Sealing and protecting your door from air and water infiltration is an important part of your businesses’ maintenance. Drafts and leaks can cause customers and employees discomfort and they can increase your heating bills. The following fixes will stop the drafts, leave doors operational and help your customers remain much more comfortable.

• Weatherproof your exterior doors: Studies show that a ⅛-inch gap around the perimeter of a door will allow in as much air as a small window open halfway. If your customers complain about feeling a draft moving through your establishment you should consider applying weather strips to the sides and tops of your doors.
• Apply temporary caulk to your door cracks: Ultimately, you may need to replace your doors completely if they are in bad condition and are letting in too much air. In the meantime, you should consider caulking cracks that have developed in them. This is especially important to do to exterior doors.
• Use physical barriers on drafty doors: You might also consider adding door snakes to the bottom of your doors. Door snakes are long tubes filled with sand that are placed at the foot of a door to block drafts.

4 Major Areas to Check for Door Leaks

Checking these four areas of your exterior doors for signs of wear or damage can help to prevent drafts and leaks as well and keep your business comfortable and protected.

• Upper Corners: If you see gaps or light peaking through around the upper corners of your door, these gaps could cause drafts and leaks.
• Along the jambs: When weather-strips begin to age, the material may tear away from the door jambs.
• Crucial corners: The crucial corner is the most important area around your exterior door. Gaps here often occur as a result of a building settling or as corner pads wear out or fall off.
• Beneath the door: Door bottoms are important. Cold drafts, insects, and light sneaking in under a closed door panel all indicate that your door may need to be replaced.

Yes, doors go through quite a bit of wear and tear over their lifetime. This can lead to some very embarrassing and inconvenient situations especially when it comes to restaurant doors and retail doors as they are more heavily used than other kinds of doors. However, a good way to head off many of these problems is by purchasing a quality made door from the beginning and having it professionally installed by someone who pays attention to every detail.