Weather Stripping

Have ready

Walk the house on a cold or windy day and note which doors and windows whistle, and whether the draft is at the bottom, the sides, or the meeting rail. Clear the area around each opening so the door can swing and we can set a ladder. Have the door hardware working so we can latch it. The first three checks are the door-to-jamb gap with a light behind it, the condition and height of the threshold, and whether the door is square in the opening. We also check the sill and the sash lock.

• Door sweeps
• Kerf-in seals
• Thresholds
• Sash locks adjusted

The visit

A door that whistles in a January wind off the ocean needs a sweep, a threshold that meets the door, and kerf-in or compression weatherstrip that is not painted flat. Window sashes that rattle get the lock adjusted so they pull in against the stop.

Stick-on foam is a one-season product. We use a profile that belongs on an entry door. Foam on a door that is out of square just gets crushed on the high side and still leaks on the low side, so the door gets eased first.

Permit

Weather stripping, sweeps, and thresholds normally need no permit. It is a maintenance and trim item, and no inspection applies. A permit can come into play when the work turns into a full door or window replacement, because the opening is being changed and, for a window, the town may want it on the construction permit with the rest of the job. Adjusting a sash lock or a hinge is not permitted work. We tell you when a repair has become a replacement.

On the Shore

A door on the Shore faces wind that carries sand and salt, and that is what takes the seal out. Salt and grit abrade the bulb or the fin until it no longer touches the stop, and UV hardens the rubber until it cracks. Freeze-thaw moves the threshold and the jamb, so a door that sealed in October has a gap in February. Humidity swells the wood, then dry heat shrinks it and the gap opens. The seal profile and the door fit both matter.

When we leave

We close the door on a strip of paper at the latch side, the hinge side, and the strike, and pull it out to feel the drag. That tells us the seal touches all the way around. The door gets opened and closed through its swing to confirm it latches without a push, and the sweep is checked for drag on the floor. Window sashes get locked and checked for rattle. You get told which seal is where and how to adjust the threshold.

Built with

Entry doors get a kerf-in or compression weatherstrip in a rubber or silicone bulb, a door sweep or a brush sweep at the bottom, and an adjustable oak, aluminum, or composite threshold. Windows get a bulb or a fin seal at the sash and a new sash lock if the old one will not pull the sashes together. We use silicone or EPDM over foam for the Shore, because foam takes a set and does not come back. Exterior caulk is a paintable silicone or a urethane.