How to draught proof an old door

[Paddingtonthebear]

Our front door is old and a bit draughty. Not looking to replace it with composite just yet due to cost but also it’s got character and is probably an original door so seems a shame to get rid.

The letterbox flap has been upgraded to magnetic which will help a lot. We will also put insulation strip around the door frame, but the door has glass panels which are single pane, is there anything we can do to improve them?

Difficult I think.

How big are the panels relative to the door size ? Are they frosted and are you bothered about how much light they let in ? You might be able to buy some thermal film to stick over them, but it might look strange from the inside and reduce the light.

Another option may be to have some polycarbonate sheets made up and then hold them in place with magnetic tape. But again it might look a bit weird. I have seen someone build a frame out of beading/small cross section wood around the glass panel and then screw a polycarbonate sheet onto it to trap a layer of air. There are a number of places on the web where you can do this.

Finally a thick curtain might be an option. you can remove it in the summer.

I have a large curtain held on with a Portiere rod which hold the curtain out the way as the door opens and closes. I also have a cheap draft excluder pinned to the bottom that moves with the door, our frame is on a slight lip so it doesn't get caught on it.

www.broughtons.com/store/category/32/462/portiere-rods/

Inside of the door (needs to be painted!) the glass panels are helpful to let in light as hall is narrow and north facing. You can see the box edge at the top which won’t allow a curtain

Pics

Door curtains are incredibly effective. You can take them down in the spring if you want.

There isn’t enough space above the door for a curtain

Replace the top panel above the door with double glazed glass. Door curtain on the horizontal wood rail.

You attach a Portier rod to the door

https://www.madebytheforge.co.uk/curtains/portiere-rod-door-pole.html

Look at this link - a portiere rod doesn’t attach to the door. The third and fourth images in the gallery look similar to your setup.

Sorry, I meant doesn’t attach above the door.

https://www.simplyplastics.com/catalog/products-by-use/plastic-secondary-glazing/polycarbonate-secondary-glazing/c-24/c-128/p-1076?gclid=CjwKCAiA9dGqBhAqEiwAmRpTCx_sdAMWAy4FuekC0lvkXSiBG5OwDFwThKi8W_L0BSdx9RcLgviaRRoCDX4QAvD_BwE

you could use diy secondary glazing as above.

dont get rid of your original door - it is beautiful. You could get someone to reinstate the stained glass on that and it would look amazing!

You can get a curtain wire, thread it through a long velvet curtain and screw them into top on your door about 1/2 inch down door. They are incredibly warm and good at stopping draughts.

Zero sewing skills here 😆

So if I could find a portiere rod to fit the wall to the left it might work

You could try one of those tension shower rails and then put the curtain on that

Contact a joiner/locksmith and see what they suggest. They can renew or fit weather guards and door insulation. We have an original Victorian door that’s drafty but we’re not looking to replace so I have someone coming to do ours next week if the weather holds. I put a post on my local facebook group and he got in touch.

There’s a still a few houses left in the street with the same type of door, all have the same glass which is not a stained glass pattern. I think if I can find a rod that will fit the small column to the left of the door I will go with a door curtain

Clear acrylic sheet (Perspex) cut to sit in the rebate of the glass windows on the inside. Mounted with some draughtproof foam beading between the acrylic and the door. It should act as secondary glazing and reduce heat loss through the glass.

But a curtain will be the most effective option.

Do you have the squidgy foam strip Round the door to block draughts? Can get it on eBay and hardware shops and it is only a few quid.

We had a door very much like yours years ago. It was a nice original victorian one but boy was it draughty. Once all the paint was stripped off it got worse.

Things to improve it were, the small foam seals that fit inside the rebate, they come in different thicknesses and colours.

A sealed letter plate on the inside ,the outside one was original and didnt want to swap it.

A small wind deflector/ weatherboard on the outside as low as possible to keep the wind out and also a brush strip on the inside. I didnt want to fit a storm guard as it would have been something else to step over.

The door was slightly twisted and didn’t shut quite to at the bottom so fitted dead bolts top and bottom to push the door tighter on to the cills.

The biggest draught came straight through the key hole , even with an escutcheon on the outside , leaving a key in didnt help much so a bit of tape in winter solved that 🙂.

We didn’t use the front door much so it was kept bolted most of the time but all the small little bit made it 90% draught free …… it was still a cold door in winter but not draughty.

The downside of a curtain is it still blocks the light out ,unless you just close it at night ? But then its still draughty in the day time.

Not sure how i got 2 photos on 🙂