Entrance doors of apartments and private houses must not only be insulated, but also, if necessary, sealed, achieving the maximum possible tightness between the leaf and the frame allowed by their design features. The effect of a correctly performed seal will make itself felt immediately - your apartment or home will become warmer and even cleaner; there will be fewer drafts, if they do not disappear completely; Annoying extraneous sounds and odors will no longer penetrate from the entrance or from the street. You can do the sealing of any doorway yourself - for this there are several ways to do this work and types of seals for both metal and wooden doors, as they say, to suit any ability and budget of the home owner.
How to choose and install a seal for an interior or entrance metal door
Door seals will help protect your home from all kinds of unpleasant influences and odors from outside. It must be borne in mind that it is recommended to choose such a product individually for each specific case. For example, if you use very thin material, you may not achieve the desired result. And purchasing a thick seal will create additional problems.
All these narrowly targeted products are classified according to a huge number of characteristics. Types of door seals differ in:
Varieties by purpose
Each individual type of door structure can be equipped with a specially designed seal. Products for entrance doors are hollow and internally dense tubular seals. It is due to the thick material and the internal cavity that the door leaf fits securely to the frame.
The rubber used to produce such products is porous, which allows the thermal insulation effect to be enhanced several times. This type has a self-adhesive base. This is both a minus - they come off quickly, and a plus - you can install a new door seal without effort or problems.
There is another option, which is designed for doors between rooms. This is the case in which there is no need to withstand drafts, so soft rubber or silicone is most often used for its manufacture.
A separate group is represented by gaskets for plastic doors. The main feature is that they can be quickly replaced. Thanks to the special configuration, installation consists of installing them in a groove. Thus, the influence of the environment on it itself is reduced, and it copes with its work at any temperature. This universal type can be installed for internal and external plastic doors. It must be taken into account that it is not suitable for any other purposes.
A separate type is represented by seals for glass doors, which are most often made of silicone and have a special profile section. To install the seal on the door, you need to wet it and then install it on the end. Once dry, it adheres tightly to the glass. Depending on the material used, products are divided into several types.
Sealing strips by door type
For each individual variety, its own seal was developed.
Input
Most often, entrance doors are finished with a dense material in the shape of a tube, inside of which there is a void. The significant thickness and bubble nature of the material create a reliable fit of the door to the frame. Read this article on how to choose reliable and warm doors for your home.
Of particular interest is the internal structure of these rubber bands for insulating doors. Thanks to the presence of internal pores, a multiple increase in the insulating effect is achieved. Most often, the entrance door seal has a self-adhesive base, which makes its installation very quick.
On the other hand, over time, the glue loses its characteristics, and the strips begin to lag around the perimeter. You can read about comprehensive door insulation.
Interior
The seal for interior doors is not assigned the function of protecting the room from outside cold, as in the previous case.
This allows you to make it more aesthetically pleasing by using more elastic and soft silicone instead of dense rubber. The installation method for these products may differ, which will be discussed below.
If you decide to change the doors during the renovation process, be sure to read this article.
Plastic
This group of materials is characterized by high speed of installation and dismantling. Grooves are usually applied to plastic doors along the line of contact with the frame, so the seals are given a special shape that follows the configuration of these grooves. Thanks to the presence of walls on the sides of the fixation point, the sealing strip receives additional protection from external aggressive influences. The seal for plastic doors is not afraid of moisture and temperature changes, so it can be used both outdoors and on interior doors without much difference. It is important to keep in mind that this rubber seal was designed specifically for plastic doors with grooves, so it is not recommended to seal other types of doors with it. In addition, different manufacturers complete their plastic doors with an individual seal: this should also be clarified when selecting a suitable material.
