If you find that the front door of your house or apartment is drafty, it’s not just an annoying blow-through. Drafts could be affecting your energy costs as well as the environment. If people are coming in and out with coats and scarves covering their necks and if there isn’t a roaring fire nearby to heat up the room, then chances are there is a draft near the door. Minimizing drafts around exterior doors can easily save homeowners between 10% and 25% on heating costs each year according to Energy Star.
1. Draft-Proofing Has Failed
In some cases, your door has failed to keep air out of the house. This failure usually occurs at the bottom of a double door unit when a gap forms between where one door meets another. You might not even notice it until you look closely or step outside and feel a cold breeze blow through your entryway.
2. Your Door Is Out-of-Swing
This is the most common reason for a drafty door. If your door swings toward the inside of the house, you’ll have a pretty tough time keeping cool air from getting in during colder months. If the air makes it to this area, it might hit an obstruction – like a couch or table – and escape through seams around windows and doors. You would probably feel very cold air entering your home in this way. Fixing out-of-swing issues can be tricky but is definitely worth pursuing if you want to cut down on drafts in your home.
3. Insulation Has Failed Inside Your Door
Sometimes draftiness comes from your door itself not being properly insulated. Your door’s weather stripping might have failed long ago; insulation removed during maintenance work could have never been replaced, or maybe you didn’t insulate at all when you moved in! A quick check of the weatherstripping will help you determine if your door is insulated properly. After that, you can see where the gaps are and fill them with something like spray foam insulation. Then you’ll be ready to weatherproof windows and doors throughout your house!
4. Impact Sill
An impact sill is a piece of metal that forms a barrier between the door and the floor. It’s designed to keep the wind from blowing under your door, but it can fail over time as its rubber gasket starts to dry out and crack. The solution is as easy as replacing this gasket with a new one made of silicone or neoprene. If you’re going to replace it yourself, be sure you know what you’re doing! Oftentimes this part requires removing some screws on the jamb side of your entryway. Make sure you don’t take out too many because, if so, your door won’t be properly attached!
5. Door’s Age Is Starting to Show
Your door could be getting old and needs replacement. If your home is a little older or has never had a door installed, you might have some pretty serious drafts coming in during the winter months. You might also see more cracks on windows and doors throughout your house. There could be a few signs you need to replace your front door that you need to take care of.
If none of these reasons is causing your drafty front door problem, then call a repairman to take a look at it. They’ll be able to tell where the problem is and try to address it as quickly as possible. If your front door has failed, then let them know that as well because they may have special procedures in place to help keep your entryway secure during replacement. Don’t wait until it’s too late to draft-proof your entryway! It will save you money from having to replace windows and doors sooner than necessary.
