Right, let’s talk about draughts. Not the pint kind (sadly). I’m talking about those annoying cold breezes that whistle through your house making it feel like you’re living in a wind tunnel, even though you’ve got the heating cranked up to maximum.
Draught-proofing is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to save energy and money in your home. We’re talking proper savings here. Draught proofing around windows, floors and doors could save you around £85 a year in Great Britain and £95 in Northern Ireland.
And if you’ve got an open chimney? Draught proofing your chimney when you’re not using it could save around £60 a year.
That’s £145 a year total for most homes. For stuff that costs maybe £50-100 in materials and you can do yourself in a weekend. Mental really that more people don’t bother.
What Actually Is A Draught?
Before we start plugging gaps, let’s be clear what we’re dealing with. Draughts refer to unwanted cold air that enters your home through gaps and cracks in the building.
It’s not the same as ventilation. Controlled ventilation helps reduce condensation and damp by letting fresh air in when needed. However, draughts are uncontrolled and can let in too much external air.
The difference? You want air flowing through your bathroom when you’ve had a shower (controlled ventilation, stops mould). You don’t want freezing air whistling under your front door all winter (draught, waste of money).
Why Bother Draught-Proofing?
Apart from the obvious (your house is bloody freezing), there’s actual financial reasons.
Draught-free homes are comfortable at lower temperatures, so you may be able to turn down your thermostat, saving even more on your energy bills. Turning down your thermostat from 22˚C to 21˚C can save you £90 a year.
So you save money twice – once from stopping heat escaping, and again from being comfortable at lower temperatures. Double win.
Plus, let’s be honest, sitting in a room with a cold breeze on your neck is miserable. Quality of life matters too.
Finding Your Draughts
First job – work out where the cold air’s actually coming from. Common culprits when it comes to draughts in the home include windows, doors, chimneys, and floorboards, and the best time to check for them is on a windy day. Holding your hand close to the area means you should be able to feel if cold air is coming through.
Or if you want to get fancy, use the candle test. Walk around with a lit candle (carefully, don’t burn your house down) and watch for the flame flickering. That shows you where air’s moving.
The most common problem areas:
- Windows (especially old sash windows)
- Doors (front door, back door, even internal doors)
- Letterboxes and keyholes
- Floorboards (gaps between boards and along skirting)
- Chimneys (massive heat loss)
- Loft hatches
- Pipework coming through walls
Let’s tackle each one.
Draught-Proofing Windows
Windows are usually the worst offenders, especially if you’ve got older properties with original sash windows.
For Windows That Open
To draught-proof windows that open, install strips with brushes attached to fill the gap between the window and the frame.
Self-adhesive foam strips are ideal for casement windows, these cost approximately £5 per window and can be installed in under an hour.
You can get these from any DIY shop – Screwfix, Wickes, B&Q, wherever. Brands like Stormguard are decent and cheap.
The process is dead simple:
- Clean the window frame (remove any dirt or old paint)
- Measure the gaps
- Cut the foam strip to size
- Peel off the backing
- Stick it on
- Test the window still opens and closes
Make sure you get the right thickness though. Foam draught-excluder strips come in different thicknesses, and it’s important to get the right thickness otherwise either your door won’t close properly, or the draught excluder won’t exclude the draughts.
For Windows That Don’t Open
For windows that don’t open, seal the gaps using silicone.
Just run a bead of silicone sealant around the frame where it meets the wall. Smooth it with your finger (wear gloves). Job done.
Sash Windows
If you’ve got old sash windows, brush strips work better than foam. They let the windows slide up and down while still blocking draughts.
Or if your sash windows are really draughty and you never open them in winter, consider secondary glazing film. Secondary glazing film is a budget-friendly alternative to double glazing, costing around £10 per window.
You stick special tape around the window, press the film onto it, then use a hairdryer to shrink it tight. Looks a bit plasticky but it works.
Heavy Curtains
Don’t underestimate thermal curtains. Using your curtains and blinds as a thermal barrier will help to keep rooms feeling cosy. Thermal products contain layers that work to reduce heat loss and draughts, and prices from High Street brands such as Dunelm start from as little as £15.
Pair them with naturally thick fabrics like velvet for even better insulation. And shutters are brilliant too – when closed, they can reduce heat loss by up to 62% through single glazing.
Draught-Proofing Doors
Doors are another major problem, especially your front door which faces wind and rain constantly.
The Letterbox
Letterboxes are notorious for letting in freezing air. Place the draught-excluder over your letterbox and use a pencil to mark the fixing points through the pre-drilled holes. Drill pilot holes at the points you marked and loosely screw the draught-excluder onto the door.
Get one with brushes that let post through but block draughts. They cost about £5-10 and take ten minutes to fit.
Keyholes
If you’ve got an old-fashioned keyhole (not a Yale lock), get a keyhole cover. They’re about £2 and just flip down over the hole.
Around The Door Frame
Foam strips work brilliantly here too. Stick them to the door frame (not the door itself), as close to the edge as possible.
Close the door and slip a plastic card between the test strip and the door. If the card slides through easily, the strip’s not thick enough. If the door won’t close, it’s too thick.
Under The Door
This is where most heat escapes. You’ve got two options:
Brush strips – Screw these to the bottom of the door. They drag along the floor and seal the gap. Cost about £5-10.
Draught excluders – The sausage-shaped things you put on the floor. Free if you make them yourself (old tights stuffed with rice works), or £5-15 to buy.
For a proper job, get twin draught excluders that slide under the door and seal both sides.
Internal Doors
Don’t forget internal doors, especially if they lead to unheated rooms like spare bedrooms or garages.
Keep all internal doors closed to retain the heat within individual rooms, and place draught excluders at the bottom of these doors too.
Chimneys – The Massive Hidden Drain
If you’ve got a chimney you don’t use, it’s basically a giant hole in your roof sucking heat out 24/7.
Chimney Solutions
You’ve got a few options:
Chimney balloons – Inflatable things you stick up the chimney. About £20. Easy to remove if you want to light a fire occasionally.
Chimney sheep – This is a specially designed draught excluder made for chimneys, crafted from 100% pure wool, which is a fantastic natural insulator. They’re easy to use—just place one at the base of your chimney in a cool, unused fireplace. Cost £15-30 depending on size.
Chimney caps – These are normally made from terracotta. They provide protection from moisture and birds as well as draughts. Prices start at around £150.
Remember – The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero estimates that blocking an unused chimney can save around £35 per year on energy bills.
Just make sure you remember to remove any chimney draught excluder before lighting a fire. Sounds obvious but people forget and then wonder why the house filled with smoke.
Floorboards and Skirting Boards
Gaps in floorboards are a right pain, especially in old houses where the wood’s shrunk over time.
Filling Floor Gaps
You can easily fill gaps in your flooring with an expandable filler. Make sure it’s expandable since floors will move over time as the wood expands and detracts naturally.
Or use a specialist product like Draughtex that slots into the gaps and stays flexible. Costs about £20-30 for enough to do a room.
Some people recommend a mix of PVA glue and sawdust, which is cheap but can crack over time.
Skirting Board Gaps
Where skirting boards meet the wall or floor, use decorator’s caulk or silicone to fill any gaps. Use airtight silicone if you can – it costs a bit more but doesn’t shrink over time like standard silicone does.
Loft Hatches
Often forgotten but gaps around your loft hatch can easily allow draughts to develop.
If your property has a loft hatch that has a draught coming through around the frame, you can treat this like you would a window and use self-adhesive foam strips to cover any gaps around the hatch and its frame.
The type of strip you need depends on how the hatch opens. For loft hatches that sit on the frame of the entrance, add a compression seal or foam strip around the edge of the hatch to get rid of any gaps when closed. If your hatch swings down when opened, put the seal or strip on the outside perimeter of the door and one on the entrance frame.
While you’re up there, check if the top of the hatch is insulated. If not, stick some insulation board on top. Cheap and easy.
Pipework
Where pipes come through external walls, there’s often gaps around them that let in cold air.
If you used to have an extractor fan installed via an external wall, you may need to fill the old gap it left behind. Ensure the gap is filled with concrete blocks and sealed on both sides.
For smaller gaps around active pipes, use expanding foam. Squirt it in, let it expand and harden, then trim off the excess with a knife.
What NOT To Block
Important bit – don’t block everything. Some gaps are there for a reason.
You’ll find draughts at any accidental gap in your home that leads outside. You can block these, but not if the gaps are to rooms where good ventilation is really important, such as areas where there are open fires or open flues, and rooms where a lot of moisture is produced, such as the kitchen, bathrooms and utility rooms.
Never block:
- Airbricks
- Extractor fans
- Trickle vents in windows
- Boiler flues
- Any vent near a gas appliance
Good air quality in your home is important for your health and your building’s health too. Block the wrong things and you’ll get condensation, damp, and mould. Or worse, carbon monoxide poisoning.
DIY vs Professional Help
Most draught-proofing is easy DIY. If you’re confident doing simple DIY tasks, then draught proofing should be quite straightforward.
But some situations need professionals:
Some homes (especially older homes with traditional features) will be more difficult to draught proof. This is where you should seek professional help. Professional draught proofing is likely to save more energy because the installer will know the right materials to use and where to use them.
Listed buildings, period properties with original features, or homes with unusual construction might need specialists. The TrustMark scheme can help you find reputable tradespeople.
The Complete DIY Kit
Right, if you’re doing this properly, here’s what you need to buy:
Basic Kit (£50-75):
- Self-adhesive foam strips (£15-20 for pack that’ll do whole house)
- Brush strips for doors (£15-20)
- Silicone sealant (£5-10)
- Letterbox draught excluder (£5-10)
- Chimney balloon or sheep (£15-25)
- Expandable floor filler (£10-15)
Tools You’ll Need:
- Pencil
- Tape measure
- Scissors or craft knife
- Screwdriver
- Silicone gun
- Drill (for some jobs)
That’s it. Most of this stuff you probably already have.
Real-World Example
After receiving a winter energy bill of £220 per month in 2022, a family embarked on a comprehensive draught proofing project: Installed brush strips on all sash windows (£120 DIY), fitted chimney balloons to two unused fireplaces (£40), sealed gaps in floorboards throughout the ground floor (£50). Their next comparable winter month’s bill was £178, representing a 19% saving. At current energy prices, their investment will pay for itself in just over one heating season.
£210 spent, saving £42 a month. That’s payback in 5 months, then pure profit every month after that.
The Lazy Person’s Guide
Can’t be bothered doing everything? Fair enough. Prioritise these:
- Front door (biggest culprit usually) – £10-15 for letterbox cover, brush strips, and foam
- Unused chimney (if you have one) – £20 for chimney balloon
- Worst windows (the ones you can literally feel a breeze from) – £5-10 per window
Even just those three will save you £50-80 a year. Takes an hour maximum.
When To Do It
Best time for draught-proofing is autumn, before winter hits and while it’s still warm enough to work comfortably.
But honestly? Any time is fine. Even if it’s January and freezing, the sooner you do it the sooner you start saving.
Just don’t try filling gaps with silicone when it’s below 5°C outside – it won’t cure properly.
Checking Your Work
Once you’ve done everything, wait for a windy day and do another draught check. Walk around with your hand near problem areas. Can you still feel cold air?
If yes, add more draught-proofing. If no, job done.
Your house should feel noticeably warmer and less… breezy. And your heating bills should drop within the first month.
Final Thoughts
Draught-proofing is one of those rare things that’s cheap, easy, and actually makes a proper difference to your bills.
For a typical three-bedroom semi-detached house in the UK, DIY window draught proofing could cost between £50-£100 in materials but save approximately £25 annually on heating bills just from the windows. Add in doors, chimneys, and floors, and you’re looking at £85-145 saved per year.
For most people, that’s payback within a year. Then you keep saving that money every single year after.
Plus your house will be more comfortable. No more cold spots, no more sitting with a blanket in July because there’s a draught, no more wondering why your heating never seems to work properly.
It’s not glamorous. Nobody’s going to compliment your foam strips or ask about your chimney balloon. But when winter hits and your bills are £50-100 lower than last year? You’ll be glad you bothered.
Just get it done. One weekend, £50-100 in materials, massive difference. Easiest money you’ll ever save.