Warmth and comfort in the house are the main tasks facing each owner of their own residential premises. Particular attention is paid to the front door, as it directly contacts the street. And in the cold season, heat is able to leave the room through the doorway. To avoid unpleasant consequences, it is necessary to conduct insulation of the front door. You can do this work yourself. But before you insulate a wooden door in a private house, you should prepare everything you need for this.
How can you insulate the front door
The guarantee of future comfort depends on the selected material, for the sake of which insulation was started. And if several decades ago only felt, foam rubber and dermantine were available, today there is much more choice. And here is what manufacturers offer:
- Mineral wool;
- Styrofoam;
- Isolon;
- Styrofoam.
Mineral wool, like polystyrene, is most often taken as the basis for insulation for metal door leafs. Both materials perfectly retain heat indoors and are not affected by microorganisms. Mineral wool is also worth noting because no rodents will spoil this insulation.
But these materials have some usage restrictions.
Polyfoam belongs to the category of combustible heaters, so its use for working with wood is possible only when processing with special compounds. And the “disease” of mineral wool is subsidence. Over time, the lining may be in the lower part of the canvas and cease to retain heat. In addition, mineral wool accumulates moisture inside itself, which adds weight to the entire structure. Therefore, such material should not be used for insulation of a bath or sauna.
The use of the isolon is more justified in order to achieve the goal of heat retention. This material is made on the basis of foamed polyethylene, which gives it minimal thermal conductivity. The advantages of the material include the fact that 10-15 mm thick cloth will be sufficient for work. This allows you to maintain an attractive appearance of the door leaf without thickening it and without making it bulky.
Expanded polystyrene has excellent performance. A door thus insulated will become a reliable and safe barrier between a warm house and a cold street. Among the advantages of expanded polystyrene, its incombustibility should be highlighted. When a flame occurs, it will gradually disappear on the surface of the material.
For inexpensive insulation you can always use foam rubber.. The material is convenient in all respects and will become a real find for a beginner home master. Foam rubber will forgive the mistakes made and allow them to be corrected painlessly.
Tool
It is impossible to do the work without a suitable tool kit. To create insulated wooden entrance doors you will need:
- Tape measure and pencil;
- Stationery knife;
- Hacksaw;
- A hammer;
- Screwdriver;
- Smooth rail or metal meter;
- Mounting or nail puller;
- Construction stapler.
If necessary, this set can be expanded, but for most operations it will be quite enough. It should be noted that the hacksaw is easily replaced by an electric jigsaw. This tool allows you to perform work with the same quality, but much faster. And if the house does not have a screwdriver, then you can take a simple drill. The main thing is that she has a reverse, which will allow, if necessary, to unscrew any self-tapping screw or screw.
In addition to the tool, it is necessary to prepare the casing material. For most door leafs, it will be sufficient to use a leather substitute having an attractive appearance. This material has good characteristics and wear resistance, so the canvas does not need to be repaired for a long time.
And if you like to do everything yourself, we recommend you instructions on how to make an entrance wooden door.
Preparatory work
To perform the insulation of the door leaf, you should go step by step, stage by stage. This approach allows you to achieve a good result and eliminate errors. And first, preparatory work remains to be done.
So that nothing interferes with the work, you need to remove the door leaf. This is done by mounting or nailing.. It is enough to pry the canvas from below and it will rise from the hinges. If the rotary axis is a little rusty, then it must be lubricated with machine oil. After that, in small translational movements, you can stir up the loop and remove the door leaf.
When the door is outside the box, it is necessary to remove all available elements from it. The hinges, handles, peephole and lock are carefully unscrewed and retracted to the side. If the door is not made only of wood, then it is necessary to remove the sheet of the inner lining to gain access to the interior space of the canvas.
Cutting and laying insulation
The next step in the insulation of the door leaf will be the laying of material that will make it warmer. To do this, you need to arm yourself with a clerical knife. Thermal insulation is cut along the length and width of the canvas so that there is no empty space. If the door is a frame with voids, then they need to be filled with insulation.
All pieces must be firmly inserted between the bars to prevent the formation of cold bridges. At the same time, the material should not bubble, which will indicate an excessively large supply. In this case, it is worth a little cut off excess material. As soon as everything is fitted, you need to fix the insulation with brackets. Quickly and efficiently, this allows you to make a construction stapler.
New door trim
The next step will be upholstery prepared wooden doors. For this purpose, you can use soft materials such as skin substitute or dermantine. The upholstery fabric is cut with a margin of at least 10 cm in length and width. This is necessary for bending the material, which should have some thickening around the entire perimeter of the door leaf.
It is best to fix dermantine on special nails. They have a large decorative hat, which gives the skin a more attractive look. Also, you can put copper wire on the nails. If you pull it, you will get additional fastening for both insulation and exterior decoration.
An analogue of soft materials is MDF. This type of finish is used for frame paintings. In this case, each panel is attached to the kleimer, and nailed along the perimeter.
Installation of hinges and accessories
When the canvas gets a new look, you need to install the removed accessories in place. The hinges should occupy their nests exactly as they were installed before starting work. The seat for the lock must be carefully cut so that there is no damage around the door trim.
If necessary, insulation can be combined with a replacement lock on the front door.
Seal installation
Installing frost-resistant insulation on the door leaf is only half the battle to eliminate the penetration of cold air into the living space. Even with the door closed, a small gap remains between it and the frame through which the cold will penetrate. Eliminate drafts - the next task for the home master.
To perform this work, you should choose the optimal type of seal. Today, manufacturers can offer the following types of this material:
- Foam Seals;
- Silicone sealants;
- Rubber seals.
The first type of seal allows you to quickly and inexpensively solve the issue with drafts. It is ideally suited for the doorway of a structure such as a summer residence, where there is no high intensity of opening and closing doors.
Using a silicone sealant for doors will allow you to get rid of drafts for a longer time than the foam analog can do. The shape of the product guarantees a tight pressing of the canvas to the box, which will not allow the air masses to move inside the room.
The best option is a rubber seal. Due to its characteristics, it allows you to get a warm opening for a long period, even with the most intensive use. In addition, the variety of forms of this product makes it possible to install it on all types of door blocks.
Choosing the desired version of the seal, it remains only to install it in place. There are two main mounting options:
- Using an adhesive strip.
- Using a harpoon in a groove.
The fastest way to install a new seal on the door is to use self-adhesive products. But this type cannot please durability, therefore many experts recommend harpoon fastening in a groove.
Choosing a small groove in the quarter without dismantling the boxes will be quite difficult. Therefore, it is allowed to carefully nail the seal with small cloves. Mounting must be done in the corner of the quarter. This will allow the panel to take its position in the door block without difficulty and provide reliable protection against draft.