Home About Us Contact Us Blog 7 Signs It’s Time To Replace Your Front Door So you built your house or purchased a new one. So now what? When is it time to replace your front door? Nowadays homeowners use front doors more as a decor piece but that doesn’t mean we don’t replace it. On the contrary, most of us homeowners think of replacing windows but do not consider the front door. On average your heating and cooling are being wasted more than a home without a foyer. In this article, you will learn 7 tips and techniques on how to conserve energy while saving money. You will also learn when it is time to replace your door. 1. It’s Time To Replace Your Door When the Following Happens When you play tug of war during the winter time because the door sticks or blows open at the first sign of wind during the summer. However, if it sticks into the door jam it most likely has exposed areas where light can be seen around the door. If you see light from the inside and outside of the door there is a problem. Taking a lighter to the areas that you see light look closely to what it does. You know it is leaking air when you see the flame moving outside the door. 2. Does your door look like you purchased it at a junkyard? Rusty? Dented in? That is a clear indication of the structural integrity. You can tell a door isn’t that structurally sound when it’s laminated 24-26 gauge steel on the top of the wood frame. They barely qualify as a residential door. Think about it. You are unloading your car from grocery shopping and you go to open the door. Instead of propping the door open you kick it and it leaves a dent. Is that a door you would trust to protect your home? Not only that but if that same door has exterior moisture that turns into rust one can only assume that it’s getting into the wood frame. I wouldn’t trust a door like that to protect my family and home safe let alone energy efficient. 3. A lot of doors with glass packages have a double- pained glass just like new windows. The seal over time between the two panes will fail to lead to moisture, mildew, and/or mold. With all the allergens towards mold, this is a scary thing to see On the other hand, windows are made of inorganic materials which is why people prolong replacing them with little to no fear of mold or mildew spreading throughout the rest of the home. It is more urgent to keep your front door up to date. Up until these last 10 years, all residential doors have had wood core frames. If there is seal failure due to moisture the mold/mildew is surrounded by organic material. Even if it doesn’t get direct sunlight. 4. Is your door weathered, warped, or terribly cracked? Overtime doors can take a beating. They’re kicked, slammed and exposed to major temperature changes. An old new solid wood door probably has seen its last days. They have cracks there warped and extremely weathered. When inspecting your door treat it as if it’s an old wooden door and difficult to open. Look for light coming through it, stress fractures in the grain of the wood. Stress fractures are a clear indication that mold/mildew can grow very easily. These stress fractures are caused by outside elements to the inside of your home or visa versa. 5. Does stuffing a rolled up towel at the bottom of your door sound familiar to you? If the answer is yes then chances are you have of scored a B+. Now you know you have identified the problem and it’s time to address energy efficiency. There is a better way for you to keep the energy in and the harsh elements out without replacing your door or your best decorative towels. These days many doors come with a spring-loaded threshold. Look to see if there are screws at the surface of your threshold. You might be able to solve the problem by locating 3-4 screws along the surface of the threshold if they are there then you can rise up the weatherstripping of your door. But if you can’t because the threshold and weatherstripping are too worn out you would need to replace that. Buying what’s called a triple fan sweep for your weather stripping is recommended. In just 10 minutes you can install brand new weather stripping. You can purchase it at your local hardware store. Replacing that weather stripping will not only keep those beautiful decorative towels clean but can save you money, and add comfort to your home. 6. Have you had water damage or insect damage in the past? You know that the wood has to be replaced when you have water damage. The majority of homeowners and business owners with this problem know that the wood is not secure enough or too soft to support the door’s structure. Let alone keep it safe. If you have this problem obviously, you would need to replace your entry door. The same thing applies to insect damage. If you hire an exterminator he would tell you that 50% of the wood’s structure is compromised, therefore your R-Value (energy efficiency through solid objects) has been significantly diminished. Neglecting to replace the door will only result in more water or future insect damage and you’re more susceptible to break-ins. Not only that but your also wasting your heating and cooling. Replacement in this situation is a must because of the loss of R-Value. That is your thermal barrier (unless your door is completely made of glass). 7. Do you receive complaints from people on your retro door when you don’t really care about it? Aesthetics are incredibly important when it comes to your home. In fact, realtor.com and Remodeling Magazine both say that outside of landscaping and your roof, prospective buyers will draw their eye to the front door. Styles change dramatically every 10-20 years. Even sooner. When looking through our yearbooks a lot of us cannot believe the clothes we used to wear. With the Aqua-net up-dos’, overalls with the unhooked strap is the dramatic approach people took with their homes. With dramatic style choices front doors seem to take the most abuse. There is a good reason why too. The experience of the house is built of the front door. One might even suggest that the front door is, in fact, one of the first impressions of a home. You know it’s time to replace your door when your house is painted, siding is new, landscaping is up to date and then you have a front door straight from the 1970s. When selling your home buying a new door could add to the value of the home. Adding dramatic beauty to your curb appeal is one thing increasing your energy efficiency is another. Copyright © 2021 Green Home Construction SF. All Rights Reserved.