Weatherstripping and draft-proofing Calgary homes

On a cold Calgary night, you can feel exactly where a house leaks. A cold stripe of air across the floor by the front door. Frost forming on the inside of the door from the garage. A window that whistles when the wind picks up. These are drafts, and most of them come from a few small, fixable places.

Draft-proofing is one of the most useful small jobs you can do before winter. It makes rooms more comfortable, cuts cold spots near doors and windows, and helps keep moisture from condensing where it should not. This guide covers where drafts come from in Calgary homes, how to find them, and what the fixes look like.

Why drafts matter more in Calgary

Calgary winters regularly bring stretches of deep cold, and wind is common. Wind pushes cold air through any gap on the windward side of the house. Chinooks then bring warm, dry air and big temperature swings, which make doors and frames shift a little in their openings. Weatherstripping that sealed well in October may not touch the door in January.

There is also frost. When warm, moist indoor air leaks out through a gap around a door, it hits the cold metal or frame and frosts up. Frost on the inside of an exterior door or along a window frame usually means air is moving through that gap.

How to find drafts

You do not need special tools for most of this.

• The paper test. Close a door on a strip of paper. If it pulls out with no resistance, the weatherstripping is not sealing at that spot. Test the top, both sides and the bottom.
• Daylight. On a bright day, turn off the lights and look around exterior doors from inside. Any daylight is a gap.
• The back of your hand. On a cold, windy day, slowly move the back of your hand around door frames, window frames, electrical outlets on exterior walls and the attic hatch.
• A candle or incense stick. Hold it near a suspect gap. If the smoke moves sideways, air is moving. Be careful near curtains.
• Frost and condensation. Look for frost on the inside of door frames and window corners on very cold mornings.

Write down every spot you find. Most homes have a handful.

The most common draft points and fixes

Exterior door weatherstripping

Most modern exterior doors have a compression or kerf-mounted foam or rubber weatherstrip set into a slot in the frame. Over time it flattens, tears or comes out of the slot, especially on the latch side where it gets the most wear. Replacing it is usually a matter of matching the profile and pressing in a new strip.

Older doors may have adhesive foam tape or nailed-on strips. These wear out faster and often need replacing with a better product.

Door sweeps and bottom seals

The gap under a door is often the worst draft in the house. Exterior doors usually have a bottom seal in a channel on the door. If it is torn or the door has shifted, cold air pours across the floor. A replacement bottom seal or an added door sweep fixes it.

Thresholds

Many exterior doors have an adjustable threshold. Raising it slightly with the adjustment screws can close a gap without replacing anything. Worn or cracked thresholds can be replaced.

Door alignment

Weatherstripping only works if the door closes evenly against it. A door that sags on its hinges leaves a gap at the top of the latch side. Tightening hinge screws, adding a longer screw into the framing, or adjusting the strike plate can bring the door back into line. This is often the real fix when new weatherstripping alone does not help.

The door to the attached garage

This door matters for comfort and for keeping exhaust out of the house. It should have full weatherstripping and a bottom seal, and close properly on its own if it is fitted with a self-closer.

Windows

Casement and awning windows seal by pressing a sash against weatherstripping when locked. Worn seals or a sash that is not pulling tight lets air through. Sliding windows depend on pile weatherstripping that wears down. Some window seals can be replaced; others depend on the manufacturer's parts.

On the outside, failed caulking where the window frame meets the siding lets wind and water behind the trim. See caulking and sealing in Calgary.

Attic hatch

An attic hatch in a hallway or closet ceiling with no weatherstripping is a direct path for warm air into the attic. Adding weatherstripping around the hatch frame is a quick fix.

Outlets and switches on exterior walls

Foam gaskets behind cover plates on exterior walls reduce small drafts. These are simple to install with the cover plate removed.

Basement doors and windows

Walkout basement doors and basement windows are easy to forget. Check their seals too, especially in basement suites.

Older homes and condos

Older character homes in neighbourhoods like Inglewood, Bridgeland and Hillhurst often have original or older wood doors and windows. They can be drafty, but they can often be improved without replacement: new weatherstripping, door adjustment and new sweeps. See repairs for inner-city character homes.

In condos and apartments, the main unit entry door may be common property or have fire-rating requirements, so check with your board or property manager before changing seals or adding anything to it. See condo repairs in Calgary.

When to do it

Draft-proofing can be done any time of year indoors, but it makes sense to do it in the fall before the first deep cold, along with the rest of the fall handyman checklist. Doing it on a cold day does have one advantage: drafts are easy to find.

Some adhesive-backed products do not stick well in cold, so in winter, products that press into a slot or screw on are often a better choice for exterior doors.

A draft-proofing visit

A typical visit for a house covers:

1. Testing each exterior door and the garage door into the house.
2. Replacing worn weatherstripping and bottom seals.
3. Adjusting hinges, strikes and thresholds so doors close tight.
4. Weatherstripping the attic hatch.
5. Checking interior and exterior caulking at windows and noting anything that needs a fair-weather fix.

Send a photo of each door, including the bottom edge and the frame, and you will get one price for the lot. See the services list.

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Calgary NW, NE, SW and SE, plus Airdrie and Chestermere.

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