Sunday, April 10, 2022

How to Fix a Gap at the Bottom of a Door - A Review



Our laundry room door opens to the garage. We recently noticed that time created a gap at the bottom that allowed light, and gawd knows what else to come through!

I did a lot of reading and research to decide which product my husband should use to repair this problem.

Things We Had to Consider:
  • It's a metal door and being a door to the garage, it's a fire door.
  • Products we could DIY
  • However, feel free to double-check and get a professional opinion on the best products to use with a fire door. We're happy with the product we selected.
  • Affordability
  • Easy to install

Information We Needed Before We Decided on the Best Product:

  • The depth and width of the door
  • A close measurement of how big the open gap is at the bottom of the door (between the floor and the door)
  • To choose a fire-rated product
  • Something that was affordable and that we could do ourselves

Allow Me To Save You Some Time:

I researched for hours to find what we thought would be the best product to solve our problem. 

The biggest problem was the endless number of products to choose from!

We chose two products for our exterior door:
  1. U-Shaped Door Bottom with Drip Cap (To fit a 1(3/4)" door width)
  2. Door Draft Stopper for Exterior/Interior Doors - Weather Stripping Door Sweep. Here's the one we purchased from Amazon Canada. Here's a similar product on Amazon USA - It's not the exact same, but very close.

1. The U-Shaped Door Bottom:

This product also comes with a door sweep on it. The benefit for us is that it helped fill in the gap at the bottom of the door. 



It also has a "drip cap." We really didn't need a drip cap since our door is in the garage and not exposed to the elements; however, I preferred the extra coverage the drip cap provided. Plus, it looks nice.

This product slides onto the bottom of the door but needs to be secured with the enclosed screws. You'll need a drill for that.

Our door depth measured 1(3/4)," and the u-shaped door bottom slid on perfectly. 

Our door is 30" wide, and the product comes as one whole piece measuring 36" wide. 

My husband cut the metal piece to fit our door using a Dremel Tool with a cutting disk. Hubby said you could also use a hacksaw. 

His tip is to be sure to measure the width correctly (double-check it) before you begin cutting.

Here's what a Dremel tool looks like:




Here's a close-up of the cutting disks:




2. Door Draft Stopper for Exterior/Interior Doors

This product is pretty easy to put on the door. My hubby's tip is to ensure the door is clean before putting it on. The product sticks on, so it only makes sense that you'll want to have a good clean surface. 

You'll have to cut it to fit your door. 

Here are the easy instructions indicated on the box that came with our product:


Here are a few photos of our actual door - which badly needs painting!


This is the Metal Slide On Door Sweep - View from the Outside of the Door


This is the weather guard on the inside of the door





Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


8 comments:

  1. Barbara, this sounds like a great, easy, affordable solution to your drafty door problem! Good thing John is so handy. Thanks for the recommendation, installation tips and photos!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great way to fix a problem. I think you did a great job and it looks really nice too! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  3. DIY projects and repairs are so much easier these days with the proper product(s) and handy hubbys. LOL Good to know there is a fairly easy way to fix that gap at the bottom of a door.

    My dad was an expert repairman/handyman. He could fix & repair anything. So we used to save up projects for him around the house when they would come on an annual/semi-annual grandparent visit. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Seems like a relatively simple fix for what could certainly be a big problem. I can certainly see the benefit to the stick on type, especially on a metal door. Plus, it looks like something I could easily do if need be. Thanks for the recommendations. I know this is a required "repair" in every home.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You found a great solution to this problem. It is so important to seal door gaps properly and you did a really great job with these products. Thank you for sharing your experience and for your recommendations and tips.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am so glad for this review! As soon as I moved it, my dog's leash slipped under the door and she pulled ... pulling off a good bit of the rubber weather-stripping. I assumed it would be a difficult fix so I didn't pursue any repair. But noticed a draft. I am definitely going to take a closer look at this option.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great DIY! I think we all have neglected doors with the issue thinking the fix may be too complicated!

    ReplyDelete
  8. It looks like you made a great choice. Now you'll keep out the cold and whatever else can fit through that gap.

    ReplyDelete

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