter 2023/24 - It's FREEZING!

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Few pics from my way.

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We haven't had any more snow since last Tuesday when we had a couple of inches but it's been bitterly cold here. Wednesday to Friday we never got above 2.2 degrees C but from Friday night the temperature dropped very quickly to -6.5 degrees C. Saturday during the day wasn't much better as it only "warmed" up to -4.2 degrees and that was only very briefly before falling again. It was -5.6 degrees C by 17.00 yesterday and fell to -7.2 degrees C overnight. It's only - 4.5 degrees C right now and will start dropping again soon. On top of that we are forecast more snow. With the freezing temperatures the snow we already have has set like concrete and the pavement here are lethal.

Looking at my weather station data right now it's much colder than this time last year although it was similar to a week further ahead. Overnight on 02-12-22 we had a low point of 6.1 degrees C and during the day we had a high of 6.8 degrees C with a very light NNE breeze between 0.00 and 6.9 mph. The night of 03/12/22 did see a change in the weather though and it dropped to -1.1 degrees C before recovering to 3.6 degree C during the day. The weather from 12/12/22 onward was very similar to what we have now with drops to -9 degrees C overnight and a maximum of -7.2 degrees C during the day. That week we remained below zero for 6 days and nights.

December 2021 was mild(ish) and we had only a couple of nights below zero degrees all month. The maximum temp was 10.5 degrees C on the 13th.

December 2020 was extremely mild and only dropped below zero on the third (day and night). The rest of the month was pretty stable with a average temp of 4.3 degrees C.

December 2019 was even milder. We had a couple nights that dropped below zero, the night of the 23rd was the lowest at -2.8 degrees C. We had a high of 12.0 degrees C on the 10th!!

I could go back to 2010 but it would take ages to sift through my data. One thing I will never forget is February 2010. We spent the whole month below zero with a low of -28 degrees C overnight and -14 degrees C during the day. We had almost two weeks with temps like that and we accumulated around 4 feet of snow. We had so much we were running out of places to put it when we were clearing our cul-de-sac. Highways Scotland or BEAR I think it was back then, were taking it away in tipper lorries as it was the only way they could keep the roads clear. That was the coldest I have ever been in this country and only surpassed by three winters down the Falklands.
 
Question:

It it normal for a hallway from the front door to be cold?
Its 0 outside and the hallway is hovering around 11-12. This then goes upstairs as there is no barrier or separating door. Kitchen is pretty much the same temperature with 2 french patio doors. Keep the living room and kitchen door shut to cut off the living room. Heated to 21c (takes about 4-5 hours) which is usually around 12pm,then heating is off. By midnight the room is down to 16-17.

My first house and Google is no help whatsoever. The front door itself is freezing to the touch. No drafts that I can detect.

Probably a stupid question. It's pointless putting the heating on in the hallway as it gets sucked away so quick.
 
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If there is no heat in the "hallway" any draught from the door will give you a cold area. From the outside get someone to shine a torch along the lock side to see if the door is in contact with the gasket. Composite/upvc door have a little flexibility where you can tighten the hinges to get a better seal on the gasket.

Temporarily use a heavy curtain until you figure it out
 
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The seal around the door and the letterbox are the two main culprits for allowing cold air in. You can buy a magnetic letterbox flap on Amazon for £10-15 (don't bother with the £4-5 ones as they are pants) which will sort the letterbox out. The seal depends on what sort of door you have and whether you can still get the proper seals (we can't for ours so I am still working on that). Just doing the letterbox helped cut down the cold draft massively for us.
 
I have one of those ones with the brushes inside. No drafts coming from the letterbox at all or anywhere around the door/keyhole. It's a composite door. Already done some tests and there is no leakage that I can see. There is already some foam/brush stuff along the inside (makes shutting the door more of a slam)
 
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MatsyLR said:
My first house and Google is no help whatsoever. The front door itself is freezing to the touch.
Click to expand...

just looked up front door efficiency - about 3x double glazing so not great
"In accordance with British Homes Regulations Document-L, Endurance Doors are manufactured to comply with a U-Value equal to or less than 1.4 W/m²"

agree that having internal open staircase doesn't help create isolated hot and cold zones in the house;
Grandmothers cottage used to have a door at the base of the enclosed staircase, straight off of living room - architects went gung-ho when central heating and cheap energy came in.
 
MatsyLR said:
I have one of those ones with the brushes inside. No drafts coming from the letterbox at all or anywhere around the door/keyhole. It's a composite door. Already done some tests and there is no leakage that I can see. There is already some foam/brush stuff along the inside (makes shutting the door more of a slam)
Click to expand...
Put a thermal curtain up. We have one for the back door, which opens up directly into the living room, and it does make a difference.
 
Uther said:
Put a thermal curtain up. We have one for the back door, which opens up directly into the living room, and it does make a difference.
Click to expand...
Have one, doesn't seem to do anything at all. Maybe 1 degrees if that warmer. At the moment it's 12.7 in the hallway.

Just went and tested for drafts with a flame/feather. Nothing at all.

From the replies it doesn't seem like the temp is "normal" for an unheated hallway when it's 0 outside?
 
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