IMG_0063, originally uploaded by espeedy123.
If you were wearing an Armani suit, would you wear a clip-on tie? If you bought an super hi-tech HDTV, would you hook it up to your old VCR?
Likewise, if you spent a small fortune installing a fancy front door, would you adhere brown sticky foam around the perimeter of the edge of it to seal out air?
Thus the hot topic for today — the Hands On discussion of options for weather stripping your exterior doors.
OK so maybe I’m a snob. I encourage you to comment and tell me as much. I just know that I’ve priced a lot of doors lately for the flip house, and I own a pretty decent (if neglected) front door. I know how much they cost, and I just can’t get into that foam. And the foam stuff is what I keep seeing energy experts talk about.
I know I need weatherstripping. I don’t need a blower door test to tell me. I can feel a bit of air around the door, and in a couple spots I can see sunlight. And according to Lowe’s, a 1/8″ space around an exterior door is equivalent to a 2×2 inch hole in the wall!
I visited the two major big box hardware stores and found foam and some vinyl. I think this is perhaps one of those items you might need to shop for elsewhere. I checked a premium hardware store here in Dallas called Elliot’s, and a roll of brass flashing long enough to go around my door was just under $20.
Here are some resources I found helpful that I thought might help others:
erin covert * hands on 