Like caulking, the hardest part of weatherstripping is figuring out which material to use. Types of weatherstripping can range from felt, foam, rubber, vinyl and metal weatherstrips. Using this chart, assess your needs in each part of the house, and figure out how much you want to spend. Then, you just need to follow a few simple weatherstripping rules (in addition to the manufacturer's directions): To determine the amount of weatherstripping needed, measure the perimeters of all areas to be weather stripped and then add 10 percent to allow for waste. Before installation, the surface area must be smooth and free of dirt or particles that might prevent the stripping from making a complete seal against the surface. Apply one continuous strip to each joint, making sure that the stripping is tight at the corners. After installation, check to see if it makes contact with the fixed and movable sections of the joint; the material should be slightly compressed when the door or window is shut.
Take into account the thickness the stripping will add to a frame; in some cases, the frame or movable parts may have to be planed to permit proper closing. cotton, wool or polyester mail slots, storm windows, attic hatch, nonopening windows open-cell (polyurethane), closed-cell (vinyl) open-cell: exterior basement door, attic hatch, storm windows; closed-cell: Dutch doors, metal and wood window casements, nonopening windows, storm windows, exterior basement door, attic hatch, storm door standard door sides, attic hatch, nonopening windows pet hatch, standard double-hung windows, garage door, exterior basement door, metal window casements, sliding windows, nonopening windows, storm windows, standard door bottom Reinforced gasket and flange vinyl lip, plastic or wood flange standard door sides and bottoms, storm door, garage door, Dutch doors nylon bristle in metal or plastic retainer sliding doors, sliding windows, storm doors metal (copper, brass, bronze, etc.) or plastic (polypropylene, vinyl, etc.)
metal: standard door sides, standard double-hung windows, storm windows, Dutch doors, sliding windows and doors, exterior basement door, metal and wood window casements, attic hatch, nonopening windows; plastic: standard door sides, sliding windows and doors, sliding windows, metal and wood window casements, standard double-hung windows vinyl lip with metal, wood or plastic retainer standard door bottom, garage doors, wood thresholdwood or metal threshold steel magnet and holders in plastic housing formed aluminum or brass metal body with vinyl lip To save even more energy around the house, try these do-it-yourself projects:Insulating Pipes and Heating Ducts Oil Burner Tune Up Quick Checks for an Efficient, Winterized Heating System. Types of Caulk and Where to Use Caulking Log Home Insulation Saves Energy Q. My front door is wood with a window and the back door is metal. They are the original ones and neither is efficient nor airtight.
I cannot afford new ones. How can I improve their efficiency myself? A. Energy losses from inefficient entry doors can account for a significant portion of your monthly utility bills. What makes things worse is leaky ones can create drafts in your house. When this happens, people tend to set their furnace thermostat higher and this wastes even more energy. There are ways to improve the efficiency of old doors, but don't eliminate the possibility of installing a new one. Prices for some well-insulated steel and fiberglass doors, especially one for the back door without glass, are very reasonable. A prehung one is not difficult to install yourself. Before you make a decision on what to do, inspect your old doors. If they are in very bad condition, it will be difficult to improve their efficiency by a meaningful amount. First, make sure the wood door is not rotting and it is not badly warped. Use a long straight edge to check this. The most common problem with metal doors (most are steel) is rust, not warping.
The first place to check is along the bottom by the weatherstripping on either side. Rainwater tends to collect there and it is not always painted well. Minor holes can be repaired with car body filler. If the doors are reasonably sound, check for the location of the air leaks. At night, have someone shine a flashlight from outdoors around the seals and look for light reaching inside. On a windy day, move a stick of lighted incense around the seals and watch the trail of the smoke. Often with wood doors, the majority of the problem is simply the latch plate is not holding the door tightly closed against the weatherstripping. Hold the door tightly closed and check for air leaks again. The steel door should have magnetic weatherstripping, so this is not a major issue. One solution is to reposition the latch plate. This will require filling in the old screw holes and drilling new ones. Chisel away some of the wood in the recess for the latch plate. Another option is to install an adjustable latch plate because you may want to reposition it for summer and winter.
Check the condition of the hinges and replace them if needed. If the hinges and pins get worn, the door will not hang square in the opening, and therefore, will not seal well. It is almost certain the seal on the bottom of the doors against the floor threshold is worn. If it is not torn, adjust the floor threshold higher. There are generic replacement seals you can install. An add-on retractable threshold seal works well and automatically lifts to the clear carpeting. Q. The duct from the exhaust vent fan in our bathroom vents directly through the attic. During winter, water sometimes drips off the grill in the ceiling. How can I fix this? A. With a well-insulated house and properly ventilated attic, the air in the attic should stay cold. Your bathroom vent fan probably has a metal duct which also gets cold. Moisture in the exhaust bathroom air condenses and drips out the grill. Try running the vent fan longer after your bath. This moves the moisture-laden air out of the duct quickly before it condenses.