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NOVEMBER 2016 HOMES PLUS 3 248830001 Dear Jim: Our doors are old, inefficient and drafty. One is made of solid wood and one metal. I cannot afford new doors. What inexpensive improvements can I make myself to increase their efficiency? — Rick P. Dear Rick: People often do not realize how leaky an old door has become. Chairs and sofas are typically not very close to a door, so drafts are not noticed. Check doors for leaks by moving a stick of lighted incense around the edge on a windy day. Observe the smoke trail for signs of leaky spots. Leaky doors cost money in two ways. First, the cold air leaking in makes your furnace run longer to keep your house warm. Second, the draft, even if you do not notice it, makes you feel chilly. When feel- ing chilly, people often set the furnace ther- mostat higher, which wastes even more energy. Before beginning your door projects, con- sider installing insulated steel doors, par- ticularly for your back door. They are effi- cient, easy to install and prices on some returned items at home centers are deeply discounted. Probe visually bad spots on the wood door with a screwdriver to check for rotten wood. If it is more than one-quarter inch deep, it will be difficult to repair with wood filler. Place a long straight edge on the door to check for warpage. New weatherstrip- ping will not seal a badly warped wood door. Most metal doors have steel skins, so rust is a common problem, but it can be repaired. Rainwater gets trapped at the bot- tom by the weatherstripping. Small rust holes can be filled with auto body com- pound. Poke a drain hole in the weather- stripping so no more water gets trapped. If you are having a problem finding leaky spots by watching the smoke from incense, have a helper shine a flashlight in around the edge at night. Leaky spots also allow more road noise to come through. Listen for the loudest spots around the doors. On the wood door, the weatherstripping may become compressed over time. Push the door very tightly closed to see if this helps. Metal doors use magnetic weather- stripping, so this is not often a problem. To fix a wood door, reposition the latch plate. Remove some wood in the door frame and move the plate back. Drill out the old screw holes and fill them with a dowel rod. Drill new screw holes to secure the latch plate in its new position. Installing a stepped latch plate is another option. If the hinges are worn, a door can hang crooked in the frame. This also allows the door to move slightly away from the frame so weatherstripping is not adequately com- pressed. Install new good-quality hinges. The threshold seal at the bottom of an old door is usually worn or torn. A torn one must be replaced. If it is just worn, the JAMES DULLEY New weatherstripping, floorplates, hinges among leaky door fixes Pemko Manufacturing Replaceable vinyl weatherstripping seals well on the hinge side of the door because it gets compressed with little rubbing and wear. See DULLEY/Page 4

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