• Home
  • About
    • Personal Posts
  • Privacy
  • Shop
    • My Account
    • Checkout
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Sawdust Girl®

Sawdust Girl®

Renovation, cabinet building and woodworking plans and tutorials. Build like a Girl®

  • My Home
    • Clinton TN House
      • Clinton TN House in Progress
    • Maryville TN House
      • Maryville TN House Tour – Completed Rooms
      • Maryville TN House in Progress
        • Basement
        • Basement Storage Closet
        • Bedroom Office
        • Craft Room
        • Dining Room
        • Entry
        • Garage
        • Guest Bedroom
        • Hallway
        • Jack and Jill Bathroom
        • Kitchen
        • Kitchen Entry
        • Laundry Room
        • Library
        • Living Room
        • Loft
        • Madison’s Room
        • Master Bedroom
        • Master Closet
        • Pantry
        • Porch
        • Powder Room
        • Wes’ Office
    • Illinois House
    • Calderwood Cottage
  • My Workshop
    • Clinton Workshop
  • Build & Breakfast
  • Cabinet Making 101
    • Cabinets
    • Doors
    • Drawers
  • Projects and Plans
    • Countertops
    • Beds
    • Benches
    • Bookshelves
    • Desks
    • Gift Ideas
    • Holiday
      • Christmas
      • Halloween
    • Home Accessories
    • Kids
    • Kitchen Cabinets
    • Lockers
    • Nightstands
    • Organization accessories
    • Recipes
    • Sewing
    • Tables
    • Vanities
    • Wardrobes
    • Woodworking
      • Wood Finishing
    • Workshop
    • Workshop Storage and Organization
  • Remodeling 101
    • Baseboard and Trim
    • crown molding
    • Demolition
    • Door and Window Casings
    • Door Installation
    • Drywall
    • Electrical work
    • Flooring
    • Home Maintenance
    • Painting
    • Plumbing
    • Resources
    • Safety
    • Tile
    • Wall and Ceiling Treatments
  • Sawdust Squad
  • The Sawdust Diaries
    • Andrea
    • Ava D.
    • Beckie F.
    • Cara C.
    • Courtney B
    • Fawn T.
    • Jenn D.
    • Kelly C.
    • Kristy K.
    • Lara T.
    • Malisa B.
    • Marnie D.
    • Robin C.
    • Val F.
  • Tools
    • Products
    • Tool Reviews & Overviews
    • Inspiration & Ideas

How to replace weather stripping

All Posts, Home Repair, Remodeling 101

At some point in this house’s history, the front door jamb sustained some damage.  The wood was dinged and the weather stripping had a big chunk torn out of it.  It’s  always bugged me so when I painted my front door, I pulled the damaged piece of weather stripping off.  That was about 3 months ago and we’ve been seeing daylight through that gap ever since.   Now that cooler temperatures are approaching, it’s time to winterize.  Lucky you, I’m going to show you how to replace weather stripping!  lol

This post is sponsored by TheHomeDepot.

How to replace weather stripping

How to replace weather stripping

I checked out the Home Depot Efficiency Audit before I went to pick up my supplies to see if there were any other opportunities for me to improve my home’s efficiency.  Seal and Insulate was what I was looking at.  My home is newish so it’s buttoned up pretty tight.  I will need to replenish the insulation in the attic after all the remodeling work is done.  With all the tramping around up there, the blown in insulation has been squashed in a lot of places and it could use a “touch up”.  BUT, with a major kitchen remodel coming up (as soon as I can secure a reliable contractor) I’m going to wait on that.

I headed to Home Depot in search of new weather stripping and a couple tools to fix the damaged wood.

Home Depot shopping

I might have wandered around for a while, getting distracted by the new and shiny– but I found my weather stripping and picked up a new 5 in 1 painters tool and a new sanding sponge.

Let’s do this!

weatherize-your-home

First thing to do is take care of the ugly wood “fix” job.  I scraped off all the excess wood putty and then sanded it smooth.  Took about 5 minutes.  A little paint and that will look as good as new baby!

fix problem areas

Next up — remove the rest of the old weather stripping.  If you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right.  Right?  Right!  It pulls out pretty easily for the most part.  If it acts stubborn, a little nudge with a pair of pliers is helpful.

How to replace weather stripping

 

Start with the top jamb, making sure not to cut the weather stripping too short initially. Start on one side, pushing the “lip” on the weather stripping into the groove on the door jamb. Work your way to the other side and then trim to fit so you get it exactly the right length.

door weather stripping installation

Installing weather stripping

Cut the ends at an angle to create mitered joints, just as you would with wood moulding.

Door weather stripping installation

It makes for a nice, clean joint.

        weather strip

new weather stripping

This weather stripping is made with a lip that should slide into perfectly sized groove in the doorjamb.

weather stripping

SHOULD slide right in.  Sometimes it does.

Replacing weather stripping on exterior door.

But sometimes it can take a little muscle to push that lip into the groove.  Just SQUEEZE really hard and grit your teeth — that always helps me!

How to replace weather stripping

 It’s worth the sore jaw muscles from all the clenched teeth though, because it keeps out the daylight, bugs and cold (or hot) air.

front door weather stripping

How to replace weather stripping

“I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in this Weatherizing Project. As a part of the Weatherizing Project, I am receiving compensation in the form of cash and gift cards, for the purpose of promoting the Weatherizing Project and The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words. My post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.” 

October 10, 2013 · 10 Comments

« Pocket hole jig – tool tip
DIY Halloween Tombstones »

Comments

  1. Wendy Mclean says

    October 10, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    Perfect timing of your post! I was at Home Depot yesterday and thought of buying weather stripping for my front door but was overwhelmed at the thought of tackling this project. You have inspired me to give it a try! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Sandra says

      October 12, 2013 at 11:55 pm

      Great! Hope it goes smoothly for you. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Sharleen says

    October 10, 2013 at 5:19 pm

    We’re in the process of building a new home. We went by to check on the progress last night and noticed that there’s no weatherstripping on the front door, rear door or door going into the garage. That little item definitely went right on our punch list and will be highlighted in our walk-through on Oct 15th. Thank you for tackling a not very glamorous, but essential, energy efficiency tip!

    Reply
    • Sandra says

      October 12, 2013 at 11:57 pm

      How exciting! It may be that they are saving that for the last. But at least you’re looking for it now. Hope your walk-through goes well and you get to close and move in soon. Congrats!

      Reply
  3. Liz VanKirk says

    October 10, 2013 at 10:07 pm

    I loved seeing your front door! It’s the same color as mine. We’ve had a red door now for 13 users and it needs a new paint job. Driving North winds still do some damage on our covered porch – ugh! Do you happen to remember the name of this red? Also what brand? I really like the shade of it!

    Reply
    • Sandra says

      October 12, 2013 at 11:58 pm

      I will have to find the can but it’s around here somewhere. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kaely says

    October 13, 2013 at 3:23 pm

    What about the bottom weather strip thingie, the one that you attach to the door itself. How do you replace that one? Mine has a gap that I can see light through, so I know I need to replace it. But I don’t want to get the door off the hinges before I have an idea what I’m doing.

    Reply
  5. Rena Schwarz says

    October 20, 2013 at 7:31 am

    Great!! Very simple fix for a drafty door! Done it many a time. However, PLEASE DO NOT use a Homer bucket!! Use a small ladder for safety. You don’t want to get 1/2 way done with the door and have to leave for the hospital cause the thing tipped over !! SAFETY FIRST!!

    Reply
  6. Rena Schwarz says

    October 20, 2013 at 7:35 am

    Great! Fantastic way to fix up a drafty door. Done this many times myself!! but PLEASE, don’t use a homer bucket to reach!! Use a ladder. You don’t want to get 1/2 way done and have to go to the hospital because the bucket tipped over!! SAFETY FIRST!!

    Reply
  7. Aubrey Benjamin says

    October 21, 2013 at 8:00 am

    Great tutorial! I have been needing to fix my drafty front door, but its old and doesn’t have the small grooves along the edges to push the weather stripping in. The old “weather stripping” is just strips of metal which is doing no good! Any recommendations on what to use? Or how to cut my own grooves?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

New Post email notification signup

You Subscribed!

Legal Stuff

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Disclosure

Recent Posts

  • January 2023 Lodge Update
  • Lodge Update – Floors, Cabinets, Countertops, and Appliances
  • Lodge Kitchen Cabinet Progress
  • Halloween Mad Gab – Halloween Party Ideas
  • Concrete Backsplash or Vertical Wall Treatment

Disclaimer:

Although it is my intention to provide accurate plans and clear instructions, not all plans have been tried and tested. Using plans or information found on SawdustGirl.com indicates that you agree with the Terms of Use policy and will accept full responsibility for the process and outcome of any project you attempt. All plans are for private use only. Plans and information published on SawdustGirl.com may not be reproduced, republished or distributed in any manner without written permission from Sandra Powell, Sawdust Girl. Actual projects built using Sawdust Girl plans may be published on your own site without instructions or "tutorial" as long as you provide a link to my original post with full post title or "SawdustGirl.com" as link title.

Copyright © 2023 · anchored theme by <a target="_blank"