Insulating draughty front door

snaver

Can anyone help me please? I live in an old house and the wooden front door has gaps on all sides, which get very draughty in the winter (especially now!) and negates the heating. I bought some Weatherstrip adhesive insulating tape and tried to put it inside the frame around the door, where the gaps are, but, while it looked an excellent product, it was too thick and the door wouldn't shut and lock. Does anyone know of any thinner solutions please? There don't seem to be any on Amazon, though someone mentioned attaching brushes round the inside of the door, which I'm not sure would work as effectively. Any help greatly appreciated. TIA

FreeBear

Draught excluder foam/tape is available in different thicknesses. I'm afraid it is just a case of shopping around until you find something the right size.

The other alternative is to remove the stops around the frame, get a slot routed in them to take a sealing strip, and nail back in place.

Emmia

Another option if you can't get it quite sealed is installing  a door curtain made of a suitably thick and heavyweight fabric.

https://www.dunelm.com/product/jennings-natural-thermal-door-curtain-1000154870

twopenny

I had a front door that chaned shape due to age.
I could have had it taken off and flattened but, sheesh, hard work.
I used a filler to reconfigure the surrounding archetrave. Bit fiddly but did the trick.
Also in this weather a heavy door curtain on a pole looked good in an old house.

But yes, all shapes and thickness of foam or rubber. Repeated use should sort out any differences in a small change of resistance.
Are you sure it's the same distance of gap all around or do you need to tailor it to variations?

Albermarle

I had the same issue. In the end I was able to put weather strip around most of it, but had to omit the middle part where the locks were, or the door would not shut/lock properly. Then a draught excluder along the bottom. There is a choice of solutions for this.
This best draught excluder for your front door won't cost you a penny - Which? News

So in the end only cut down the draught by 75%, but at least we do not have any condensation issues !

tacpot12

Toolstation do a thick and thin type of foam draught excluder. I would give the thin stuff a try.  

housebuyer143

Go on Amazon and search magnetic insulated door cover. It looks hilarious but the reviews are really good and might solve your issue for £30. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MAGZO-Magnetic-Thermal-Insulated-Thickened/dp/B0B74BR8KZ/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=SVA2NHF7GAKM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jLgsQwHMvL6u1gwVxx6E8UuKjZqQ9PfPi7zVyHKvEu7bahTQmjaPC38GuelCakpuagrd0ufCzyHOBOx2G1ZYcdDf1keIP1XaCBawEvJ1vLN2ySDgqVMw4H1Z_1O1lBy2k6KZl0Jo1a9UOJ_IT5depepghwpQHAs85PMoYnwUyduInrYYdy2LafHHEqyR1kUxPiSOsUXl4aZnThSDllRWqA.NfdO65h_G4FKdXn-wju8KaljFZElvKMSCytxUEHXyn0&dib_tag=se&keywords=magnetic+insulated+door+cover&qid=1705685530&sprefix=magnetic+insulated+door+cover,aps,175&sr=8-4

prettyandfluffy

A thick curtain gets my vote, I got lucky and got a velvet one given to me on Freecycle.  So that I could easily open the door I put a length of dowel through the top edge of the curtain with an eye screwed into the end of it and a hook at the appropriate point on the adjacent wall.  Total cost: about £1.  It made a huge difference.

greenbee

I've used this stuff several times. It goes round the outside of the door frame and covers the gap. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01N5561JW/

Green_hopeful

We have this round our current door and the previous one. Works a treat. Metal strip screws to frame and door closes against the rubber bit. That’s funny Greenbee suggested the same thing. 

greenbee

Green_hopeful said:

We have this round our current door and the previous one. Works a treat. Metal strip screws to frame and door closes against the rubber bit. That’s funny Greenbee suggested the same thing. 

That's because it works I have it on front and back doors and have done the same in my last two houses.