Weatherstripping adds a barrier between outside air and indoor living space, helping to block drafts that lead to high heating costs. (Duck® Brand)
One of the quickest energy- and money-saving tasks you can do is weatherstrip your windows and doors.
Weatherstripping is a piece of rubber, foam, metal or other material used to seal the edges of a door or window to prevent outside air from entering.
Air leaks around window and door edges are a leading cause of high energy costs in your home. By sealing uncontrolled air leaks, you can save 10-20 percent on your heating and cooling bills, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Not sure if you need to weatherstrip? Try this test for air tightness: On a windy day, carefully hold a lit incense stick or a smoke pen next to your windows and doors. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, then you need to apply some weatherstripping.
Weatherizing your home is an easy and affordable DIY project. Here are three prime spots for air leaks and how to weatherstrip them.
Foam weatherstripping conforms to the cracks and gaps in a window frame. (Duck® Brand)
1. Windows
During cold winter months, windows become a prime spot for energy loss.
Gaps around wooden window frames are more noticeable in the winter because of thermal expansion. Basically, warmer temperatures make wood swell, and cooler temperatures cause wood to contract.
Fortunately, you don’t have to replace your windows to make them more energy-efficient in the winter.
Duck® Brand Weatherstrip Sealsaremade of self-adhesive foam for an easy install. Just remove dirt and dust from the project area, measure the space, cut the product to size, remove the protective backing and press the seal into place.
For added assurance, especially in colder climates, consider Duck® Brand Heavy-Duty Weatherstrip Seals. They’re guaranteed to not crack in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Best of all, weatherstripping works year-round, not just to prevent drafts, but also to block dust, pollen and insects from invading your home.
Weatherstrip under doors to block out drafts, pests and outside noise. (Duck® Brand)
2. Doors
Doors are one of the most common sources of leaks and drafts, so it’s important to weatherstrip around their frames just like windows. However, a door’s bottom is a particularly vulnerable spot.
Gaps between a door and floor not only increase drafts but also create a perfect entrance for dirt and pests to penetrate your home.
While inside, look under your entry doors — if the sun shines through, they need bottom seals.
Duck® Brand’s Double Draft Seal is a foam insert you cut to size and secure in place with patented straps. It’s removable, renter-friendly, and works for interior and exterior doors.
The seal won’t slide off or stick to doors, and it won’t damage them. It works with most flooring types, and the fabric cover is machine washable — so you can block drafts in style.
The durable rubber material blocks out drafts, dirt and pests, plus helps reduce noise that enters your home. And because it’s peel-and-stick, it won’t damage your door.
A garage door seal blocks out pests and dirt, so your garage stays cleaner. (slobo, Getty Images Signature)
3. Garage Doors
Now that we’ve talked about applying weatherstipping to your windows and doors, let’s talk about a spot in your home that’s often overlooked when weatherizing — the garage door.
Although a garage isn’t technically a living space — unless it doubles as a man cave — it still needs to be sealed off to block out damaging pests and precipitation.
For example, if water enters your garage, it could damage the floor and possibly seep into the rest of your home.
Most garage doors already have a seal, but over time, wind, water, dirt and pests can deteriorate it. If your garage door is working well, then replacing the seal is an easy DIY job.
Duck® Brand’s Garage Door Bottom Seal is designed to create an airtight seal under garage doors that also keeps dirt and insects out during warmer months. Because it’s made with heavy-duty rubber, it won’t freeze or crack, no matter what the season brings.
Weatherstripping around windows and doors is just one of the many methods to make your home more energy-efficient.
Duck® Brand offers a variety of products to weatherstrip your home to help save energy and money.
Outdoor roll-up blinds for your patio solve the problem of late afternoon and early-morning sun glare.
No matter where you build your patio (or porch or pergola), the sun is bound to blast that space at some time in the day.
Finding attractive blinds to block or filter the sun has always been a challenge. Some shades block too much of the outside view while others let too much light shine through.
Plus, the cords on blinds can easily become entangled, becoming a danger to children and pets.
Coolaroo’s new outdoor roll-up blinds for your patio are the safe solution for this shade problem.
The unique wheel operation that allows you to easily adjust the height of your shade to control your privacy and comfort. (The Home Depot)
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This wheel design eliminates any dangling cords, making these outdoor roll-up blinds for your patio certified “Best for Kids” by the Window Covering Safety Council.
Products that qualify for “Best for Kids” either have no cords, no operating cords, or inner cords that can’t create a potential wrap-around hazard. To be certified, manufacturers must meet the program’s specifications and have their products tested in a third-party laboratory.
This week, learn how to clean old wallpaper and protect a wood-framed shower window from water damage. (Sandy Knollenburg/simplyzel, Getty Images)
Hour 1
In Hour 1, hear our suggestions for matching wood posts to vinyl, cleaning old wallpaper, and more.
Matching Wood Posts to Vinyl
Matching these wooden support posts to the vinyl posts is as easy as applying a coat of paint. (Photos by Doug May)
Doug May has a great view of the Blue Ridge Mountains on his covered back porch. But, the view of his porch isn’t as pleasing.
“The upper part has vinyl sleeves over the top of the posts. Everything’s covered and it’s nice and smooth and white. But down below, it’s just pressure-treated wood, with all the cracks and gaps,” Doug says.
He wants the wooden support posts on the ground to match the white vinyl posts on the porch above. What’s stopping him from covering the wood posts with vinyl is the diagonal wood braces. He’s worried about the hassle of connecting the many vinyl pieces on the diagonals and sealing them.
“What I want is the smooth look and feel of the vinyl on the posts below. Is there a way to do that?” Doug asks.
Vinyl sleeves are expensive! If you want the posts to match, try this budget-friendly option:
First, clean the wood posts and apply a coat of primer.
Then, use auto body filler (like Bondo) to skim out the cracks. Once that dries, lightly sand the posts.
Then, caulk the areas where the diagonal braces meet the vertical posts.
Finally, apply two coats of acrylic latex paint.
Once you do this, no one will know one set of posts is vinyl and the other set isn’t! The acrylic paint will give it a glossy look and seal the joints.
If you decide you want to cover the posts with vinyl, remove one post at a time, including the diagonal supports, and attach the vinyl sleeves to each piece.
Miter cut the ends of the sleeves to fit the diagonal brace posts, and thoroughly caulk each seam so water doesn’t get in.
Don’t caulk the bottom of the diagonal brace pieces where the wood meets the post. If water were to get inside the vinyl, you want it to be able to drain out and dry.
Original wallpaper keeps an old home’s character true to its age. (Photo by Sandy Knollenburg)
How to Clean Old Wallpaper
Sandi Knollenburg bought a 100-year-old farmhouse in Bloomington, Ill., five years ago, and she’s been renovating it little by little.
Right now, she’s working on the stairwell area. The walls that extend from the first floor to the second are covered in wallpaper from the 1960s. She loves the pattern, and the wallpaper is still in pretty good shape! All it needs is a good cleaning.
She asks, “What’s the best way to clean and preserve the wallpaper?”
Most modern wallpapers have an acrylic or latex coating that makes them washable and, in some cases, scrubbable. Older wallpaper is just plain paper, so you don’t want to get it wet. If you do, it will peel off the wall.
Try these options to remove the dirt and dust:
Wipe the wallpaper with a large, dry sponge.
Use a vacuum cleaner.
Attach a microfiber cloth to a Swiffer-type mop for hard-to-reach spots.
To remove skids and scuffs, use a gum eraser. You can buy these at an art supply store. Another option is a dry Magic Eraser. If that doesn’t work, lightly dampen it.
Hour 2
In Hour 2, learn how to prevent wood rot in a shower window, remove sediment from water, and more.
Worried about water damaging a wood-framed shower window? Protect it with tile. (simplyzel, Getty Images)
Protecting a Wood Window Frame in a Shower
A caller needs advice on tiling around a window in his shower. The wood frame sticks out slightly, so he can’t tile over it.
“What do you do to treat that to make it so that the water is not damaging that wood and causing wood rot, and more importantly that water is not getting behind that and causing damage to the shower?” he asks.
A lot of older houses have this problem. Typically, at one point in time, the bathroom had just a tub with a window above it. Then somewhere along the way, a shower was installed.
I’ve seen a lot of homeowners put a shower curtain over the window but rarely does that last long.
To protect the wood frame from water damage, encapsulate the window frame with the tile.
Before you lay the tile, be sure to caulk and paint the frame. Bring the tile up to the wood and then overlap extra tile over the window frame. This will protect the frame from the water and give it a nice, pronounced look.
If water can still hit it directly, install a waterproof window.
To completely eliminate any chance of rood rot, remove the window and replace it with a vinyl one.
Sick of sediment in your water? It’s time for a new water filter. (pixelshot)
Sediment in Water
Pablo Sandoval in Willow Creek, Calif., is sick of sediment in his water. His home draws water from a deep well and all wastewater flows into a septic tank.
“For most of the year, the water supply is good, but every summer we have a problem with sediment that clogs aerators at sinks and showerheads. Plus, the washing machine takes forever to fill with water. What can we do to alleviate these issues?” he asks.
Sediment problems are more frequent in the summer because water levels are usually lower. There’s less water but the same amount of sediment in the system, so it finds its way to the pump and into your house.
You’ll need to have a well water contractor take a look at your pump. You might need a new screening.
Also, here are two options to consider:
Have a water well contractor install a sand separator on your pump. This device uses centrifugal force to push dirt, sand and debris outward to the separator wall and downward in a spiral motion. The cleaned water then rises and returns back to your plumbing system.
If your home’s primary entrance is in the garage, then you’ll want Chamberlain’s new garage door opener with an integrated camera. Learn More >>
Simple Solutions
This Simple Solution keeps you from constantly refilling your kitchen soap dispenser. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Improved Soap Dispenser — Kitchen-sink soap dispensers hold such a small amount of liquid soap that it requires you to constantly refill the reservoir bottle. Here’s a better option:
Lift off the hand pump from the dispenser, pull off the plastic fill tube, and replace it with a long flexible quarter-inch-diameter tubing.
Feed the opposite end of the tubing down through the hole in the sink deck and place it in a large jug of liquid soap.
Now you’ll never have to refill the dispenser; simply replace the soap jug once it’s empty.
If you’re installing gutters on vinyl siding, run the drill in reverse for smooth holes. (Garrett Aitken, Getty Images)
Smooth Cut in Vinyl Siding — When using a hole saw to drill through vinyl siding, run the drill in reverse. That way, the hole saw will create a nice clean hole with no rough edges.
Once you cut through the siding, switch the drill to forward and bore through the wall sheathing.
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Further Reading
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With help from our friends at The Home Depot, we’ve compiled this list of timely chores to keep your house clean and comfortable.
Listen to this special-edition Today’s Homeowner Podcast, and follow along below, to learn all about the top summer home maintenance projects!
Changing the air conditioner filter makes your AC work better to keep you cooler. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
1. Change AC & Heating System Filters
Regularly changing your HVAC system’s filters is important because a dirty filter will slow down and strain your system. It should take about two to three minutes to take out your old filter and put in a new one.
Also, once your filter is out, go ahead and vacuum the cavity in case of dust build-up.
Your AC drain line can get blocked with mold and mildew, causing its pan to overflow. Flush it with bleach twice during the summer, when it’s working at its hardest.
3. Check for Loose Railings or Damage on Wooden Decks
Changing weather can take a toll on your deck. Nails and screws can loosen during the temperature change and splinters can pop up once the heat rises.
Inspect and repair any damage to your deck so you can have some safe fun in the sun. Top it off with a coat of sealer to keep it protected all summer long.
Check for any loose parts or rot (if it’s wood). If you have cushions, be sure to wash them. In addition, if your cushions get wet from rain, be sure to hang them out to dry on a sunny day to avoid mold.
If you do this on a regular basis, it makes it a lot easier to keep everything clean.
Your fireplace will be ready for winter if you have it inspected this summer. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
7. Have Chimney Inspected & Cleaned
Now’s a great time to have a professional inspect your fireplace and chimney because you aren’t using them during the summer.
Plus, you’ll have more time for repairs if needed.
Scrape off peeling paint and put on a fresh coat for an exterior refresh. (mehampson, Getty Images)
8. Scrape Loose Paint from Siding & Trim
Boost your home’s curb appeal by freshening up siding. Scrape away any loose paint, sand if needed, then prime and paint on a fresh coat.
If it’s an older paint, be sure to test it for lead as a precaution.
Mix 1 teaspoon of baby shampoo to 1 gallon of water, or 1-1/2 cups of vinegar to 1 gallon of water, and wipe windows down with newspaper for a streak-free shine.
Involve family members and tag-team to speed things up! Have one person clean the windows inside while another cleans the outside.
Finally, summer blooms are burgeoning! Now is the perfect time to pull any weeds from garden beds and prevent further weed growth by adding 2 to 3 inches of mulch.
Listen to this special-edition Today’s Homeowner Podcast for more summer home maintenance tips!
Retractable screens let your home breathe in the outdoors — but not the bugs.
Imagine a screen door that disappears when you don’t need it. One that protects you from bugs without downgrading your home’s appearance. Well, you no longer need to imagine; it exists.
A retractable screen door blurs the line between indoors and outdoors, seamlessly letting fresh air in and keeping insects out.
Retractable screen doors neatly tuck away when you’re not using them.
What is a Retractable Screen Door?
A retractable screen door is essentially a frame with a roll of screen mesh on one side and tracks on the top and bottom.
The system mounts onto the door frame and differs from traditional hinged screen doors. When you need the screen, you pull it out; when you don’t, it rolls up out of sight.
Retractable screens seamlessly unify outdoor and indoor living spaces, making them ideal for house parties, family gatherings, or just catching a spring breeze in the kitchen without walking onto the patio.
Traditional screen doors take up valuable space and take away curb appeal. (Adobe Stock photo)
The Trouble with Traditional Screen Doors
Traditional screen doors also let in fresh air, but hinged options require opening and closing whenever you enter or leave your home, even when you’re not using them for their intended purpose. This is inefficient, and unnecessary, especially when hauling in groceries.
Traditional screen doors are always in the way, even if you only use them a few months out of the year. Plus, a sliding screen door’s metal frame is always exposed to the elements, making it vulnerable to rust, and difficult to open and close.
It’s not just function that presents problems; it’s also the door’s form.
Traditional screen doors often negatively affect an exterior door’s appearance.
It’s difficult to find one that matches your home’s style, and these doors — which often look like a throwback to another era — can take away from a home’s curb appeal.
Retractable screen doors easily glide open and shut.
Advantages of a Retractable Screen Door
Retractable screen doors eliminate the problems associated with traditional screen doors.
For instance, RetractaView by Wizard Screens features a sleek, modern design that complements today’s homes. Wizard’s GlideSmooth Technology enables effortless one-handed operation along the low-profile upper and lower tracks. And, when needed, the screen conveniently retracts and stores out of sight in the side housing.
It’s made for single in-swing or out-swing, sliding, and French doors, and comes in a variety of colors, styles, and solar and insect mesh types. So, homeowners don’t have to choose between an unsightly traditional screen or not screening the door at all.
The system also is safe to use, with a magnetic catch that holds the screen in place when in use and releases should a pet or person run into the screen.
How is a Retractable Screen Door installed?
Retractable screen doors mount to the side of the door frame with a track at the top and bottom to guide the rolled screen. However, this is not a do-it-yourself job.
For optimal results and to ensure the screen’s proper installation, you’ll want professional installation. There are hundreds of Wizard Screens dealers in North America — here’s how to find one near you.
Once installed, operation is easy. Just pull the screen door out to allow fresh air into your home when needed and roll it back out of the way when not in use.
Retractable screen doors are weather-resistant and last for years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do retractable screen doors last?
Quality retractable screen doors, with proper use and care, will provide many years of service. Because they retract when not in use, they completely avoid the elements, unlike traditional screen doors.
RetractaView’s rugged construction is weather, wear and UV-resistant, and the screen can absorb impact from people and pets without tearing or sagging.
In addition, all retractable screen systems from Wizard Screens come with a limited lifetime warranty, providing peace of mind. The housing is guaranteed to not warp, crack or fade and authorized dealers are available nationwide for service calls.
Are retractable screen doors worth it?
Retractable screen doors’ out-of-sight, out-of-mind style don’t block the beauty of your exterior doors, whether they’re French doors or custom-stained mahogany. Plus, they are attractive to home buyers, should you decide to sell. These features make them attractive to an increasing number of homeowners.
