How to Winterize Your Exterior Doors

According to Natural Resources Canada, windows and doors can account for up to 25% of a home’s total heat loss. That makes exterior doors an important place to check when preparing your home for winter.

Knowing how to winterize your exterior doors can help reduce drafts, improve indoor comfort, and limit unnecessary heat loss. If your door is aging, misaligned, or no longer sealing properly, you may find yourself adding weather stripping or caulking every winter just to keep cold air out.

While seasonal maintenance can help with minor air leaks, recurring drafts may be a sign that the door or frame is no longer performing as it should. In that case, upgrading to a properly fitted, energy-efficient replacement exterior door may provide a more reliable long-term solution.

Until you’re ready to replace the door, sealing gaps, replacing worn weather stripping, and checking the threshold can help keep your home more comfortable through an Ontario winter.

Quick Answer: How Do You Winterize an Exterior Door?

To prepare an exterior door for winter:

1. Check around the door for air leaks and visible gaps.
2. Inspect the weather stripping for worn, compressed or missing material.
3. Seal stationary gaps around the frame with appropriate caulking.
4. Check and adjust the door sweep and threshold.
5. Make sure the door closes evenly and locks securely.
6. Consider replacement if drafts remain after the seals have been repaired.

For many Ontario homeowners, weather stripping and caulking can solve minor drafts. If the door itself is warped, damaged or no longer fits properly in its frame, sealing products may only provide a temporary improvement.

Why It’s Important to Winterize Exterior Doors

With cold weather approaching, the last thing you want is to feel cold air coming through gaps around your front door. Drafts can make your home less comfortable and force your heating system to work harder to maintain a consistent indoor temperature.

That extra demand can lead to higher energy use and increased heating costs throughout the winter. Whether your home relies on a furnace, heat pump, or another heating system, sealing air leaks around exterior doors can help reduce unnecessary heat loss and improve overall comfort.

For Ontario homeowners, where winter temperatures can drop well below freezing, properly winterizing exterior doors is an important part of preparing your home for the colder months.

How to Detect Air Leaks Around Exterior Doors

Identifying air leaks around your exterior door remains a relatively simple task. One way to easily notice larger leaks is to wait until dark and have someone shine a flashlight around the door while the lights are turned off inside the house. If you see light coming through seemingly small gaps, that equals an air draft.

Another way to find air leaks is by using a candle. Hold the flame near the outer edges of the door and then the frame. If the candle flickers, you have discovered an air leak. The good news for homeowners is that sealing door gaps for winter can be done by most handy do-it-yourselfers.

How to Seal Door Gaps in Winter

Once you know where air is entering, choose the repair that addresses that specific area.

Seal Stationary Gaps Around the Door Frame

If you discover drafts coming through the door jamb, it may be prudent to fill the gaps using a caulking product. Press the compound into the spaces and wipe it close. You can circle back and lightly sand it to help the fix blend in later.

Replace Worn Exterior Door Weather Stripping

One of the better approaches to seal a door for winter is by installing durable weather stripping. Many of these products have tape on one side and homeowners can stick long strands into affected areas. It’s not uncommon to weather-strip the entire frame around the drafty door for good measure. Securing the deadbolt at night can also help minimize air penetrations because it keeps the door securely in place when the wind blows.

Check the Door Sweep

If cold air is coming from underneath the door, inspect the sweep attached along its bottom edge. A damaged or incorrectly positioned door sweep can leave a noticeable gap between the door and threshold.

Adjusting or replacing it may help create better contact along the bottom of the doorway.

Make Sure the Door Closes Properly

Weather stripping cannot work effectively if the door does not sit correctly in the frame. Check whether:

• The hinges are secure
• The door closes evenly
• The latch engages properly
• The deadbolt aligns without excessive force
• One corner of the door sits farther away from the frame than another

If alignment problems continue, having the door professionally assessed can help determine whether adjustment or replacement is needed.

Weather Stripping vs. Door Replacement: Which Do You Need?

Weather stripping is usually appropriate when the door itself is in good condition and the problem is limited to deteriorated seals. Door replacement becomes more appropriate when the door, frame or complete system can no longer create a consistent weather-tight fit.

Choose weather stripping or minor air sealing when you have a localized draft, worn seals, minor gaps or deteriorated caulking.

Consider having the complete exterior door assessed when you have recurring drafts despite new weather stripping, visible warping, significant frame deterioration, moisture intrusion, persistent operating problems or gaps caused by movement in the door system.

This distinction is important. Adding another layer of weather stripping to a warped door may hide the problem temporarily without correcting the underlying cause.

Why Is Cold Air Still Coming Through My Front Door After Weather Stripping?

If new weather stripping does not stop the draft, the problem may not be the weather stripping.

The door could be misaligned, the threshold may not be sealing correctly, the frame could have shifted, or the door slab itself may have warped or deteriorated.

Check where the air is entering rather than continually adding more material around the frame. Excessive weather stripping can make a door difficult to close without producing a better seal.

Persistent exterior door drafts are a good reason to have the entire door system assessed.

What Type of Replacement Exterior Door Is Best for Ontario Winters?

Knowing how to winterize windows and doors is an excellent first step toward making your home more environmentally sustainable and saving money. This said, sometimes sealing the exterior door with weather stripping or caulk simply is not enough. Often, older doors are simply not designed with energy efficiency in mind, and it’s recommended to invest in insulated replacement exterior doors, like:

• Fiberglass Doors
• Steel Entry Doors
• Vinyl Exterior Doors

A replacement exterior door for an Ontario home should provide a reliable seal, insulation, durability and performance through changing seasonal conditions

Brookstone Offers Energy Efficient Doors in Ontario

Brookstone Windows and Doors manufactures a complete line of Canadian-made exterior doors. These industry-leading doors meet or exceed Energy Star Certification and are backed by a lifetime warranty. If you are experiencing exterior door drafts, contact Brookstone Windows & Doors at an Ontario location near you.

Frequently Asked Questions About Winterizing Exterior Doors: