My front door is warped about a 1/4" from the knob to the top side which creates heat/cold leaks, how do I cure this short of just adjusting the weatherstrip?

Is there a way to "unwarp" this door?

How about "unwarping" it in place, after all it is HOT here in Central Texas already.

I could put a lock at the top which would pull it back tight but there's got to be better ways.

 

Wood door or other material?? There is usually not much you can do since all sides are theoretically sealed. A piece of wood will often warp from the wet side, so wetting the opposite side will often make it warp back. However, it usually does not stay that way unless well sealed once it reaches flat.

Adjusting or replacing weatherstripping may be the only fix.

 

In my experience, a "warped door" rarely is what it is claimed to be. 90 percent of the time it is a door that is out of plumb. To test for a warped slab the way I was taught was to wrap a string around the slab and pull it tight. If there is a gap between the string and the slab anywhere that is more than 1/4" you slab is warped, if not then it is a door out of plumb. They are a few tricks you can do to remedy this. The easiest/quickest way I know of is to remove the screws that attach the top hinge to the slab and reinstall the screws closer to the interior of the slab so it pushes the top of the door out towards the weatherstrip. This will not work every time but sometimes its just enough to make contact with the ws, and it only works if you have a wood edge to your slab. If it is an all steel door however this will not work, but some of the all steel manufacturers have build in adjustments for just such an emergency. The other thing I would try before pulling off trim to reset the door frame is using a long reach weatherstrip or Large Q Lon on the top and latch side. If you use the long reach on the hinge side it will bind up and you would not be able to close, but on the handle side and top it gives you the extra 1/4" you need for your slab to seal against the WS


Here's a link for Q Lon

http://q-lon.net/

Good Luck.