Alltight guide

Drafty front door: fix or replace?

Cold air at the bottom, light around the edge, water on the sill. Most of the time the cause is simple. Here is how to tell.

Where the draft comes from

Under the door: a worn sweep or a threshold set too low.
Along the latch side or top: compressed or torn weatherstrip, or a door that no longer closes tight against it.
Around the outside of the frame: a gap between frame and wall that was never insulated or sealed.
Through the door itself: failed glass seals or a warped slab.

What can be adjusted

Many drafty doors only need tuning. Adjustable thresholds can be raised to meet the sweep. Strike plates can be moved so the door pulls tight into the weatherstrip. Worn sweeps and weatherstrip can be replaced. Hinges can be shimmed or tightened with longer screws into the framing so the door sits square again.

When it is time to replace

Replace the door when the frame or sill is soft or rotted, the slab is warped, the glass is fogged between panes, or the door is out of square because the opening has moved. In those cases new weatherstrip will not close the gap for long. A new pre-hung unit, flashed and sealed into the opening, fixes the cause rather than the symptom.

Why it matters more here

From Langley east, winter outflow winds push cold air hard against east facing doors, and coastal homes in White Rock get wind driven rain. A door that is only slightly off lets in a lot of weather in those conditions. Getting the frame plumb, the sill sloped and sealed, and the weatherstrip continuous makes the biggest difference.

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Door Installation near you

Based in Mission, serving the Fraser Valley from Agassiz and Chilliwack to Maple Ridge, Langley and White Rock.

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