Air leaking around front door

sadears

I have air leaking around my front door. I've replaced the insulation strip all around. Seems to be coming in on the latch side. I've attached pics. When it's windy, it howls.

Steph

Attached Thumbnails

   

gregzoll

Need to see the frame with the door open. If the seal is torn, then yes, you will get air leakage. Only way around it, is to place a door weather strip (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...002&lpage=none) on the outside at the hinge side to help seal.

sadears

I replaced the weather stripping all around and it didn't do a thing.

Steph

robin303

OK what I would do is lock your door shut with the dead bolt locked then use that weather stripping that gregzoll suggested. Do the top first then do the sides and really push it in while you screw or nail it in. They also have that foam type you can put on the door stop. Hope this helps.

sadears

There isn't that much space. I was thinking that the frame is not square.

Steph

gregzoll

That is hard to tell, because of the macro shot you took. If you want to talk about a door not in square, my backdoor is a culprit of that.

Lightning#88

I have this same problem and have replaced the stripping and steal have leaks. I have purchased epoxy and I'm going to fill in the screw holes in the catch and move the catch closer to the weather stripping. It forces the door to touch the stripping when closed. MY door as well isn't plum.

Thurman

The type of sealing material that "gregzoll" suggested works well, when placed properly. This type material is designed to be put on with the door completely shut and latched. As posted, place the top first and make sure it touches the door itself. Some of these kits come with nails and some with screws. I find that the one's with screws allow for a little adjustment to make sure the weatherstrip is touching the door surface properly. When placing the strips along the sides of the door, I like to use a dollar bill to make sure I have a tight fit. The weatherstripping should hold the dollar bill but not so tight that you cannot pull it out reasonably. If you use this material, and place it properly, I cannot see why you would have any more leakage. This type material conforms even to an out-of-square and/or warped door. Good Luck, David

sadears

I looked at the website. I thought weather stripping went inside the door jamb. So I guess I don't understand where and how the weather stripping is installed.

Stillwerkin

It goes on the outside, and attaches to the jam, not the door. The round rubber seal fills in the extra space.
It works well for small gaps(under 1/8in), anything larger and you could use molding and foam I'd guess.

sadears

Alrighty then.

Thanks. I borrowed some books from the library. One showed what I think is what you folks are talking about. I might try to remove the casing on either side and see if making the opening more square helps. If nothing else, the door might lock/unlock easier.

Thanks everyone for your help. If I had the money, I'd hire the guy out in town dancing on the corner in his tool belt looking for work. (He's wearing other clothes too )

gregzoll

Removing the casing will not make it square. You have to pretty much pull the nails & screws, and put the door back square. You can check for square by using a level, and tape measure (have to measure in three places horizontally & vertically).

sadears

I have read that inserting shims between the frame and stud can help square the door.

firehawkmph

Sadears,
That is how it should have been done in the first place. Many aren't. If you take the casing off, and there is some space between the doorframe and the studding, you can possible square it up. It helps to know what you are doing though. You can't just start jamming shims in. The other thing that comes into play is how the door is fastened to the framing. If they drove large nails through the brickmold on the outside, you may not get the door to move much. Best to invite someone over that is experienced to look the door over before you tear into it. If the door is out very much at all, many times it means removing it and starting over again.
Mike Hawkins