Door bottoms can be your biggest asset in fighting weatherization when it comes to doors.   Door bottoms can help your customers create a positive seal on the threshold when a door is closed.  This will help eliminate unwanted air infiltration into and out of the home or office.   Door bottoms can also be accompanied by weather-stripping if heat transfer is still occurring after mounting the door bottom.

A big advantage of installing door bottoms is they will help stop water from destroying your customer’s wood door.  Without any protection on the bottom of wooden doors water has the capability of being absorbed from the bottom up.  The result is the door rotting from the inside out without any major warning signs until it is too late and then the door will need to be replaced.   To prevent your customer’s door rotting in the future, apply a door bottom to help stop and redirect unwanted water away from the bottom of the wooden door.     The combination of a door bottom to prevent rotting and weather-stripping to add to the sealing is a win-win for your customers.

Door sweeps are the small pieces of rubber or vinyl at the bottom of your door that effectively cover the gap where the door meets the bottom of the frame. This area is almost always built with a gap to allow the door to open and close smoothly. Contrary to its name, the door sweep doesn’t “sweep” anything. It acts as a buffer between the small gap and your home. Not only that but it saves you money on energy as well.  By acting as a layer of insulation and a seal between the air on the other side of the door and the inside controlled temperature air, it is effective at prevent heat transfer or heat loss through air movement. Of course, it is even more effective when combined with a screen or storm door, because then less air is allowed to even come to the door in the first place.

It may also prevent heat loss if it is made of a good insulation material. Heat loss happens when heat is transferred between two materials when there is a difference in surface temperature. If the cold outside air touches the door sweep, and the door sweep is warmer than the air, the heat from the door sweep will be lost. If the door sweep is cooled and the material becomes colder, heat will be lost because the house is warmer. Rubber is a fairly good insulator for this purpose, which is why it is the material most often used in door sweeps.

The “brush” type of sweep is good for reducing air flow, but will readily transfer heat if temperatures are different – which is why a lot of modern outer facing doors are longer sold with this type of sweep. If your door sweep gets worn and falls off you may ask yourself if you need to actually replace it. Do a simple test. If you feel air entering through the bottom of the door, then absolutely – you need a door sweep. If not, and you cannot see the light from outside within your home, you may not need one. Though it certainly will never hurt to add one! Contact us today to find out how you can help weatherize your home with door sweeps.