Most dwellings have air bricks and ventilation grids built into them to allow the home to breathe and discourage damp. As they are providing an essential service, they should always be left alone and scrupulously maintained.
However, this is not the case for unwanted air gaps as they only waste energy and increase your energy bills. These unwanted air gaps are often located between floorboards, around windows, letterboxes, and at the base of doors.
Fun Fact, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if you add up the energy flow from the leaks and cracks in an average home, it’s equivalent to leaving a window open every day of the year!
To counter this, you should fit draught excluders to the base of all your internal and external doors. Furthermore, around the home, you should also use window sealing kits and rubber weatherstrips.
For floorboards and baseboards, use foam rods plus caulk to seal the gaps. Another neat trick I use is to sand the boards down and retain the sawdust. I then mix the sawdust with Pva glue and insert this into the cracks.
This will ensure a better color match, and the gaps will then complement the boards. This is the perfect way to ensure that you fulfill the brief to live sustainably and save money!