With heating costs rising, here’s an easy way to keep heat from escaping out your doors, too. The job will take you less than an hour, but plan to do it on a warmer day, as you're going to have to take the door off. Before you get started you'll need to gather up your tools and supplies.
Supplies
Supplies
- Look at all three sides of your door to determine what kind of weather stripping you need.
- Purchase a new door sweep
- Ensure you have some caulk (check it hasn't dried up)
- 1-in. brad nails
- Hammer
- Cordless drill
- Tape measure
- Caulk gun
- 4-in-1 screwdriver
- Needle-nose pliers
- Nail set
- Hacksaw
- Stapler
- Rubber mallet
- Utility knife
- Wood chisel
Now that you're all prepared, it's time to get to work! First, lets remove the door. Close the door and using your hammer and a pin punch or nail tap out the pins in the hinges. Be careful not to let the weight of the door bend the hinge before you get it off.
When you rip out the old weather stripping, you may find that it’s tacked with small brads from the manufacturer. Leave them in place after removing the old weather stripping or you’ll damage the doorjamb. Then take your chisel and shear off the old brad nail, or you can drive them in further with a screwdriver.
Install the new weatherstripping. To ensure that the strips won’t pull out, pin them with a few 1-in. brads.
Next pry out the old sweep on the bottom of the door. Run a bead of caulk along the bottom edge of the door, tap the sweep into place and staple it at the ends.
Line the door back up with the hinges and tap the pins back into place.
While you’re at it, do a quick fine-tune of the adjustable threshold. Adjust all four screws until the door opens and closes without much drag and any drafts have been eliminated (look for light between the sweep and the threshold with the door closed). Turn the screws clockwise to lower the threshold and counterclockwise to raise it.
And there you have it! You've just saved yourself a few bucks!
When you rip out the old weather stripping, you may find that it’s tacked with small brads from the manufacturer. Leave them in place after removing the old weather stripping or you’ll damage the doorjamb. Then take your chisel and shear off the old brad nail, or you can drive them in further with a screwdriver.
Install the new weatherstripping. To ensure that the strips won’t pull out, pin them with a few 1-in. brads.
Next pry out the old sweep on the bottom of the door. Run a bead of caulk along the bottom edge of the door, tap the sweep into place and staple it at the ends.
Line the door back up with the hinges and tap the pins back into place.
While you’re at it, do a quick fine-tune of the adjustable threshold. Adjust all four screws until the door opens and closes without much drag and any drafts have been eliminated (look for light between the sweep and the threshold with the door closed). Turn the screws clockwise to lower the threshold and counterclockwise to raise it.
And there you have it! You've just saved yourself a few bucks!
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