Entry Door Weather-stripping

Now that it&#;s almost winter, it&#;s time to measure, cut, and apply weatherstripping to your doors and windows to help keep you warm without racking up costly heating bills. Or, if you have them on year-round, it&#;s time to check and make sure they&#;re in good shape and replace them if necessary. Did you know that the small cracks and spaces between your windows and doors account for up to 38% of your home&#;s lost heat? This drastic loss of warmth means you&#;ll be relying more on your heater, which means a bigger heating bill that could have been avoided if you had just checked and replaced your weatherstripping. Weatherstripping replacement is simply a more energy-efficient and affordable solution to staying warm this winter, and to get the most out of it, you should know when it needs replacing.

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As a general rule of thumb, entry door weatherstripping should be replaced every few years. So, if it&#;s been two or three years since you replaced the weatherstripping on your doors, or you can&#;t remember the last time you even checked them was, that&#;s your sign they need to be replaced. However, depending on how much and how often a door is used, you may be changing weatherstrips a lot more often. Obviously, the stripping on doors like your front door that is used every day will wear down quicker and become less efficient at trapping heat in your home, so it&#;ll need replacing once or twice a year.

Even though some doors may not be used all that much during certain seasons, you should still check the stripping on each before winter and again before spring. Inspecting entry door weatherstripping is hardly a demanding task, and if you know what to look for, you can check all the doors in your home in a few minutes.

The first thing to do when inspecting weatherstripping replacement is to look for any missing chunks or signs of damage &#; both are obvious signs that the striping needs to be replaced. But things aren&#;t always that apparent. To catch what you may have missed, you should close the door and see if any light shines through. The more light shining through, the more you should prioritize replacing the striping. If you&#;re still unsure, or just want to be very thorough, you can light a candle, set it by the doorframe, and watch for any fluttering smoke. If you don&#;t feel comfortable having an open flame right next to your door, we recommend you try sliding a dollar bill or piece of paper under the door and seeing how easy it is to maneuver from one side to the other. The easier it is, the more likely your entry door weatherstripping should be replaced.

Weatherstripping replacement are also one of those things home buyers never remember to check on and replace after they&#;ve moved in, so if you&#;ve recently bought a home, you&#;ll likely want to have the weatherstrips replaced.

Sometimes it&#;s the door itself that&#;s the issue, and no weatherstripping in the world can make it better at trapping heat. If you&#;re in need of beautiful, high-quality exterior doors that effectively keep in the hot air in the winter and cold air in the summer, take a look at what Trimlite has to offer today!

Everybody understands the importance of maintaining an energy efficient home in today&#;s world, both to save money on electric bills and to be environmentally responsible. New homes are built to code and therefore meet energy efficiency requirements, older homes night be updated by adding insulation or replacing windows to lower power bills and become more efficient. One thing homeowners tend to overlook is the importance of replacement weather stripping for exterior doors as a means of preventing drafts and the use of excessive heating and cooling to counteract their effects.

How Often to Inspect and Change Weather Stripping

How Often to Inspect and Change Weather Stripping

Inspecting weather stripping is a simple enough task to be conducted several times throughout the year, or at least in the autumn as the weather turns cold and again when it begins to warm up in the spring. The inspection shouldn&#;t wait until there is a noticeable draft coming in around the door. You can regularly feel around the door to check for any air leaks. Check both sides, if you feel outside temperatures coming inside or if you feel inside temperatures leaking to the outside, it&#;s time to replace the weather stripping for a front door. An even better way to inspect the weather stripping is to light a candle, or perhaps a piece of incense, and move it around the edges of the door. Even the slightest of drafts you are unable to feel will blow the smoke either into or away from the door.

Different Types of Weather Stripping

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Over the years, there have been different styles of weather stripping according to the technology of the time. The best weather stripping for old doors might be to replace it with the exact same as what was there originally, or there might be a newer style made of a better material for that particular door. There are going to be different sizes, shapes and contours, and attachment systems for different doors, so make sure you know what you need before purchasing the replacement if you plan to do it yourself. Speaking of doing it yourself, it&#;s a fairly simple task most homeowners are capable of, but a reputable local contractor will be happy to do it as well if you don&#;t enjoy such activities or don&#;t feel comfortable with it.

How To Replace Weather Stripping

Again, there are different types of weather stripping, so the first step is to cut off a small piece of the old with either a razor knife or scissors so you can take it with you to the store and purchase a compatible replacement. Most styles have a mushroom shaped ridge which wedges itself into a kerf in the door frame, a &#;kerf&#; being a small groove the width of a table saw blade cut into the door frame. Simply pull out the old to remove it and you&#;ll see how to install the new by cutting it to length pushing it back into the groove.

Another style of weather stripping is simply a piece of foam with an adhesive backing. The advantage is that it&#;s universal, but it isn&#;t designed for any particular door style and therefore doesn&#;t fill all the gaps and eliminate drafts. It&#;s better than nothing as a quick fix, but if your door is so old that&#;s all you can find your door is old enough to start considering a new one.

Takeaways

Takeaways

• Check your door regularly for drafts, and at least twice a year conduct a thorough inspection.

• When replacing weather stripping, make sure to use the right kind for your door.

Conclusion

If you need help with weather stripping or any other maintenance and remodeling projects, give us a call at RWC Windows, Doors, and More. Our representatives will be happy to meet with you and discuss any concerns or needs you might have for your home.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Bubble Auto Weather Stripping.