House Insulation Tips

Plug The Gaps

Many people neglect the maintenance details of their home and then end up paying for it in the long run.  A prime example of this has to do with the insulation of their home.  Most people have some basic insulation, but that is only part of the solution.  An often forgotten piece of the puzzle is door insulation.

A poorly insulated door, or more to the point, one that allows air to enter or exit the home even when it is closed, may be costing you more and more each month in increased energy usage.  The first step in door insulation is to inspect your door from top to bottom to make sure there is a tight seal on all sides when the door is securely closed.

You can easily and inexpensively get a hold of a door insulation kit at any hardware store or home improvement center.  Get started with one of these.  A basic kit will include a threshold, a sweep and self-adhesive foam.  The threshold mounts to the floor just below the door as a transition piece between the exterior and the interior of the home.  The sweep is a long thin metal strip that has an attached rubber strip on the bottom.  The metal strip is fastened tightly to the bottom of the door while the flexible rubber strip gently brushes against the floor.  Finally, the adhesive foam is placed all along the perimeter of the stop molding of the door.  Applying this kind of weather stripping to all your doors can help you save as much as 15% on energy costs.

Using some kind of door insulation for sliding glass doors and large screen doors will help save energy as well.  A 3M indoor patio door insulator kit, for example, is cheap, easy to install, and will help you conserve on energy usage.  For whatever kind of kit you get, the process is simple.  In most cases you place a large vinyl sheet on the door or screen and use a hand held hair dryer -- the sheet shrinks in place to become a clear weather seal. The bottom line: more energy savings for you.

Another door of concern for many homes is the attic door.  For those of you who have an attic, you’ll notice that despite good insulation the attic is considerably warmer in the summer and colder in the winter when compared to the rest of your home.  A poorly insulated attic door can lead to more unnecessary and expensive energy loss.  By simply placing foam adhesive insulation tape around the door opening, you can help matters greatly.

For more sophisticated insulation techniques for your attic door, there are a number of different kits available.  These vary from an insulated box (this essentially covers the stairway opening in your attic) to an attic tent (a zipper contained material that is affixed to the attic portion of the attic entrance and kept closed after having exited the attic).  Any of these methods are relatively easy DIY projects and will add greatly to your bottom line savings.

As you can see, with a few simple steps you can lower your energy bill and keep your house comfortable at the same time.  So when insulating your home, add in the final door insulation step to complete the job.