Stop That Draft: Weather-stripping Sliding Glass Doors

Weather-stripping sliding glass doors can save you money and make your house more comfortable. If you’ve ever sat by a glass door and swore you could feel the wind blowing right through it, you probably have weather-stripping in doors and/or windows that has deteriorated. The result is a gap between the frame and the glass doors. It may be too small to see, but it’s big enough to create an air leak.

When looking for ways to lower your utility bills, the first place you can begin is with any glass doors you have in your house. They are notorious for being one of the biggest sources of lost heat or air conditioning in a house. This is normally for two reasons. First, sliding glass doors are mostly glass and glass does not provide good insulation. Second, weather-stripping gets worn or torn and no longer provides a barrier against air leaks. Some cheaper doors don’t even have weather-stripping, and it must be added to provide insulation.

Weather-stripping Sliding Glass Doors

Damaged weather-stripping can also cause sliding glass doors to not operate properly. Weatherstripping can catch in the tracks and prevent the door from sliding properly. This aggravates the air leakage problem by not allowing the door to sit properly. Every time you slide open the glass doors you are wearing down the weatherstripping.

A draft in a house is very uncomfortable. In fact, it can get downright miserable as you try to keep the house warm or cool. The loss of heating and cooling can get very expensive too. Sometimes it can be hard to trace where a draft is coming from, but if you have sliding glass doors, it’s a pretty sure bet they are contributing to the problem.

Weather-stripping sliding glass doors is not difficult. You can find weather-stripping through the original door manufacturer, at the local glass or hardware store, or online. The most common kinds of weather-stripping are stick-on or pressure sensitive. You don’t need any special tools. While replacing weather-stripping, also check any other rubber gaskets or seals on the door and make sure they don’t need replacing also.

There are many different kinds of sliding glass doors. There are fiberglass, wood, vinyl and aluminum. It doesn’t matter what kind of material your door is made out of because they all have weather-stripping. So if you feel a draft in your house, the first place to check is any sliding glass doors. And once you replace the door weather-stripping, be sure and check the weather-stripping in your windows next.