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Weatherproofing 101: Doors

by Mark Furst, Grading Spaces

Most issues with doors are due to gasket problems, either missing pieces or the door itself being poorly adjusted and not hitting the gasket right. A common leak point is at the top corners where the vertical and horizontal gaskets don’t meet up accurately and leaves a gap. Often, I find that the latch of the door isl oose and I’m not able to pull the door tight up to the gasket. Sometimes this assembly can be simply tightened, other times it makes sense just to install a new latching mechanism as cheaper latches tend to loosen up internally. Cats and dogs can be hard on a gasket if they claw at it. A simple fix I have done to my own back door is to stick a foam strip to the door that hits the existing gasket and seals up any voids in it. This is simpler and cheaper than replacing the gasket itself, just make sure not to use a foam that is too stiff to allow the door to close properly.

The threshold at the bottom of the door is an area that often leaks. Many quality doors have adjustable thresholds that can be raised or lowered to touch the door and create a seal, but is sometimes not adjusted after installation. If the door does not have this, the fix can be a bit more involved. Simply sticking a gasket to the bottom of the door will fail quickly. Usually the best fix is to install a sweep strip on the inside of the door that touches the back of the threshold. These usually have oval slots so you can slope the sweep to accommodate for doors that were installed out of square, or a floor that’s not level.

If the gasket at the bottom of the door is failing, sometimes the culprit is the hinges and their attachment to the framing itself. With the door open, push on the edge of the door towards the hinges. IF there is any movement, the hinges screws need to be tightened. Sometimes inexperienced door installers will not run a screw through the hinge and jamb (frame) and then on into the framing which holds the door in place much more securely than the screws only in the jamb. Occasionally, the screws will be stripped out and need replacing. Getting the next screw size up usually can work, just make sure that the screw head will fit flush into the hinge or else it will not allow the door to close completely.

Sometimes I find an interior door being used as an exterior one. This will be very inefficient, both thermally (it will be uninsulated) and airwise (gaskets will, typically, not be adequate) and if you have this, I would recommend replacement rather than trying to fix it up. The best exterior steel or fiberglass doors can be very efficient with R values up to R15, which is comparable to the walls into which they are installed.

As with windows, the area around the unit can be as leaky as the unit itself. Check the gap between the jamb and the framing. It should be filled with low expansion foam to prevent air movement.

“I need help with all of this green stuff.  Give me a list of ways to go green and the products I need to do it.”

or something along those lines.  My usual response to these types of comments is to offer ideas for saving energy and water and reducing waste around the home, along with a mishmash of product suggestions that might be able to help.  But I’m happy to report that from now on, my reply to these comments will be a bit more streamlined:  Jump Start To Green.

I know a lot of companies are coming out with green “kits” right now to help you go green.  And a lot of them are great.  But I can honestly say that the Jump Start to Green Kit is the very best one that I have seen to help folks go from zero to green fast! And the thing I like about it the most is that absolutely every single item in the kit is usable, practical, and meaningful in terms of helping you go green.  Even if you don’t need the kit, you should definitely check out their site (http://www.jumpstarttogreen.com) for handy-dandy facts like these:

• Installing CFLs can save you up to $12 per year in electricity costs per bulb
• Installing a toilet tank bank can save you up to $29 per year on your water bill
• Cutting showers from 8 minutes to 5 minutes, can save you up to $65 per year on your water bill and $236 per year on your electricity bill.

And guess what?  I get to help one of my readers get a jump start of their very own.  I’m giving away Jump Start to Green’s Essential Kit, which includes 10 eco-awesome items and is valued at $59.

Here is what’s in the kit:

• 4 CFL lightbulbs
• 1 insulated grocery tote
• 1 Kleen Kanteen water bottle
• 1 toilet bank water saver
• 1 shower timer
• 3 eco-sponges
• 1 junk mail reducer set (the forms and stamped envelopes you can submit to get your names off mailing lists.
• Eco-savvy info and guides (including a car sticker, green tracker, green guide,  and around the house reminders)

Wanna win?  Just leave a comment below.  Contest ends Sun, Oct 5th.

And the winner is:

Here are your random numbers:

27

Timestamp: 2008-10-08 17:21:03 UTC

Congratulations Brianna!!

I spend a lot of time “eco-nagging” my daughters. Whether it’s “please turn off the light,” or “DO NOT stand there with the refrigerator door open,” I am constantly pestering them use less energy…a concept that I’ll admit can be somewhat abstract to children. A great way to teach kids about energy consumption is to turn the tables and let them teach you. Help your child give your house an “Energy Report Card”. Here’s how…

Energy Report Cards

For Toddlers and Preschoolers: At this age, the idea is to keep it simple. Download the free Home Energy Audit Kit from EarthCare and help your child identify the items in the pictures (of common household scenes) that use energy. Color the pictures and introduce the basic concepts. “When we turn the light on, we use energy.” Show your child how you turn off the light whenever you leave a room so that you don’t waste energy.

For Elementary School-Aged Kids:

Using the same kit mentioned above, take the concepts one step further. Look through the house together to identify the items that use energy (lights, TV, computer, cell phone charger, etc.) Now, see if you can find ways together to use a little less energy. Adjust the thermostat by a few degrees, unplug appliances that you don’t use regularly, replace burned out light bulbs with compact fluorescents. Check out HogBusters an online game where kids can learn more about the energy savers and wasters throughout the house.

Next, make sure your kids know just where all of that energy is coming from. The diagram posted below gives a good general overview of how this energy gets to your house. You can explore this site further to learn about the different kinds of energy and how they are produced.

For Tweens and Teens: Teenagers should already know what items use energy, but they may not be aware of how much that energy costs in resources and dollars. Surf with your teen over to Saving Electricity 101and scroll down the page to the Electricity Calculator. There you can look up the energy cost in dollars of most common household items (everything from coffee machines to X-boxes.) The idea is not to make kids feel guilty about using energy, just aware that the energy they use does cost money. Talk about the resources (fossil fuels or renewables) that are needed to create energy. You can also check out Home Energy Savers for a web-based home energy auditing tool that calculates your homes energy costs based on the averages in your local area.

Now that your kids know all about saving energy, turn them loose on their schools. A school “Energy Report Card” makes a great science project and can help schools save a bundle of money on energy costs. Oh, and don’t be surprised to hear a little “eco-nagging” as well. “Don’t put so much hot water in that bath, Mom!”

Click here to buy

The Green Parent from

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Here’s what the country’s leading environmentalists had to say about The Green Parent:

““As thoughtful stewards of the little people we care for and of the planet we inhabit, we want to tread lightly. In The Green Parent, author Jenn Savedge guides us through how to live “green” and pass that love and respect for the earth on to our children—whether it’s working with our kids’ school to ensure anti-idling, planning an eco-family vacation or finding an earth-friendly (and scalp-friendly!) way of dealing with head lice. Savedge writes with an infectious optimism that motivates us to change our ways…and change the world in the process.””
–Leslie Garrett, journalist and author of The Virtuous Consumer, mother of three
“

“The Green Parent is an excellent guide for parents! Savedge provides an encyclopedic approach to a range of issues from energy efficiency to saving money. For people who don’t have time to research environmental issues, this book boils them down to their key components, then offers easy solutions that any parent can manage. The simple format and step-by-step suggestions make this a nifty resource to read cover-to-cover, and then use as a reference guide whenever you need just the right answer. Savedge includes fun ideas like a “Light Patrol” badge to get kids involved in saving energy, as well as ideas for throwing a “green” party. She covers very practical ideas too, like how to get rid of head lice in an environmentally friendly way. I’’ve dog-eared many pages in this book and always keep it close at hand.””
–Kathleen Ridihalgh, www.greatgreentips.net, mother of one

Click here to read more praise for The Green Parent
Click here to read an excerpt