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Theres a Better Way


Stop Drafts With a Homemade Door Sweep

comments (4) December 21st, 2012
grateful.ed Chuck Miller, editor at large

Video Length: 1:15
Produced by: John Ross and Chuck Miller

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If you've got an old house, you probably have doors that leak air at the bottom. You could put in some shiny aluminum thresholds with sweeps that would stand out like a sore thumb, but there's a better way.

Don Mathis of Macomb, IL, uses ordinary materials to make a very serviceable door sweep that looks right at home in an older house. Don first uses a router to cut a 1/2-in. by 1/2-in. slot in the bottom of the door. Into that he puts a folded strip of EPDM roofing membrane--that's the same stuff they use to make inner tubes--and he holds that in place with a length of 12-ga. Romex wire. And the Romex wire is clamped in place with 1-1/2-in. drywall screws spaced 4-in. on center.

The EPDM makes a U-shaped flap that hangs underneath the door and can be trimmed to match the imperfections in an old floor. Bang, done. Awesome tip, Don. Thank you for sending that, buddy.

 

posted in: weatherizing, doors
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Comments (4)

Schrickker Schrickker writes: I noticed that Chuck Miller was demonstrating the removal of a hole saw plug using screws for leverage. Lee Valley sells a quick release hole saw arbor which enables you to slide the hole saw off the plug. It's a sturdy tool that works well although pricey at $32.50 in Canada. It's worth every penny when you consider the frustration of prying a plug from a hole saw.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=59737&cat=1,180,42316
Posted: 7:36 am on January 1st

TheGeneral TheGeneral writes: Bad idea! But, I guess if you're living in a hobo house you really don't care what it looks like. This is the kind of tip that winds you on YouTube under "redneck construction" or part of that roaming e-mail that shows all those ridiculously stupid ways to fix things. Aside from the fact that this would just look incredibly cheap; you've just ruined the door. How long do you think it is going to take before the bottom of the door starts to rot out because you didn't PRIME AND PAINT that big, huge, groove you just made in the edge??? This might do in a pinch for a garage or an outbuilding, but no self-respecting contractor or homeowner would accept this as a quality fix. Besides, if you can afford to have the specialized router bit to do this job in the first place; then you can surely afford to fix it correctly.
Posted: 12:23 am on December 27th

Kop Kop writes: I do like the concept, however the lower door edges will not be very attractive. Somebody smart needs to figure out a remedy.
Happy holidays all…
Posted: 11:57 am on December 24th

LocalHero LocalHero writes: This is the kind of creative engineering that I like! Looks difficult to trim or install the strip to match a whacked floor though. Any tips on how you do that?
Posted: 7:31 am on December 24th

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