Thread: Hollow Doors

Most places now have to follow code for doors for attached garages which is they must be fire rated metal doors ..

If you have the solid wood doors with panels these are almost useless - pretty but the panels have very little R value .. mine actually would get frost on it ..

Leaks add up (6sq ft is only a hole that is 2x3), when you think of all the places cold comes in, its not hard to imagine it totaling a small window.

Anything you do today will be better than nothing and today it will be cheaper than next winter (I doubt the price of caulk or anything else will drop). When the wind picks up go around with a candle to the exterior doors, windows, outlets .. Check the trim around the doors and windows too.

Pipe insulation (flat comes in a skinny rolls) is great for stuffing in around windows and doors (use a putty knife)

While winter is still happening for some of us, some are moving into warm weather .. insulating and correcting the drafts and holes will also help with cooling later ..

EXTERIOR DOOR REPLACEMENT
Standard doors are an easy swap out to insulated metal .. You will need to pull the old door framing because wood will shift to fit the change in building and the metal door will be square (90*) .. Dry fit the door framing and door (yes keep them together) you will need at least 2 people.. Check for level, both ways .. Make sure you use shims (I buy a bundle of wood shingles and have shims forever) to keep door straight and true .. You then need to screw the door frame to the house frame ... push in insulation and caulk, put on trim .. On the outside use exterior caulk - I personally would not use glue on the underside of trim to house in case you have to remove it (royal pain)

INSULATING ATTIC DOOR:
if this is a pop up style ..make sure you have enough insulation in attic .. then buy some styrofoam insulation cut to size of door attach to the door (there are glues that can be used) .. personally I like the 2 inch with the foil because it doesn't get as damaged but reg styrofoam would work too

door/stair combo: these are harder to do but not impossible .. bring up light and have someone shut the door/stairs how much does it stick out above the exsisting joists? .. you will be making a frame that will extend past this area **don't forget to take some batting and go up the sides) .. then take a 1/2 sheet of ply that will fit over the opening (maybe screw on some handles for ease in moving) add the styrofoam .. place on opening and adjust then close the door ..

Ria

We don't use hollow core doors anywhere in the house for security reasons. Not only do they let a lot of air in, someone breaking in can smash right through them. If you have a fire, the hollow core door goes up in flames quickly. a sold wood door takes longer and burns much slower giving trapped person time to get out a window or through a wall.

Hollow core doors are a tad better than some of the new doors that are made of hard board (think of peg board backing).

We have had over 30 kids through the house, every inside door will need replaced because of dents, holes etc. I also need to rebuild the wall around the basement stairs because Matt literally tore the door off the wall/framing (kicking etc started the process).

Now that we are down to one kid (Jake, bio and no mental health issues) I would love to put in the wood doors but not sure financially I can swing it.

One of my doors at the apt building is old old solid door and its not standard size 39 inches wide .. replacement was going to be anywhere from 6-800 without the frame .. I ended up having my son replace it with a metal 36 inch door (he lives rent free so figured he could do it instead of Mom)

if you have the flat solid doors these can weigh a lot, you need to make sure your studs will handle the weight especially for kids doors that get slammed .. do not use dry wall screws they will NOT handle the stress ..

Charlie Wing (Mainer) designed a wood door with insulation using T & G that I personally think is pretty as well. I would like to modify it for the exterior basement door which has an opening of more than 48 inches (I put in double doors). He wrote a couple of books, I have one I think in the basement I need to pull it out and check it out for other ideas.

Ria

RE FOAM & STYROFOAM INSULATION:

FOAM INSULATION: There supposedly is a DIY foam insulation kit online .. (this is like the spray can foam) .. Messy I will bet, and not sure if there is a smell while using .. also wonder about the toxicity when burned

STRYFOAM SHEETS white - different thickness are availiable
these are great for windows too .. Back when we first got the house they had 1/4 gaps (6 ft wide windows) I cut foam into 3 sections to put up in the window at night or when we were gone or crappy days, made a HUGE differance on the heat.. when the day was crudy there was a glow coming through the foam so it actually looked nicer than it really was (weather wise)

at camp the trailer settles so lots of gaps at doors etc - the secondary door I put strofoam up and put duct tape around each piece so it would hold up .. *numbered them so I can put them up quick each year too) .. we could get out in case of fire but its warmer

STYROFOAM FOIL BACKED. I know this comes in different thicknesses.. I had some thin stuff maybe only 1/2 inch thick and I have had 2 inch with very dense foam

STYROFOAM PACKING BEADS, WORMS ETC ..
You know I bet these could work for some areas ..

Ria