For some families, the onset of cold weather is a real test. Even during the heating period, gaps in the windows and the front door make the residents constantly cringe. The main cause of tangible discomfort is an unpleasant and ubiquitous draft. It occurs in the case of leaky installation of doors and windows. Special attention should be given to how tightly the front door is installed. In this case, there are two options for solving the problem: dismantle the door and insulate the canvas, or try to insulate the door without dismantling. If the first option can be done on your own (subject to some skills and dexterity), then insulate the installation door important to produce everyone can do it with their own hands without dismantling from the box. IN this material We present our recommendations on how to do it right.
The main reason for the presence of a draft lies in the incorrect installation of the door frame in the opening. Most often, the installation of the structure is carried out on uneven walls, with some deviation from the level. Existing gaps are not filled mounting foam or are filled with errors. As a result of all this, some try to get rid of the draft and close the gaps with all accessible ways: fill the holes with material, a blanket. We admit that this option is not only ineffective, but also, to put it mildly, visually inexpressive. In order to permanently get rid of the annoying draft and subsequently live in a living space with maximum comfort, it is necessary to produce high-quality door insulation. By the way, this will not only prevent cold air from getting inside, but also prevent the accumulated heat from escaping and significantly increase sound insulation. If your apartment is located in close proximity to the garbage chute, and the neighbors often go out to the landing to smoke, a lot of unpleasant odors. Insulating the door will help solve this problem once and for all.
As mentioned above, the insulation of the front door can be performed different ways. The most cardinal of these is complete dismantling old door and replacing it with a new one. In this case, at the time of installation, it is important to make correct installation doors, taking into account all requirements and recommendations. The second way is to insulate the internal cavity of the front door or sheathing its inside if there is no cavity in the leaf or it is impossible to open it (as, for example, it often happens in Chinese-made entrance doors). This option involves removing the door from the box. You can do the insulation yourself, but this work will not be simple and affordable for everyone. Finally, the third option is the most affordable. It will suit most families - door insulation around the perimeter. Such door insulation can be done by hand. In addition, the described method is much cheaper than the other two options. In this regard, we will describe the last option in more detail.
Do-it-yourself insulation of the front door
We hope that from the first part of the material you have understood that the main cause of drafts are cracks. They should be disposed of by pasting the door leaf with a special insulation around the perimeter. Moreover, this can be done both along the entire contour, and in separate parts. What to choose? The answer depends on personal preference and operational features. If the door is opened and closed many times a day, the increased wear is likely to cause damage to the seal. It can be easily damaged by hitting outerwear, objects brought into the room and other objects. Before making a decision regarding the complete insulation of the door leaf around the perimeter, it is necessary to make sure that the hinges are not sagging, and the door opens smoothly and completely. Skews also negatively affect the seal - it will touch the slopes or the floor. Considering the above, the most practical option it seems to be sizing the space between the door leaf and the threshold with a heater.
What heater to choose? Best of all, a special self-adhesive tape or a polyethylene sealing cord is suitable for gluing the bottom of the door frame. In some cases, self-adhesive gum and a rubber tube will do. The heat and sound insulation characteristics of the last two options look much better. The only thing to consider: the width of the space between the bottom of the door leaf and the threshold. So, too thick a sealant may not fit in width. For the most part, the adhesive base of self-adhesive heaters is mediocre. It is best to use instant glue.
How to insulate yourself front door
The process is not complicated. Anyone can deal with it. In general, it consists of five stages.
- Coating the perimeter with glue. It must be applied to the underside of the door leaf and the upper side of the threshold.
- Heating preparation. Material should be measured and cut into pieces right size. The ends on both sides must be bent in the form of an angle of 45 degrees.
- Applying glue to the insulating layer of the insulation. No need to overdo it. Either a thin strip or dots at an equidistant distance.
- Bonding insulation. This should be done approximately 10-15 minutes after applying the adhesive. After that, the insulation must be pressed tightly to the surface, tightly close the door and hold it for a while. Enough 10 minutes.
- During the day, try to operate the front door to a lesser extent. It is believed that the period of full bonding lasts for 24 hours, depending on the manufacturer of the adhesive. Make sure that the seal does not move.
During the operation of the door, periodically pay attention to the condition of the insulation. It may wear out over time. However, it is not difficult to re-insulate. Fortunately, this work does not take much time, but Consumables available and inexpensive. If, after gluing the bottom of the canvas, it was not possible to get rid of the draft, it is worth trying to insulate around the entire perimeter. At the same time, depending on the design device, two options can be combined: glue the insulation to the door frame or canvas. Another likely and quite common cause of a draft is a keyhole.
Let's summarize. The described algorithm and the recommendations made in the article relate to the simplest and least expensive way to insulate the front door. If you want to do the work more thoroughly, we draw the attention of the owners of the metal front door to. It is always worth remembering that before proceeding with the insulation of the front door, you should soberly assess your capabilities. In case of insufficient skills and time, we recommend that you seek help from professional craftsmen who will quickly and inexpensively perform the required amount of work. Residents of Moscow and the Moscow region place an order for the relevant services If you are at the stage of choosing an entrance door, then before buying, be sure to ask if it is insulated, how it will be installed in the doorway that matches the parameters of your living space, whether the installers will seal the doorway. If all these points are taken into account in advance, it is quite possible not to bring the situation to drafts. The tightness of the front door primarily depends on you.
It is necessary to understand the reasons for its blowing. More precisely, the reason is always the same: the loose fit of the door leaf to the door frame (loot) - blows through the cracks formed. But there are plenty of opportunities for the formation of these cracks ...
Entrance doors, as you know, can be wooden, metal and plastic. Self-insulation plastic doors(door blocks), as well as windows, is an extremely ungrateful and even useless occupation for a non-professional: it still won’t really work out. But to insulate wooden or iron door- quite capable of anyone.
Wood is generally quite a “playing” material, and therefore it blows more often from wooden doors. When the temperature drops door leaf shrinks in size, albeit not by much - in a carefully fitted door block, the gap is a fraction of a millimeter - but a gap still forms. And the stronger the frost outside, the larger this gap, and the stronger it blows.
In metal doors, such a “playing” of dimensions is provided for by the design - some kind of sealant was initially laid between the door leaf and the frame. In case of violation of its integrity steel door and starts siphoning. In addition, many inexpensive metal doors do not contain any insulation at all in their internal cavity, except for air.
Insulation of metal doors
If one side of the metal door leaf can be removed, for example, fixed on self-tapping screws, it is not too difficult to insulate such a door.
To do this, the removable sheet is unscrewed, foam is placed in the cavity of the door leaf or mineral insulation, and for convenience it can be glued in several places; only it should be borne in mind that the foam is far from “friendly” with any glue. If the insulation cannot be laid in a dense, even layer, unfilled gaps can be filled with mounting foam. Then the removed sheet of the door leaf is mounted in place - and the insulated door is ready.
If the door is all-metal and non-separable, only the proven, “old-fashioned” way of insulation remains: curtain it with dense warm matter, for example, an old blanket. There is, however, another way out of the situation, but it is quite complicated for independent execution. In this case, along the contour of the door leaf, usually on the outside of the door, a rectangular corrugated pipe is attached in some way (by welding or self-tapping screws). The resulting cavity is filled with insulation.
Everything is covered from above suitable material. Laminated fiberboard looks best, but in extreme cases, a galvanized sheet is also suitable. Putting a sheet cut to size on the door, fix it, for example, with clamps, drill holes and fasten it with metal screws. It is best to screw from top to bottom - the attached sheet will lie more evenly.
Insulation of wooden doors
Insulation of a wooden door begins with its fitting. After this operation, the door leaf should fit as tightly as possible to the door frame - the fewer gaps, the better. Fitting is carried out with the help of a planer, in especially severe cases an ax and a hacksaw will come to the rescue, but as a result, the door porch should be as tight as possible. Naturally, it is not possible to perfectly fit the door, but there should be no gaps “in a finger thickness”. By the way, it shouldn’t close “in a wedge” either - otherwise, when it gets warmer, especially in spring, it will be difficult to open a door that has swollen from excessive air humidity, and it will be even more difficult to close it ...
Further actions come down to overlapping the remaining “non-removable” gaps with some kind of insulation. A fairly common way is to nail a strip of felt, felt or any similar material along the contour of the box. This insulation strip should “rest” against the door leaf; the thickness of the material is selected so as to cover the largest gap by at least 2-3 millimeters. The width of the strip should be 20 ... 30 millimeters - this will be quite enough.
Not the easiest, but reliable option for warming is to make a slot around the perimeter of the door leaf, into which to insert the one sold in all household and construction stores rubber seal for windows. The complexity of this method lies in cutting the necessary grooves.
You can use a ready-made self-adhesive door seal for insulation, also sold in stores. But it's best to do it yourself. last resort- to keep such seals is very unreliable. They are made from rubber and foam rubber; and if rubber "self-adhesives" are enough, at the very least, for a year and a half, foam rubber ones do not withstand even one winter ...
For even greater effect, a wooden door leaf can be upholstered, at least from the street side, with leatherette. At the same time, foam rubber is laid under the upholstery (you can also use some old blankets, felt, etc., but such a door will turn out to be very heavy and it may well have to be outweighed), and a roller is formed around the perimeter of the door (along the porch) sealant.
This article contains all the information on what to do if it is blowing from the front door, and how to prevent the possibility of drafts when installing a new door.
If the source of drafts in your house or apartment is the front door, you are unlikely to be satisfied with such a solution to the problem, which is shown in the picture above. It is no less inconvenient to curtain them with old blankets, creating a barrier to cold air.
Feel comfortable in own house you can only afford a hermetic front door that will not let you in not only cold air but also extraneous noises and smells from the street.
But how to achieve this?
There are several options for solving the problem:
- Glue a seal around the perimeter of the canvas.
- Fully insulate the canvas, sheathing it so that the insulation covers the gaps between the box and the canvas.
- Completely replace the canvas.
If you are just building your house, you can immediately make sure that this question never arises before you.
Eliminate drafts from an existing door
This problem is especially relevant in suburban housing, since there the front door often goes directly to the street or to a cold unheated vestibule.
Although in apartment building a draft from the door is a very unpleasant phenomenon, even if the entrance is warm. After all, together with him, cigarette smoke and other unpleasant odors enter the apartment.
Traditional sealing is gluing a self-adhesive seal in the form of a rubber band around the perimeter of the box.
Unfortunately, this method is not very reliable.
- Firstly, with the active operation of the door, the seal quickly becomes unusable and has to be changed.
- Secondly, the slightest distortion will lead to the fact that the seal will no longer fit snugly against the door and perform its function efficiently.
In addition, it is possible to glue a strip of sealant correctly only if the door is perfectly level. If between the canvas and the box in different places it turns out that the distance is different, the rubber band will not fit snugly on all sections of the door.
With this arrangement, the sealing tape will provide better tightness of the door even if it is deformed and sagging, as it will have a greater degree of freedom.
Whatever starting position canvases relative to the box, the sealant will work to suppress drafts precisely because of its advantageous location.
Instead of the traditional self-adhesive tape, you can use round-section polyethylene foam sealing tape or a rubber tube made of rubber resistant to aggressive media for this purpose.
And do not be confused by the lack of an adhesive base on them: in this case, Moment glue will help you out perfectly.
- Lubricate the frame around the entire perimeter with glue in the place where the seal should be located.
- Cut pieces off the tape desired length, cutting the edges at a 45 degree angle for joining at the corners.
- Lubricate the side of the seal with which it will be glued with glue.
- After holding time, which for Moment glue is 15 minutes, close the door and apply a rubber band to the end of the box in such a way as to ensure its tight fit to the door. Press it down with your hands for a few seconds.
Attention! It takes a day for the glue to dry completely, so try to use the door carefully on the first day.
Of course, this method also has its drawbacks - the seal can be torn off by accidentally hooking it with something. But it will not be difficult to correct the situation by re-gluing it in its place.
As mentioned above, if it blows from the front door, it can be completely insulated, making sure that the insulation is slightly larger than the box and covers all the existing gaps.
For this, rollers are specially made, which are attached around the perimeter of the door leaf.
Sometimes these rollers are attached to the door frame. You will understand what is at stake if you look at the photo on the side.
And how to insulate the door, you can read in more detail in other materials on the site. This may also be required if you have an old wooden door, the canvas of which has dried out and through cracks have formed in it.
If the front door is blowing despite your best efforts, make sure that cold air is not getting in through the large keyhole. Otherwise, you will just have to replace the door.
How to prevent drafts from the door
Experienced builders know that the front door to a house or apartment can only be installed after all “wet” work has been completed - laying partitions, plastering, puttying, whitewashing, etc.
Especially if it is a wooden door that is sensitive to high humidity air.
When all this work in the new house is completed, and you go to order new door, think over your requirements for it in advance. It is clear that it should be strong and reliable, but when it blows from the front door, there is little pleasant in this.
Therefore, do not forget to clarify how its sealing will be ensured.
Now there are new models of entrance doors, the boxes of which have a special configuration - a three-stage one.
An additional ledge does not let cold air, dust, moisture and foreign odors into the room.
This configuration has all door frame, including the threshold, which is not mounted separately, but is integral with the door frame.
Installing such doors will save you from having to think about how to eliminate drafts.
As you know, it is through the balcony that one loses most of heat. Moreover, the most vulnerable places are not only windows, but also balcony door. Often the main cause of heat leakage is a poorly adjusted door.
Doors made of plastic and wood are quite heavy, so if it blows from a balcony door, most likely it has sagged.
Adjusting the door
Note!
With such troubles, first of all, think about whether to contact the construction company that installed the door for you or solve the problem yourself.
With basic skills, you can easily cope with the task without outside help.
What to do if it is made of plastic
If you have a plastic door, you will need: a hex L-key and plastic gaskets.
- First of all, find the reason - why it blows from the balcony door. You need to check the seal. When opening and closing the door, remember in which direction the seal will be pressed.
The traces that remain from the sash, first of all, will show a defect. - Another reason may be incomplete or incorrectly latched handle.. Be sure to pay attention to its work and full snapping. If the tongue does not enter the groove, or does not enter completely, then the door has sagged.
- You need to move the door corner to one side or the other. Use a hex wrench to tighten the hinge screw from the top door hinge.
If there is a decorative cap, remove it first. By turning the screw in the desired direction with a key, you can adjust the vertical position of the door as much as necessary for its convenient location. - If it blows from under the balcony door from below, you will have to adjust the lower door corner. In the same way as in the previous case, using the key, tighten the lower door screw, removing the plug from the hinge. The horizontal position of the door is easy to adjust by simultaneously turning the leaf itself around the upper hinge.
- In the case when it turned out that the seal is deformed at the bottom of the door, you will need to slightly lift the sash.
You can vertically adjust the door with a hex key, twisting the lower hinges with it. Deformations at the top of the upper loops. - If all these actions with adjusting the hinges did not help, and it still blows from the balcony door, try the following - “pull the door out”.
To do this, carefully remove the glazing beads, and lay a plastic gasket between the double-glazed window and the main profile.
One or more - see depending on the situation. But, it is worth noting that this action, if performed carelessly, may violate the warranty period for the service of the door, specified in the contract for its installation. - If you understand that it will not be possible to cope with the problem on your own, and it still blows from the plastic balcony door, call a specialist.
It will cost you little, but by following how the wizard works, you will be able to fix the problem in the future without his help.
If the door block is made of wood
Very often on our balconies you can meet wooden doors. Especially in Soviet-built houses. Not all of them change in the future, therefore, many people still use wooden doors to this day.
They are quite reliable and durable, often have double glazing.
Note!
Such doors are durable, however, the main reason that the balcony door blows in winter is its deformation from moisture.
The fact is that the tree is very susceptible to moisture absorption.
Even for rainy autumn period the sash is already saturated with moisture, and by winter various kinds of distortions begin.
Take a screwdriver, a hammer, a sharp small knife, a file.
- Determine the degree of skew and the severity of the door defect. Very often it seems that the door does not close in the threshold area, that is, the lower part interferes.
You can carefully cut off the lower end of the sash. It will close, but in the summer, when shrinkage occurs, a rather large gap forms below, which will have to be masked. - You can partially remove part of the threshold with a file or a sharp knife. It will also give tangible results.
If the door jams in its upper part, you can grind off an even layer of the jamb until it fits snugly. - If your balcony door is blowing more around the edges, try adjusting it by twisting the hinges.
It is possible to eliminate the warp of the door by tightening the mounting bolts to the hinges. Use a screwdriver and wrench to tighten or loosen them, periodically closing the door, fitting it to the jamb as tightly as possible. - Along with the adjustment, it is desirable to lubricate door hinges
. It will stop creaking, and will close much easier.
It is advisable to provide the adjusted door with rubber gaskets in especially weak places. This will soften the closure and eliminate gaps.
Balcony door insulation
In any case, before the onset of the cold season, it is highly advisable not only to inspect the door on it. Of course, if you have a well-equipped balcony and high-quality double-glazed windows, there will be much less problems.
But, often, we pay insufficient attention to this part of the apartment, and often we use it as a utility room or a refrigerator.
Therefore, not to let the cold into the apartment is our task.
- First of all, it is desirable to insulate the door from the side of the balcony. It is advisable to remove it from the hinges, unscrew all the extra screws and handles, and put it in a horizontal position. It is advisable to arrange insulated rollers around its perimeter. In the future, they will fit snugly to the jamb, covering all the cracks.
- Having fitted the door (you can use cotton wool, foam rubber, felt, even an old warm blanket), cover the door with leatherette. Nail strips or rollers of leatherette along the edges, covering the foam rubber with it.
- Attach all handles and removed parts, then hang the door on the hinges, adjusting their position with a key.
- In a suspended state, adjust the fit of the door to the jamb. If necessary, strips of rubber or felt can be nailed in the right places. Check the tightness and quality of entry of the door into the box.
