Maintaining Your Front Door

Your front door is the most used entrance/exit in your home. It’s one of the most important aspects of curb appeal and it protects your family – not only from intruders, but from weather, noise, dust, dirt and insects as well. Given all of this, maintaining your front door should be an important part of your home upkeep. With this being said, you should be maintaining every part of your home, from the interior doors to the roof. Every part of your home is there fora reason and should be considered an essential part of your house.

This past weekend was the first hint of Fall in my neck of the woods, which got me salivating for the season. I’m an Autumn girl – cool air, coloured leaves and sleeping with my windows open are heaven in my books… but it also means it’s time for Winterizing / Fall repairs on your home.

I thought I’d start off my winterizing by doing a little maintenance on my front door.

I painted it a few years ago, but it has since seen hundreds of entrances and exits. Kicks, bangs, rain (and washing) and my cat has gone to town on the corkboard I hung on the back of it. Needless to say it was looking a little weary.

The weather was cool enough for paint to dry quickly, but too cool for bugs – so it was a perfect Sunday to take the door off the hinges and get’er done.

The last time I painted my front door was ‘pre-paint sprayer’, so it had roller marks on it – perfectly acceptable and the finish was beautiful – but this time I wanted it as smooth and shiny as I could get it which meant sanding front, back and sides.

I washed it all down with Krud Kutter to remove any residual dust, dirt and grime and then rinsed and dried it with a towel.

I taped off my door handle and ‘got my spray on’!

With the door off of its hinges and laying flat, there was no problem with paint drools, so I was able to paint and re-coat about every 2 hours. Four coats total – two front and two back.

Think I’m done?

Nope, not by a long shot.

See the paint on the door is just one portion of maintaining your front door – and probably the least important part as far as protecting your home.

Below you’ll see the wear and tear on my weatherstripping. What you can’t see is that light was actually coming through in a tiny sliver along the side, and underneath, my front door.

*Note: this blog post is sponsored by M-D Building Products®. I was provided with the supplies necessary to get my home ready for winter.

If light is coming through, then you know air is – cold air leaving my house in the summer and cold air coming into the house in winter. According to Energystar.gov consumers could save an average of 15% on energy costs by weatherizing their home – that’s around $300 per year.

$$$$$

Not only have I been spending money that I didn’t need to on cooling my house this past summer, but weatherstripping also protects your home from noise, drafts, pollen/dust, dirt and INSECTS…

and you know they’ll be looking for a home as the weather cools.

Replacing your weatherstripping is super-easy, just pull out the old (it’s likely tucked into a groove around your door frame):

This is called a Kerf style door. If your home is older yours might be screwed or nailed into the door. This type of door is called a Surface Mount and M-D has a product that will work for your door.

For my door, I used M-D’s Platinum Collection Kerf Top & Sides Replacement Door Seal. This product has a lifetime warranty so you know it will hold up. To install, cut the new Platinum Collection Kerf Top & Sides Replacement Door Seal to length and tuck back into the groove around the door.

15 minutes tops and an important (I’d say vital) step to maintaining your front door, and home.

The bottom of my front door had a gap under it as well. Probably because I’d painted over the old weather guard, which could have made it shrink? Maybe it was just time and wear – I’m not sure, but again – it’s money out of your pocket and drafts, noise, dirt, and bugs in if you don’t fix it.

M-D Building products have this awesome product called Cinch Door Sweep.

You do need a hacksaw to cut the little metal section, but the rest can be cut with scissors. Measure your door bottom, cut and then peel off the adhesive strip on the back of the door sweep:

Then press into place:

It installs in minutes and lasts for YEARS!

I’m totally going to pick another of the Cinch door sweeps up for my root cellar door!

My garage door is next on my list for winterizing, but this photo shows you exactly what I used on my front door as well.

Okay, so the door is sanded, painted, hung with new weatherstripping all around it – it’s finally time for the final step in maintaining your front door – the lock.

Our lock was old and jammy and I have had to get a miami locksmith to fix it multiple times. Plus, if I’m being honest, I’m not sure how many keys I’ve handed out over the years – so it was time to upgrade to a smart lock. I did some research for the best locks on Secure gear and I opted for a version that had smartphone capabilities, a keypad AND a standard key.

Overkill? Maybe, but I’m a Mom – it’s in the job description.

I also decided to go with a black smart lock so that it doesn’t draw attention to itself against my fresh black front door.

Hubby did the installation and said it was a breeze.

Subtle see?

My front door is now more welcoming to guests, winterized, and my first step towards creating a smart, energy efficient home.

A little front door maintenance – which took a day from start to finish (including drying time when I was happily watching Ozark) and you will increase your curb appeal, save money by keeping the outside air out and the inside air in, keep any little critters from sneaking through the gaps and reduce your carbon footprint.