DIY expert John McGrath, known as Man In Shed on TikTok, has shared two simple changes you can make to your doors and windows to keep heat in and save money as winter approaches. With the cost of essentials including food, energy, and fuel increasing, any opportunity to save on everyday bills is welcome.
Adjusting doors for winter
In a recent clip, McGrath demonstrated how to adjust the round pins on the inside of front or back doors, which move when the handle is turned to secure the door to the frame. He pointed to a small line on one of the pins and said: "To adjust these, it could not be easier. Just look for the little line here."
If the line is facing away from the door and towards the frame, that is the loosest setting, which he described as the summer setting. He explained: "You can rotate it around to a neutral setting, or rotate all the way in towards the door, so that that little line is facing towards the door. That's the tightest setting, or what they call a winter setting."
He added: "You can do that for all your windows and doors. And it's essentially, like I said, a summer setting. You can have an air gap. Winter time, close everything up, get a nice tight seal, and then there's no air getting in around your windows."
Checking and replacing door seals
The second task McGrath demonstrated was checking the rubber-like seals on doors. He said: "These do compress over time and they do wear out." He showed how to work the old seal out of the frame using a flathead screwdriver, after which it can be pulled out easily.
He advised: "You can buy buckets of UPVC window and door seal. You can get universal ones that will fit any door and window. Most builders' providers will stock this stuff."
To fit the new seal, he said: "Just line it up with the notch that's there. And it's just a press fit. So once you get it started, you can just press fit it the whole way down." He cautioned: "Just take care that you don't stretch it too much, you don't run it down and really stretch on it. You just want to push it in and work it all the way down."
He concluded: "You can do that to all your windows and doors. Super simple. Save yourself some money, especially on your heating costs."
