How to insulate the front door with your own hands

With the current high cost of utilities, many homeowners are thinking about saving their finances. One of the components of the family budget expenses is the payment for heat energy. And you can reduce the number in receipts by keeping the house warm. Along with other areas, high-quality, insulated and sealed entrance doors help in this matter.

New products of modern production do not require additional insulation; they receive a built-in insulation and reinforcement system even at the manufacturing stage. If the door in the apartment has not changed, it is necessary to carry out work on its upholstery with appropriate materials. Consider the issues of warming the door leaf.

Understanding the causes of drafts

Many residents try to carry out repair work on their own, thereby saving finances, and to a greater extent getting moral pleasure from the work performed on their own. There is more than one way to eliminate heat leakage through cracks in a jamb, doorway, or door itself.

And why, in fact, does this element of the apartment lose thermal energy? There are a number of reasons for this:

• damage to the insulation inside the old product (caked mineral wool from time to time or rotted material from excess moisture);
• an increase in the gaps between the frame and the door frame leaf (incorrectly installed box, deformation of the leaf, failure of the hinged fittings);
• gaps and voids around the frame and the opening in the concrete slab (poorly blown foam, the product itself does not comply with GOST and has low insulating properties).

What you need to fix problems

First of all, all the necessary materials are procured that will be useful when performing work.

Insulation... Today, manufacturers offer a lot of different synthetic fabrics, which, with a small thickness, have high heat-retaining characteristics. They are made on the basis of foam rubber and its derivatives or padding polyester. For greater efficiency, they are glued on one side with a foil-coated reflective film.

Sealant... Special hollow rubber hose that is attached around the quarter in the door frame. It ensures the sealing of the product when the doors are closed. One- or two-ribbed varieties are available, which are attached to a self-adhesive base or self-tapping screws.

Upholstery material... Performs decorative and protective functions. Leatherette or skin substitute is used, which does not allow air and excess moisture to pass through. The canvas is fixed with special upholstery nails, between which a wire is sometimes wound, creating an additional pattern on the front side.

Tool... To perform the work, you will need such tools: a grinder, a hammer, a construction stapler, an electric screwdriver or a screwdriver, foam assembly, a folding rule or tape measure, a knife or scissors. Before starting work, the condition of the door frame is checked. Also, if the door itself has sagged, it is better to raise it by replacing the awnings or twisting them into new places.

Work order

The sealing of the space between the box and the opening is checked, if necessary, the old destroyed foam is removed. The gap is cleared of debris, and the voids are filled again. The ends of a wooden door are processed using a planer: the canvas should go freely into a quarter.

Next, a seal is installed.With small gaps between the frame and the door, a groove is cut into which the body of the seal is recessed to the required depth. It is attached so as to be placed closer to the outside of the door. The sealing gap should be 2 to 5 mm. If it is less, the door will not close, if more, the seal will not bring the expected effect.

Also, sealing rollers are used to eliminate drafts in the gaps. They are made from the same material as the main door leaf will be upholstered. The leatherette is cut into strips along the length and width of the web. And the width of the strip itself is 10 centimeters. First, the strips are attached with the back side out at the edge of the door. Round rollers made of any polystyrene are inserted into this strip, and after the upholstery and insulation of the canvas, the formation of the gap protection is completed.

The most important thing is insulation and upholstery of the main canvas. For this purpose, foam rubber and leatherette are used, a little less often a leather substitute (eco-leather) is chosen as the top, decorative layer. Sheet foam rubber, usually 2-3 cm thick, is cut a little more (by 5-8 cm). When fastening, the material shrinks, and there is no need to closely monitor the location of the sheet so that it does not slide out and expose the door leaf. Strengthen it with self-tapping screws or a construction stapler. After the end of the work, the surplus is cut from all sides. Sometimes batting is fixed over the insulation to improve sound and heat insulation.

The leatherette is also cut out in a larger size, 3-4 cm on each side. The upholstery is started from the middle of the door. Then, strongly stretching the material, fix the canvas at the top and bottom. The edge of the upholstery folds inward. The whole "sandwich" is nailed along the entire perimeter. The nails are positioned at the same level and distance (every 5-6 cm).

The last stage of work is the installation of a door handle and a peephole, if available. Insulation of the front door performs two functions: direct protection of the apartment from the outside cold, and decorative - to improve the appearance and improve the structure.