Lock Out Winter - Keep Your Door Shut to Cold and Wind
Are your doors inviting in the winter winds and wasting your energy and money? Here's a simple way to find out.
Stand outside the closed door on a dark night and shine a flashlight all around the edges of the door. Inside is your assistant and wherever he/she can see any light seeping in, that's where the cold winter wind can enter.
Keeping the wind out is a breeze. One easy-to-install option is door sets, such as those made by Frost King. Door sets can be nailed around the sides and top of exterior doors. They not only stop the draft, but they also cushion the door to prevent slamming. Door sets are especially good for older homes since they can compensate for warped jambs or sagging doors. Sets come in a variety of materials, colors and finishes.
Drafts can also be reduced by applying self-sticking weather-strip tapes of foam or rubber, or by nailing on strips and gaskets made of felt, vinyl, rubber or metal.
Don't Let the Cold Sneak In - Here's the Bottom Line on Sealing Doors
Don't overlook insulation problems that are at floor level. The area under your doors can be a major problem spot. Use the Special Delivery Test on every door--even those in unheated areas such as basements, garages, attics or storerooms.
Take a sheet of stiff paper and if you can slide it under your doorway you're inviting cold air, rain, dirt and insects to come right in.
To remedy this, install a new door threshold which seals the opening and even improves the door's appearance. Frost King has many easy-to-install thresholds available in different styles, colors and finishes. Instructions and all the necessary screws are included.
Or get a door bottom which is even easier to install and seals the openings at the bottom of the door. Bottoms are either screwed, nailed or stuck into place. All are adjustable to compensate for uneven doors or floors.
Saving Energy Isn't a Pipe Dream - Insulate Those Least Thought About Areas
It's time to make some home improvements that will keep you cozy this winter and help slash your energy bills. Insulating some rarely thought of areas can have surprisingly satisfying results.
Consider insulating pipes, ducts and water heaters for maximum efficiency and minimum energy loss. It's easily done.
For example, Frost King's tubular foam pipe insulation is pre-slit to slip onto copper or iron pipes of various diameters. On hot pipes, it cuts wasteful heat loss. On cold pipes, it stops sweating and helps prevent freezing.
Frost King also has fiberglass, fiberglass/foil or self-adhesive plastic foam/foil insulation for hot and cold pipes and ducts. And pick up a vinyl-backed fiberglass water heater blanket that saves energy as it makes your water heater more efficient.
Garage doors are another major source of energy loss. Frost King has heavy-duty kits that seal and cushion the bottom of the garage door and kits that seal out drafts from all around it.
Don't Blow Your Money on Energy Bills - Use a Kleenex to Help Seal Drafts
Take the Tell Tale Tissue Test and let an ordinary facial tissue help you avoid household drafts.
Make a low-tech "draft detector" by taping or clipping one end of a tissue to the bottom of a wire hanger. Hold the hanger by the hook and take this "instrument" to windows, air conditioning units, electric outlets and switches--if the tissue flutters, air is entering and you better fix it.
The easiest and most popular draft solution is self-sticking weatherstrip tape. These tapes are available in four forms: open cell foam, which is a highly compressive foam for indoor use that can seal vary narrow openings; closed cell foam, a versatile waterproof product that's a little firmer high-density sponge foam; a very firm foam that can also be used on car trunks or boat hatch covers EPDM rubber; a premium weatherstrip that won't harden or crack, even at 40 degrees below zero.
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