Optimizing your Weatherstripping

Raise the threshold:

If you feel a slight draft of air coming in underneath your house door it may be that your threshold needs to be raised. This is fairly common and typically occurs as the threshold ages, people walk on it, or in the first few years of the home while the home is ‘getting comfortable’ for duration of the home. There is a very easy solution for this. It requires a Phillips head screwdriver. Simply take a screwdriver and loosen up the screws in the threshold- thus enabling the threshold itself to raise up slightly.

Close the door and check for any significant air drafts. If the threshold has been raised properly then the air drafts should be decreased if not eliminated.

Continue to raise the threshold until you have achieved the desired result.

Please note that the other thing to check for in this circumstance is what is termed the ‘door sweep.’ The door sweep is a piece of weatherstripping that is adhered to the bottom of the door by the manufacturer. Over time this door sweep gets old, dries out, and may eventually require replacing.

If this is the case and the door sweep at your house door needs to be replaced – go to the local hardware store and order a replacement sweep. The sweep typically will not be identical to the one on the door, but there are many products available on the market that perform and look just the same.

Replace weather-stripping every few years:

Replacing worn or damaged weather stripping around exterior doors will save money on your energy bills. Take a piece of the old weather stripping with you to the home improvement store so you can easily match it.

The weather stripping in newer doors fits in a groove in the door casing. To remove it, simply pull it out. Then cut a new piece to length, and insert it in the groove. Older doors can be retrofit using rolls of self-adhesive foam weather stripping or rigid strips that are nailed in place.