01 / DOORS
Drafty doors: what to fix, and in what order
A door leaks in three places and most people only fix one of them. Here is the whole opening, from the gap under the slab to the joint behind the trim.
New here? Start with how to measure a door gap. It takes a minute and it decides every purchase on this page.
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Everything in doors
Roundups first, then the type comparisons, then the how-to guides.
Roundup / Best door sweeps
The best door sweeps, sorted by the gap they actually close
Six sweeps placed by the gap they close, from a slim vinyl blade to a brush for uneven floors.
Top pick: Frost King A79WHA Premium Aluminum and Reinforced Rubber Door Sweep, 2 x 36 in, White
Roundup / Best draft stoppers
The best door draft stoppers when you cannot drill the door
No-drill stoppers ranked by published fit, including the one that states an actual gap range.
Top pick: MAXTID Door Draft Stopper, 36 in, Fits Gaps up to 1.7 in
Roundup / Best weather stripping
The best weather stripping for doors, by published thickness
V-strip, D-section, silicone and foam placed against the gap each published thickness can actually seal.
Top pick: Frost King EPDM Rubber Self-Stick Weatherseal Tape, D-Section, 5/16 in x 1/4 in x 17 ft
Roundup / Best for keeping mice out
The best door sweeps for keeping mice out
Mice get through 1/4 inch and gnaw to widen it. The sweeps that close that gap, and the material point most guides skip.
Top pick: Xcluder Versa-Line Door Sweep, Mill Aluminum, 36 in
Roundup / Best for noise
The best door sweeps for cutting noise under a door
Sealing the gap is the cheapest noise fix a door has. Which sweeps seal hardest, and the ceiling no sweep can move.
Top pick: TMS Automatic Door Bottom, Surface Mounted, Double Seal, 36 in
Roundup / Best door thresholds
The best door thresholds, by published section
The part under the door, not on it. Adjustable, low-profile and full sill replacements by published height.
Top pick: M-D Building Adjustable Aluminum and Hardwood Threshold, 36 in
Roundup / Best automatic door bottom
The best automatic door bottoms, ranked by what they publish
Drop-down bottoms lift clear of the floor, so they seal harder than any fixed sweep. Which ones publish the drop distance that decides the purchase.
Top pick: Trademark Soundproofing Automatic Door Bottom, Mortised, 1 in Drop, 36 in
Roundup / Best storm door sweep
The best storm door sweeps, and why the brand on the door matters
Chosen by the channel it slides into, not the gap it closes. The Andersen and Larson OEM parts, the generic T-inserts, and how to tell which you need.
Top pick: Andersen Storm Door Bottom Sweep Fin Weatherstrip
Roundup / Best sliding door weather strip
The best weather stripping for sliding glass doors
Pile survives the sliding action; foam and bulb seals do not. The strips that publish a pile height, plus the interlock and screen-edge joints nobody seals.
Top pick: Pile Weather Stripping for Sliding Windows and Doors, 16.5 ft x 11/32 in x 3/16 in
Roundup / Best insulated dog door
The best insulated dog doors for cold weather
One flap is a curtain over a hole. The insulated doors that publish their flap size, pet limit and door-thickness range — and how to measure for one.
Top pick: PetSafe Extreme Weather Aluminum Pet Door, 3-Flap, Large
Roundup / Best French door weather stripping
The best weather stripping for French doors and double doors
French doors leak down the middle, not the edges. Stop seals, astragal seals and a bottom for each leaf — and the free flush-bolt check that comes first.
Top pick: Protalwell Silicone D-Section Door Seal, 3/8 in W x 5/16 in T, 20 ft
Roundup / Best weather stripping for a steel door
The best weather stripping for steel doors, chosen by what your frame actually has
Check the frame for a kerf slot and the slab with a fridge magnet. Those two answers pick the part.
Top pick: Trademark Hardware Magnetic Kerf Door Seal Kit, 36 x 84 in, White
Roundup / Best spring bronze weatherstripping
The best spring bronze weatherstripping, and whether you should be fitting it at all
Nailed bronze that outlasts everything and follows a gap that varies. Sized on width, then length.
Top pick: Zonon Spring Bronze Weatherstrip, 1-1/8 in W x 17.72 ft, Flat
Roundup / Best draft stopper for a sliding glass door
The best draft stoppers for sliding glass doors, and the part of the draft they do not fix
Standard stoppers are 36 in; a slider is 60 to 72 in. The ones long enough, and what they cannot fix.
Top pick: Home District Weighted Faux Suede Patio Door Draft Blocker, 72 in, Light Brown
Roundup / Best Pemko threshold
The best Pemko thresholds, and how to read the model number before you buy
The commercial tier, specified properly. Which profile fits, and when a cheaper threshold wins.
Top pick: Pemko 270A36 Fluted Saddle Threshold, Mill Finish Aluminum, 36 in L x 4 in W x 1/4 in H
Roundup / Best Pemko door bottom
The best Pemko door bottoms, and the three different parts hiding under that name
Sweep, shoe or automatic drop-down. Three different parts, and one needs the door off its hinges.
Top pick: Pemko 345AV36 Door Bottom Sweep with Rain Drip, Mill Finish Aluminum with Gray Vinyl, 36 in
Roundup / Best Q-Lon replacement weatherstrip
Q-Lon weatherstrip replacement, and the one spec that decides whether it works
The strip most prehung doors shipped with. Reach is the spec, and matching it is the whole job.
Top pick: Q-Lon 96 in Replacement Kerf Weatherstrip Kit, Medium Reach, Beige, 3 Pieces
Roundup / Barn door gaps
The best barn door seals, and the gap you cannot close
No jamb, no threshold, four gaps. Brush and flap seals matched to how far your door hangs off the wall.
Top pick: ZOMPAGO Brush Weather Stripping, 0.9 in x 0.4 in x 32.8 ft
A door is not one seal. It is four: the gap under the slab, the two vertical jambs, and the head above it. Air will use whichever of those is open, and closing one while leaving the others simply moves the draft along the frame. That is why so many people fit a door sweep, feel pleased for a day, and then notice the cold has reappeared at shoulder height.
The good news is that the whole opening is cheap to fix. A sweep and a roll of weather stripping together cost about as much as a takeout meal, and between them they close every path on a typical door. The work is under an hour once you have measured.
The order to work in
- 1Measure the gap under the door at the latch side, the middle and the hinge side. Take the largest. If they differ by more than about a quarter inch, your floor is uneven and that changes which part you buy.
- 2Measure the frame gap with the index-card method: fold cards until they just fill the gap between the door and the stop. Each card is about 0.01 inch.
- 3Buy the parts whose published dimensions cover those numbers — not the ones on the end cap, and not the biggest one in case.
- 4Fit the frame first, then the bottom. Fitting a sweep and then adding a thick frame seal can stop the door latching, which means doing the sweep twice.
- 5Re-test with a lit incense stick once both are on. Anywhere the smoke bends, something is still open.
Which part solves which symptom
| What you notice | Where it is | The part |
|---|---|---|
| Cold air at your ankles, daylight under the door | The gap under the slab | Door sweep |
| Draft at the latch side or the top of the frame | The jamb and head | Weather stripping |
| You rent, or you cannot drill the door | Anywhere | Draft stopper |
| Cold coming off a patio slider or French doors | Meeting stile, astragal, jambs | Slider and French door guide |
| Cold around the pet flap | The frame cut and the flap itself | Pet door drafts |
| You do not know which type of part you need | - | Sweep vs bottom seal |
What it costs
This category is cheap, and the price range is narrow enough that buying the good version of a part is rarely the wrong call. A screw-on aluminum sweep and a roll of EPDM weather stripping between them handle a full exterior door. A draft stopper is in the same band and needs no tools at all. The expensive mistakes here are not products — they are buying twice because the first part did not fit, and buying an adhesive part for a surface it cannot stick to.
We do not print prices in our copy. Every buy button on this site shows the live retailer price when we have it and says Check price when we do not, which is honest about the fact that prices in this category move week to week. There is more on that in how we pick.
The two mistakes that account for most failures
- Buying before measuring. Nearly every disappointing door seal is a sizing failure, not a quality failure. The part arrives, it is well made, and it does not reach the floor. The service life you get afterwards is a separate question, answered in how long does weather stripping last?.
- Sticking adhesive to a surface that cannot hold it. Textured steel doors, bare wood, freshly painted jambs and cold rooms all defeat pressure-sensitive adhesive. Clean, smooth, cured, and above 50 F — or use screws.
If the door checks out and the room is still cold, the leak is probably somewhere else entirely. How to find drafts in your house has five tests that need nothing you do not already own.
Questions people actually ask
- What is the cheapest way to stop a drafty door?
- A slide-under draft stopper for an interior door, or a roll of foam weather stripping for the frame. Both are a few dollars. The cheapest thing of all is checking whether the door has simply dropped on a loose top hinge, which costs nothing.
- Do I need to seal the top of the door too?
- Yes, on any door where you can feel air at the head. The top of the frame leaks for exactly the same reason as the sides, and it is the section most often skipped because it is above eye level.
- How long does door weather stripping last?
- Foam tape is a season or two. EPDM and silicone bulb seals run several seasons. A screw-on sweep with a rubber blade usually outlasts both, and its blade can be replaced without the carrier.
Sources
- Frost King — door sweeps, door bottoms and thresholds category
- M-D Building Products — door sweep collection
Every specification on this page traces to a published manufacturer or retailer listing. Where a maker publishes no working gap range, we say so rather than estimating one.