Is the fiberglass entry door or replacement window on your Sacramento, CA home not doing its job? Are you getting lots of bugs or critters crawling under the door? Do you have too much light, wind, or even bad smells coming through the cracks between your door and the jamb? If you answered yes, you might need some weather-stripping.

Weather-stripping is a tight seal that is semi-permanently affixed to the sides and top of a door. It’s designed to boost the doors seal, acting as an airtight final layer that helps keep moisture, air and other outdoor annoyances outside where they belong. Weather-stripping goes a long way in boosting your door’s energy efficiency, even if your fiberglass door is already very efficiency on its own. Weather-stripping can also be used as a verb to describe the act of applying a weather strip on a fiberglass entry door, or any other kind of home opening like windows, patio doors, and more.

While there are many different kind of weather-stripping, in its noun form, most varieties have two main components: weather-stripping and a door bottom. The weather-stripping plugs air leaks, and covers the top and sides of a door. The door bottom is a flat piece of material, usually plastic, aluminum, or stainless steel that’s fitted with strip of plastic or nylon to serve as an air and moisture seal on the bottom of the door.

Weather-stripping comes in many different forms, but it is usually made of metal, felt, foam, plastic, vinyl or silicone. Not all weather-stripping is made equal, as some kinds are not effective, or are made of materials that rip, compress, bend or wear down easily. You can find some fiberglass entry doors that come with weather-stripping pre-installed for your convenience. These modern doors have weather-stripping that is resilient in the face of years of use, and offers compression resistance, shrink or stretch prevention, sound absorbance, and resistance to mold, mildew and rot.

Weather-stripping offers a whole host of benefits for homeowners like you. Some of these benefits include:

• Creating an effective air, water and moisture barrier to help prevent leaks, drafts and rainwater from getting into your home
• Adding to the fiberglass door’s energy efficiency, often saving 10% to 15% on your energy bills
• Reducing the intake of smells and noises from the outside into your home, from a neighbor’s loud lawn mower to the smell of a forgotten garbage or recycling bin
• Building an additional barrier against unwanted light
• An extra defense against insects, rodents, and other outdoor pests to prevent them from getting into your house

Although weather-stripping is an extremely important aspect of your entry door system – not all doors come with weather-stripping. If your new Sacramento, CA replacement windows or fiberglass entry doors need weather-stripping, or you would like to look into new doors that come with weather-stripping, The Window and Door Shop, Inc. is here to help. Call or visit us today to learn more.