The Ultimate Guide to Weatherstripping Your Entry Doors for Winter

Summer and autumn always go so fast in Canada. While we have not seen enough of maple leaves, we will need to start preparing for the cold weather.

During the winter months, homeowners always struggle with the rocketing energy bills due to ineffective windows and doors that fail to keep the warmth of your home. So before the winter comes, it’s a good idea to inspect your windows and doors to make sure they are in good condition and ready to battle the elements.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to properly weatherize your doors and vinyl windows and replace them when needed so that your operating systems don’t have to work so hard in inclement weather. So let’s get started.

What materials are needed to weatherstrip your entry doors to spare your HVAC System?

• One Incense stick – I prefer patchouli scented but any will do
• One tube of Caulk – silicone works best
• Dollar bill
• Weather stripping-I like to use adhesive foam
• Pliable bottom door seal- standard size is around 36” x 2” but it’s pliable so it can be cut to fit and can be found at any home improvement store

Wait For The Wind

Light an incense stick and gently wave it around the door frame. If smoke blows any way but up, then you have some work to do, so get your caulk out and be ready to fill those holes. Silicone caulk works best as it is waterproof and it expands to snuggly fill even small holes.

Once all the noticeable holes are filled shut the dollar in the door and try to pull it free. If the bill pulls out freely then you need some weather stripping. I suggest using adhesive foam stripping because I feel like it fills the gaps more securely.

The final step to weatherizing your entryway doors is replacing the door seal at the bottom using a pliable bottom seal. You can usually slide the old one out and pop the new one right in with minimal effort.

Cost Comparison

All of the materials needed can be found at your local home improvement store at affordable costs. This project should take you about a day to complete.

These simple steps will save your heating and air conditioning systems from overworking thus making them run more efficiently and last longer. Not to mention that it will save you hundreds of dollars in heating and cooling costs over the span of a year. You will also save yourself the trouble of masking up in your home while the repair man completes the job.

So whether you are a seasoned do-it-yourselfer or you have always hired a helper to winterize your home and would like to save some money during these trying times.

On the other hand, you can always replace your old front doors with fiberglass doors which have better insulation and energy efficiency so that you don’t have to worry about weatherstripping the entry doors when winter comes.

Fiberglass front doors require little maintenance while offering high resistance to wear and tear and strong protection against the elements. At LUMA, all of our doors are locally manufactured to resist harsh Canadian winters, and you will have unlimited choices to sliding patio doors, fiberglass doors, or steel entry doors. Give us a call today at (905) 303-0560 to book your free estimate.