Friday, November 7, 2008

We fixed our patio wooden sliding door weather strip...


Well... I know this is not a fix it yourself blog, however, I think this worth blogging.
It's our biggest achievement in fixing the a door...

Our weather strip patio door is falling apart. With winter is on the way, it's been our priority to replace it. I've looked at local home improvement stores and I still can't find the weather strip I needed.

After weeks searching on the web, I found Conservation Technology, which looks like it would be able to help. The weather seals looks so much like WS 84 on their catalog weather seals catalog. I think they call it a "leaf seal". However, with a minimum $25 and shipping charges, it made me to try looking for something locally.

I went to Elliot Ace Hardware at Elm Grove ( my favorite part because the people are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable) and was referred to Lisbon Screen and Storm where I emailed Mike my single liner sketch.
He responded that he may have something similar to it. So, I was so very hopeful that we can fix this problem.

We went there, spoke with Dan, and within 20 minutes, we were out the store with big smiles.
We found the thing... Today, we replaced it and it perfectly fit.

We also fixed our front door sweep. There are many kind of sweep type and sizes. Ours is kind that has a barb that goes inside the door.

This is the picture of the door without the sweep. So when you are looking for a replacement, either you have to bring the old sweep or needs to measure the distance of the barb.
I found ours at Menards. There is also a universal sweep which uses adhesive to stick on the door.

Once you found it, just use a mallet to force it in the door. On both edge, we put silicone sealant like the ones you use in the bathroom. We screwed on both size using sheet metal screw just to enforce it. It's not necessary - not suggested in the direction.
We did the enforcing part, however, because when we put the door back, we accidentally folded one corner, which means the sweep didn't cover the gap as it's suppose to.

The tricky part is putting the door back. It's a bit challenging for both of us to put the door back... but we made it...

Winter... we're ready for you...

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