Installing Weather Stripping & Door Sweeps

How to Buy Weather Stripping for Doors

You can usually find the types of door weather stripping shown here at well-stocked hardware stores and home centers. Many other types are available, but you’ll probably have to order them from a catalog. Ask to see a catalog at your local hardware store and order through the store if possible.

We like the wrapped foam type (A and B, shown above). It’s durable, retains its shape, withstands abrasions and conforms to a wide range of gaps. The metal flange with slots for screws (B) is a bit more adjustable than the nail-on wood flange type (A). The vinyl or silicone bulb type (C) won’t cover wide gaps as well as wrapped foam, but it has a smaller profile with a cleaner look.

Finding new door weather stripping to match the exact profile of the old can be difficult. If you know the door manufacturer or where the door was purchased, try there first. (Check the door and frame for a label.) Otherwise, call a local door or window repair service. (Look under “Doors, Repair” or “Windows, Repair” in your Yellow Pages or online.) It may stock the materials or tell you where to call. Replacement kits for the wrapped foam and magnetic (for steel doors) types are sometimes available at hardware stores and home centers.

Replace Your Weather Strip: Bottom Door Seal Replacement

Tighten the hinges

Lift the door by the doorknob to check for loose hinges. If the door moves upward, tighten the top hinge screws. That might solve the draft problem!

Feeling a winter chill? If you run your hand around the perimeter of your closed door and feel a cool draft, your door weather stripping is probably worn, cracked or deformed.

Maintaining an airtight seal on your doors is essential for stopping cold drafts and keeping your home comfortable. Replacing door weather stripping on newer doors is fairly easy. You can usually slide out the old door weather stripping and push or slide new vinyl or foam weather strips into the grooves in the door or the surrounding frame. The biggest hassle is finding replacement door weather stripping that matches. However, older doors were made without integral weather stripping and it must be added.

Installing new door weather stripping on older doors (and doors for which you can’t find replacement door weather stripping) is fairly easy, and we’ll show you how to do it in this article. Door weather stripping kits are available at most full service hardware stores and home centers. They include two side weather strips, a top weather strip and fasteners.

We decided not to replace the old, worn bronze weather stripping on our door with new bronze because the project is difficult, especially around the latch plates. (You can still find several types of replacement bronze at full-service hardware stores.) The wrapped foam type shown here is easier to install and more effective. We later painted the wood flange to blend with the frame. Before you go out to buy your materials, check the door to make sure the draft isn’t caused by loose hinge screws. If the screws no longer bite, you may have to glue wood plugs in the holes and re-drive the screws.

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