Hi,
I just got Great Homes, and was disappointed to find out that Inspired House was discontinued, but glad to find this online discussion area. I have some fix-up projects with my small townhouse, and many questions. I hope this is the right place to address them!
Foremost on my mind right now is the front of the house, which is notably cold and drafty. Part of the problem is the threshold and door sweep; they leave about a 1/8″ gap. I’m not sure how to remove the old sweep, or how to put on a new one. Any suggestions or resources?
There is also a double-hung window at the front of the house which doesn’t have any visible gaps, but is also cold and drafty. What can I do about that?
Thanks very much in advance,
Sarah
Replies
I Sarah, I cannot help you with your door problems but a suggestion for your window I can offer. We bought a house a few years back that was only 6 years old and regretfully had all wooden windows. We started replacing a few windows at a time and as we did, we noticed that there was no insulation behind the window casings.
It may be in your best interest to carefully remove your mouldings around your windows and have a look. If there isn't any you can buy a spray foam insulation to spray in there. However, when purchasing be cautious not to buy an foam that will spray in there to tightly. You must ask some questions at your store. Let them know that you are using it around windows. Clean up is easy and quick. It may also be a good idea to have bigger casings put around your windows so you do not see any gaps.
Hope this helps.
Joanne
If you're not comfortable with the door sweep, there are threshold plates (goes on the floor under the door) with a rubber seal in them. They're aluminum thresholds with what looks like a half of a rubber tube in the middle, the tube should touch the bottom of the door for an effective seal. Also available is an aluminum strip that is screwed to the lower edge of the door with a rubber strip that will seal at the threshold. (any good hardware store)
Edited 2/5/2007 8:17 am ET by Ray
Thanks for the suggestions! I presume attaching the strip to the bottom of the door would necessitate taking the door off its hinges?Sarah
There are some door sweep kits that you can attach to the lower inside edge of the door. Not too pretty, but do the job. I live in a 100-yr old house that has one on the front door. It was there when we bought the house & I haven't got around to replacing it yet.