Now that summertime is in full swing, you’re probably turning your attention to general home improvement projects like:
- Landscaping and garden maintenance
- Cleaning gutters and eaves troughs
- Sealing your driveways
- Renovating or building an addition to your home
Doors, however, are projects that many people would like to do, but put off.
After all, if the door looks good and appears to open-and-close properly, then it can probably doesn’t need replacing.
Not so fast. There are instances where you just can’t delay it any longer and absolutely NEED to look into replacement doors for your home very seriously.
Here are three signs that – this summer – replacement doors should be at the very top of your home improvement project list.
1. Light comes through the doors
Do you see light through, under, between or around your doors?
It isn’t good if you do.
Where light is getting through, so is air.
And when air is escaping through your doors, there is money being thrown away.
Even the smallest gap can allow a large amount of heat or cool air into and out of your home.
Over the summer months, you’ll be throwing money out the door.
You could get away with adjusting your door or installing new weather stripping.
But it may not solve the problem. At that point, you should consider replacing the door.
2. You feel hot or cold air when you stand next to your door
This goes for any exterior doors in your house. If it’s hot outside and you stand by your front door and instantly feel a rise in temperature, that’s bad.
There are two reasons why this could be happening:
- The doors have gaps and are leaking, or…
- They are simply poorly insulated
Some doors – like wood, metal or steel doors – do not insulate as well as fiberglass doors.
Sliding doors
Sliding doors are well-known for being very energy inefficient.
That’s because they usually don’t have weather stripping and have thin glass inserts (anything less than 5/8” is considered very thin).
If you’re trying to keep the house cool in the summer and stand by your sliding doors and immediately begin to sweat, then you need to look into getting them changed.
3. They are difficult to open or close
It’s annoying when your door doesn’t function as it’s supposed to. If you struggle to open or shut a door (to the point that you have to throw your shoulder into it), that’s not good at all.
The issue could be that the door was not properly installed to begin with. Or that the door could have shifted over time due to weather exposure.
It should be noted that wood and metal doors can expand and contract with temperature changes. In addition, rain and wet weather (like snow) can also warp or even rot your doors.
All this can lead to difficulty in opening and closing your doors – which can lead to problems with locking and securing them too.
Sliding doors
If sliding patio doors are tough to open or close, it could be because the rollers have gone bad or the track and frame have become damaged.
Sometimes the rollers can be replaced only. But in many cases, a sliding door replacement is needed.
We can help
If your doors are exhibiting any of the signs above, then it’s time to replace them with new doors which are attractive and energy-efficient.
Request a free estimate today from The Door Centre. We’ll be happy to show you some of our excellent door options and answer any questions you may have.
