Weatherstripping Doors

What this is

An external door is a moving part in a fixed opening, so it needs a seal that compresses rather than a filler that sets. Weatherstripping is the family of foam, rubber and brush seals fitted to the frame rebate and the threshold so the closed door meets a continuous soft line instead of a hard edge with daylight behind it.

Telling whether your home needs it

Close the door on a strip of paper at several points around the frame. Where the paper slides out with no resistance, there is no contact. Visible daylight along the bottom edge, a letterplate that rattles, or a hallway that is noticeably colder than the rooms off it are all straightforward indicators.

What the job involves

Clean the rebate thoroughly first, because self-adhesive seals fail on dusty or greasy timber more often than for any other reason. Measure each side of the frame separately and cut lengths to run corner to corner without stretching. Choose the seal thickness from the actual gap: too thick and the door will not latch, too thin and it never touches. The threshold usually needs a different component from the sides, either a brush strip on the door bottom or a low weather bar on the sill.

Things to watch

Check the door still latches cleanly without being forced; a door held shut only by the seal will drop out of adjustment. Letterplates and keyholes are worth treating separately with their own brush or flap covers. On a door that has swollen, ease and adjust the hinges before adding seals, or the new material will simply be crushed.