DOOR CURTAINS

Gally sounds like a good plan. {smile]

Sounds lovely, Gally. I think it'll look very nice indeed!

I've always had curtains across the inner glass doors to the hall, but after having the hall decorated they didn't match the new colour scheme. In the meantime, Mr G died and I lost heart - I had seen the material I wanted but it was working out at a ridiculous price ( expensive Moon wool fabric) so at last I have just purchase 3 grey wool rugs at a fraction of the price and, to make each curtain long enough, I am going to cut one in half and attach each half to the top of the others and have the fringe bit hanging down over the join at the top..... hope it works

I bought some super door curtains on ebay which weren't at all expensive and do the job. I certainly pull them in winter ie now! The only downside is that the little ones love hiding behind them I could certainly do with some in our sitting room which has doors to the outside on 2 of the walls! They're meant to be double glazed but I don't think they fit well

We have always called my mother the gadget Queen, but I think her choice of windows stunned us all. She chose shutters the like of which I have never come across anywhere else. The windows are double glazed, but with a really big gap between the two layers of glass. The cream metal louvred shutters then descend in the gap when they are operated. I can't say I like them, but they are supposedly not only very good at keeping heat and every scrap of light in and out as necessary, but at keeping burglars out too.

However OH says that the house is so badly built that a wise burglar would just knock a hole through the wall.

I put up a curtain inside my front door when I moved in 14 years ago, but have yet to feel the need to close it. One day I shall get rid of it because it gathers dust and spiders. The door is single glazed but has a stained glass panel which matches others in the row, so I am loathe to change it.

Yes Jess and most of the time, I don't shut them as we have high quality double glazing. However in prolonged spells of hot or cold weather, they make a big difference and I leave the ones on the windows shut all the time.

Some confusion here isn't there because those of you on the continent have shutters outside. Georgian houses in UK sometimes have shutters which are on the inside. I guess wandering round to close outside shutters on a winter's evening would cool one down in the UK - or you would have to open the windows and make the house chilly to do so.

We have shutters on our house and the difference in temperature outside and that within the shutter to window space is 6 degrees. I have checked this both in cold weather and hot - so we use them in the winter for warmth and summer for keeping the heat out some of the day at least. We fitted French doors to a south facing room we created and installed a roller shutter there - although quite thin it is insulated and the difference in temperature when the sun is at it height is quite amazing - it has little slits in the shutter too so that a little light penetrates.

I have recently used lining which has interlining incorporated with it making it much thicker. It is easy to use and warmer but does make the curtains a bit stiff.

We also have a curtain for the front door. We have secondary glazing on the windows because the windows have diamond paned leaded lights which were put in when the house was built in 1930s and I wouldn't change them for a king's ransom. The pretend ones don't twinkle!

My neighbour gave me two fairly thick white curtains about three years ago, and I sewed the two to make a front door curtain, double thickness at the bottom - works well on the track I put above the door.

Only thing was last year the cat went unhousetrained and started peeing on the front door mat.....yuk, as it got into the curtain

So THIS year she stays in a room at night, the curtain is washed and clean and useable again! - and up.

I got rid of my faux Georgian double glazed front windows, but did have good quality double glazing installed.

Mamie yes there are quite a lot of older houses in our little market town and they have internal wooden shutters with sash windows.

I know UPVC glazing is highly efficient but I can't bear the look of it, especially the faux Georgian style windows they look so ugly (imo)

A tight fitting pair of shutters would act as draught proofing but not insulation. Air is only a good insulator if it is trapped inside lots of little pockets. (the difference between a nice layer of feathers and no feathers on a little bird...)
Apparently shutters are very popular in London at the moment and people are paying silly prices for them (according to someone I know who is able to charge them!)
We had a newish house but decided to replace the rather tacky wooden (and rotting) french windows in the bedroom with new, high energy efficient UPVC. The difference was astounding in terms of the temperature of the bedroom.
Ordinary wooden doors are a load of rubbish in terms of energy efficiency (to use a technical term).

I replaced my old, draughty door with a new, well insulated and draught-proofed one. My front door opens directly into the sitting room, as is the case with many older terraced houses and the new door made a huge difference to my small house. The back door is also well draught-proofed and the glass is double glazed.

Yes the roller ones are very efficient, but eye-wateringly expensive if you fit them after the house is built. I suspect the problem in the UK is to do with the windows traditionally opening outwards. If you think about it, historic houses often have those lovely internal shutters, which work with outwards opening windows.

Mamie Our German relations had roll type shutters fitted to their windows. I thought they were a brilliant idea, they helped keep the warmth in and they were a good security measure.

Agree with you Mamie. Certainly wouldn't be without the shutters in summer or winter. I find them very effective.

They are certainly used here in Northern France to keep heat in. Also, surely in Switzerland, the Pyrenees, Scandinavia, Germany, Austria? I would have thought a tight-fitting shutter with a layer of air trapped between it and the window helped a lot. It definitely makes a difference in our house.

Maybe its because their primary benefit is the heat out in hot weather. They are not really great insulation if you think about it.
New houses are built with all the features that make them energy efficient in this climate and shutters never figures on the list. They would if people were spending lots of money on air-con maybe, but they aren't.

I have never understood why English houses don't have shutters. They keep the warmth in in winter, the heat out in summer and provide security. Also you then have to have windows that open inwards that are easy to clean and don't need a window cleaner. What's not to like?

Yes they will make a difference, as will anything that keeps draughts out and expensively-heated warm air in. Lots of other ideas on this recent thread. Still wondering if anyone has had a grant this year under the new funding schemes

www.gransnet.com/forums/house_and_home/1202036-Energy-Saving-Tips

I have been thinking about this as last winter my hallway was very cold. I live in an old cottage and it still has the original front door - although there is draught excluder around the door it doesn't seem to be working. Yet another job for the long suffering brother in law!

Yes absolutely, we have one at our front door and It makes such a difference and definitely keeps the heat in. Hmmm does that mean I am getting older ha ha? Aah well, it's better to be warm and cosy I say.

Oh yes ! I have one on the front door which lifts as the door is opened. The curtain rail is attached to the door and the door frame (at the hinge end) and as the door opens it lifts it a bit so it doesn't have to be drawn back out of the way. I have no idea what it is called but my mother had one 60+ years ago and I got mine about 25 years ago. The biggest problem is when guests automatically go to pull the curtain back before opening the door. Highly recommended.