Draughtproofing your home

Draughtproofing external doors and windows can reduce the amount of cold air entering your home and save you money on your heating bill..

Draughtproofing Doors

If there is a big gap at the bottom of any of your external you should fit a draught excluder. There are several different types of excluders – but they are all easy DIY jobs.

Draught Excluders

Brush seal excluder – this is like a brush attached to a long thin plastic or metallic holder. It is crewed to the bottom of the door and tight bristles keep out the draught.  It can be used on most types of doors including sliding doors. 

Automatic excluder – it is made of a plastic holder to which is attached a spring-loaded flexible seal. The spring-loading causes it to lift up when the door is opened. When you close the door, a screw in the doorframe pushes the flexible excluder back down against the floor.

Flexible arch – this type of excluder is fixed to the floor rather than to the door. It is made of vinyl, arched so that it presses up against the bottom edge of the door when it’s closed. It takes up  more space than the other types so it might be necessary to remove the door and plane the bottom to make it open smoothly. Also, on an external door rain tends to get underneath it, so you probably will need to fit an additional under seal.

Complete door kit – this is probably the best solution for external doors.  Not only does it keep out droughts but it also deals with rainwater. This is does with an aluminium rain deflector that is attached to the front of the door.  It also has  a weather bar with a rubber or plastic draught excluder.

Don’t forget to seal the external keyhole and the letterbox! Attach a coverplate over the keyhole and fit a hinged flap over the letterbox. You can also get a brush frame that fits into the letterbox.

Draughtproofing Windows

Wooden casement windows deform over time and allow draughts to get into the house. A self-adhesive draught excluder can be used to stop these draughts coming through. Follow the instruction of the manufacturer to seal the windows.

Sash windows are more tricky to seal because they slide up and down. You can get an invisible  brush or rubber seal fitted on the sides and a vinyl tubular strip for  the horizontal gaps. 

To save even more money and escaping energy you should consider double (or triple) glazing your windows.