I'm currently renovating my home, which is part 1700s cottage, part 1970s extension. While much of our renovation plan involves substantial upgrades to improve its energy efficiency, there are some things that can't wait until we have the funds available or until another significant job is complete.
Take the front door, for example. I love the character and appearance of our timber front door, but it is incredibly ill-fitting. On some days you can see the daylight like a halo around it, and on a cold day, feel the draughts. Definitely not what we want at the coldest time of the year. I've used other budget-friendly measures to eliminate draughts around our house, but the front door was definitely becoming a priority.
Choosing the right draught excluder tape
Daylight was literally visible when the door was closed before installing the tape so I cut off a small sample to test the difference - you can see how much it blocks up the gap
Draught exclusion tape is usually made from rubber and foam with a strip of sticky tape to fix it to the frames of windows and doors. It works by creating a snug seal around the opening so when the door or window is closed, air can’t move in or out very easily.
When I was shopping for the tape for my front door, the main thing that tripped me up was the width differences. I didn’t even think to measure the gap itself so when I got to the shop and found there were different sizes depending on the gap between door and frame I had to wing it. Of course, I bought the wrong one and had to traipse back again.
There are also different shapes of tape, some with a P shape and some with a D. The P shape is best for gaps of 2-5 mm and D is better for gaps of 5-6mm. The P-shape draught exclusion tape I bought cost £7 for 5m and the D-shape was £7 for 6m, which I thought was fairly good value.
The gap on our front door was 6mm on one side and 4mm on another, so I ended up using both.
I bought this tape first, before I properly measured. It worked really well for the smaller gaps around the door, but I needed the slightly larger version for the wider gaps.
The thicker tape filled the gaps really well, but did make the door and windows harder to close.
Prep and installation
Something I'd learned from applying this tape from our last go around was that the door frame itself needed to be really clean of grease, grime and debris for a firm adhesion. So, I grabbed some soapy water and a cloth to give the area a good wipe down, before thoroughly drying with a microfibre towel.
Along the top I used the D-shape tape, while down the right hand side I used the thinner P-shape
Installing the tape was super easy and took about three minutes to draughtproof the front door. I just needed a pair of scissors and some patience so that you get it in a straight line. It arrives in a coil with two connected strips of draught excluder tape that you can quickly separate. The once you're ready to install it, you just peel off a section of the protective paper to reveal the sticky strip. The thicker D-shaped coil for wider gaps needed scissors to separate the two strips but it didn't take long to cut down the middle.
I started from the top corner of the door frame and pressed the tape into place. I worked about 30cm at a time peeling and sticking to make sure it was straight. When I reached the bottom I just cut with the scissors and moved on to the other edges.
Has it made a difference?
The tape has definitely made a difference. I can no longer see the daylight halo around the door, or feel a chilly draught when I walk by. For something that cost less that £15 total and took less than five minutes to install, I absolutely cannot knock it.
Once thing I have noticed is that we have to put in a little bit more effort to close the door and make sure it's closed properly. This is down to the additional resistance created by the tape, as you would expect.
I'm interested to see how long the tape lasts. Where I'd used it in my old house, we ended up replacing the front door before the tape failed, so I'm curious how long we have until we need to replace it.
While I don't think this will be the permanent draught solver for this door, it's a very effective temporary solution that will keep the draughts out and warmth in when we need it too. And I can't ask more than that!
After eliminating draughts around the front door, I also installed secondary glazing film on the windows in the 1970s extension, and it's made it so much warmer. That'll definitely see us through the winter.