Repurpose Pipe Insulation into a Door Draft Guard12/04/11 12:00pm Stopping drafts is an easy way to reduce your heating bill in winter. If you own your home you'll probably want to add weatherstripping as a permanent solution, but if you're renting or low on funds you can repurpose a 6ft length of pipe insulation available for $1-1.50 at any big box home improvement store into two door draft guards. This tip was posted on online deals forum FatWallet by user peas who found that pipe insulation works just as well as the $5-10 "as seen on TV" Door Draft Guard. The only disadvantage is that the pipe insulation cannot be used on windows unlike the Door Draft Guard. DIY Door Guard $1.26 for 2 doors (63c each) | Before ordering weatherstripping, measure the gap between the door and jamb and the door and stop with the door closed. Make sure to take measurements along both side jambs and the head jamb, then choose weatherstripping for each side that's big enough to fill the largest gap along its run (3/8-inch maximum).

Pull a paint scraper along the stop and jamb to make sure that both surfaces are smooth, flat, and free of protruding nails. Fit the grooving tool's V-shaped base into the corner formed by the jamb and the stop, with the bit pointing up. Turn on the motor and push the tool up to the head jamb. This creates a slot 1/8 inch wide and 3/16 inch deep. At the top, turn off the motor and remove the bit from the slot. Reinsert it at the starting point, but this time with the bit pointing down. (Retracing your path in the slot can widen it too much to grip the weatherstripping.) A steady push to the bottom of the jamb with the motor revving finishes the slot on that side. Repeat the process on the opposite side jamb and the head jamb. If the shop vacuum leaves any wood chips in the slot, Tom gently cleans them out with a small screwdriver. Tom takes one end of the weatherstripping and pushes its barbed tongue into one end of the slot. As he works up the slot, he's careful not to stretch the weatherstripping;

it will return to its original length and leave gaps. A couple of inches from the slot's opposite end, he gauges the proper length and cuts the strip with scissors. (Another method eliminates the possibility of stretching: Cut the product to length first, fit its ends into the ends of the slot, then push in the barb at the halfway point. sliding wardrobe doors mdfContinue to push at each of the quarter points, and so on until the entire strip is secure.) auto glass repair iron mountain miIt's not necessary to miter the ends where they meet at the head jamb; garage door opener optical sensora butt joint seals best. internal glazed doors gumtree

To finish, drive the weatherstripping into its slot with a spline roller. Check the installation by shutting the door from the outside and looking for gaps. To seal the door bottom, place the door on sawhorses and use a square to mark out a 5/8-inch-wide dado centered on the door's bottom edge. garage door floor seal home depotTom sets the router's guide so a ½-inch bit will cut next to the top mark when the guide rests on the door's top face. garage doors repairs warringtonOn the first pass, move the router from left to right. patio door blinds targetOn the second pass, the guide rides on the door's opposite side as the router moves from right to left. Make multiple passes to reach full depth (1⅛ inch).

Coat the exposed wood in the dado with primer and paint. Then cut the sweep's two aluminum channels just 1/8-inch shy of the width of the door (to allow for end caps to be installed later). To make sure the cut is clean, Tom clamps the channels in a miter box and uses a hacksaw with a waxed blade. Insert one channel into the dado, center it end to end, and screw it in place, as shown. After he fits the black silicone sweep into the free channel, Tom slides the glides into the channel in the dado, then carefully rehangs the door. (To avoid the possibility of damage to the sweep, hang the door first, then install the sweep.) Adjust the glides until no light shows between the sweep and the threshold when the door is closed. To seal the ends of the dado, snap plastic caps into the ends of the channel and stick squares of adhesive-backed pile against the bottom of the jambs. The secret behind this sweep's adajustability is its glides, which lift or lower the sweep by as much as ¼ inch.

To adjust the fit, simply open the door, remove the end cap from the latch side, and slide out the sweep. Turning the glides clockwise raises the sweep; Then slide the glides back into the attached channel.As the weather cools, it’s the perfect time to gird your garage against the colder temperatures on the way, especially if you’ve got your home workshop in there. Metal garage doors block strong winds but do little to maintain a comfortable temperature. But if you’re not ready to plunk down upwards of a thousand dollars for a new, pre-insulated model, consider gearing up the garage door you’ve got. We’ve assembled all the info you need to understand how to insulate a garage door successfully, plus tips to help you get maximum benefit out of the project. What Can I Expect from Insulating My Garage Door? Adding insulation to the door’s interior channels can help keep your garage an average of 10 to 12 degrees warmer in winter and as much as 20 degrees cooler in summer.

Insulation also reduces noise transfer, so not only will you avoid hearing street traffic when in your workshop, you’ll spare your neighbors the sounds of your son’s rock band practice. Benefits of a Garage Door Insulating Kit The simplest way to insulate a garage door is with a kit containing either vinyl- or foil-faced batts or foil-faced rigid foam boards. Kits start around $50, and as they increase in price often offer a more complete set of supplies—adhesive, tape, a utility knife, gloves, and perhaps even a dust mask—than just the insulating materials. The prime benefit of a kit, however, is its specially designed retainer pins. Made of lightweight plastic or metal, the pins have plates attached that adhere to the back of the garage door channels to help anchor rigid foam or batts in place. This stabilizes the insulation, so it won’t fall on your car when the door is open. If you opt against a kit, you can use other methods to hold the insulation in place. Purchase the Right Rigid Foam Insulation

Most DIY-ers opt for foil-faced rigid foam board panels that you measure and cut with a sharp utility knife or table saw to fit the channels inside your garage door. • The main types of foam board are expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS), and polyisocyanurate (called “polyiso” or simply “iso”). Any of these are acceptable for garage door insulation as long as they are foil-faced and fire-rated. Do not use non-faced foam board, which is flammable and will produce dangerous fumes if it burns; in fact, using it might very well violate your local building codes. • Choose foam board slightly thinner than the thickness of you door’s interior channel enclosures. For example, a standard garage door channel is about 1-¾ inches deep, so you would want to cut pieces from a 1-½-inch thick foam board. • Although they can vary, most garage door channels have “lips” that hold the boards in the channels, but rigid foam boards can still rattle around a bit if they don’t fit snugly.

A bit of foam-safe adhesive, applied to the back of the garage door channel before inserting a board, will help hold it in place. You can use expanding foam to seal gaps around the sides if necessary, but a little goes a long way. Check the label of any adhesive and expanding foam spray to ensure compatibility with the foam board you’re using—some adhesive will melt foam board. Working with Batt Insulation While standard batt insulation is readily available—you might even have an extra roll laying around—and it’s often slightly cheaper than foam board, it’s probably not the best choice for garage door insulation if you’re not using a kit. The thinnest standard batt, at 3-½ inches thick, is too thick for most garage door channels, and compressing the batts greatly reduces their ability to insulate a garage door. If you’re set on batt insulation, find thinner, 1-½-inch thick foil-faced batting—the kind used for wrapping HVAC ducts at plumbing supply stores or order it online (do-it-yourself centers don’t often carry it).