6 Draft-Proofing Fixes That Cut a Winter Heating Bill in One Weekend

6 steps · by Homeknacks Editorial

Hand pressing self-adhesive foam tape into a wooden door frame

Heat does not leave a house evenly. It leaks through a handful of specific gaps — under doors, around old sash windows, through the letterplate, down an unused chimney — and those gaps are cheap to close. A full kit for an average three-bedroom home runs about $40 to $70 in the US, roughly CA$60 to CA$95, or £30 to £55 in the UK, and most of it installs with scissors and a screwdriver.

The order below matters. It starts with finding the leaks so you do not waste tape on a wall that was never leaking, then works from the biggest openings down to the small ones. Each step takes under an hour.

  1. 1. Find the real drafts before you buy anything
  2. 2. Seal the bottom of external doors first
  3. 3. Close the letterplate, keyhole and cat flap
  4. 4. Treat windows by type, not with one product
  5. 5. Deal with floorboards, skirting and loft hatches
  6. 6. Block the unused chimney, then set the thermostat properly

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