A new Door?

15 years ago

Hello,

I have a pretty good old wooden door. But, I have been told that in a cold climate such as ours, I would be better to install a new fiberglass or vinyl door. I am told that the energy savings would be considerable. I do not know if that is true. Does anyone have any way of evaluating such a claim and thus deciding whether to get a new door. I would be just as happy to save the thousand dollars.

bob

Comments (5)

lucy
15 years ago
Well where DO you live? Storm doors are really unavoidable in a lot of climates, but without knowing where you are it's hard to say.
kec01
15 years ago
Energy loss with wood doors usually happens around the door, not through the wood. If you are having energy loss, I'd save the thousands and instead would buy spring bronze weather stripping that would go around the inside of the door frame and would be between the door and frame. Cost should be under $100. It is installed with just a hammer and the nails it comes with.

That's what we have in place for our 1918 wooden doors and it works just fine. No wind blows through.

Here is a link that might be useful: spring bronze weather stripping
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Jon1270
15 years ago
For $10-$15 you can get weatherstripping to seal the tops and sides -- probably a vinyl bulb mounted in an aluminum track that gets screwed to the jambs. A few more bucks gets you a sweep for the bottom. It would be a very long time before a $1000 door payed for itself in energy savings when compared to an already paid-for wooden door, as long as the weatherstripping is maintained.
newenglandbuilder
15 years ago
Wow, I don't know where you'd find a fiberglass door for a thousand dollars, but anyway...

There are many ways that you can seal up the opening around the door to get a weathertight seal to save on energy loss.

Also, you can install a storm door as well in front of the entrance door to increase your weatherproofing.

You can get spring bronze as someone else suggested which is good, you can also get wood quarter round that has a seal imbedded in it that you nail on the inside of the door as well.

Skip the stick-on stuff, it usually never stays in place and is just an aggrevation, whether the rubber rounds or the even worse foam stick on material.

Also, make sure your door jamb is well sealed with caulk on the outside where it meets your siding and along inside the jamb, any cracks are places for air and possibly water penetration.
bobcajun
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the replies. I knew about the weatherstripping but was just wondering about its effectiveness. you folks seem to think that it is pretty effective. Effective enough, in fact, not to get a new door, if heat loss were your main reason for getting one.
thanks for the replies
Bob