Method
How we pick
The whole method, including the parts that are unflattering. If you disagree with a recommendation, this page is where you check our reasoning.
We start from the opening and the gap you measured, not from a product. We compile the published working range, mounting method and material from each manufacturer's own listing, eliminate anything whose published range cannot cover your measurement, rank what is left on fit and price per foot, and say which one we would skip.
What we do
- 1Start from the gap. Every recommendation on this site begins with a measurement you take: the gap under a door, the gap between a sash and its frame, the light showing under a garage door. The product comes second.
- 2Compile the published spec. For each candidate we read the manufacturer's or retailer's own published listing and record the working gap range, the section dimensions, the material, the mounting method and the length.
- 3Eliminate on fit. Anything whose published dimensions cannot physically close the gap in question is out, however well reviewed it is.
- 4Rank what is left on fit for the measured gap, then on mounting suitability for the surface you actually have, then on price per foot.
- 5Name what we would skip, and why, on every roundup.
What we do not do, stated as claims we refuse to make
- We do not claim to have tested these products. We have no lab, no owned units and no test rig. Everyone in this category says they tested twenty door sweeps; we have tested none, and we would rather say that than say otherwise.
- We do not claim any credential we do not hold. No certifications, no trade license, no expert panel, no years of experience. The byline is an enthusiast who reads spec sheets, and that is exactly what it is.
- We do not publish performance percentages we cannot source. Noise-reduction figures and energy-saving numbers circulate widely in this category with no named test behind them. We do not repeat them, even when a competitor states one confidently.
- We do not publish star ratings or review counts of our own. We have not reviewed these products. Where the live data layer supplies a retailer's own rating we can show it; we never invent one, and we never emit review markup for a product we have not reviewed.
- We do not accept free products, sponsorship or paid placement. No manufacturer has paid for a position on this site, sent us product, or reviewed our copy before publication.
How we handle prices
Prices come from a live retailer data layer and are timestamped on the page. Where we have no live price, the button says Check price and links you to the listing. We never type a price into an article, because a number typed in October is wrong by November and the reader has no way to tell.
The same rule governs availability. If a pick goes out of stock or is discontinued, we replace it or mark it rather than leaving a dead buy link on a page that is telling you to buy something.
How we make money
Draft & Door is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. When you buy through a link here we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Commission rates do not influence what we recommend or the order in which recommendations appear — and because the entire ranking method above is published, you can check that for yourself against any page on this site. The full disclosure is at affiliate disclosure.
Why we compete on method rather than on testing
The honest reason is that we cannot test these products credibly, and the more interesting reason is that testing is not what this category is missing. What it is missing is arithmetic. Almost every article about door sweeps organizes itself as best overall, best budget, best premium — which tells you nothing about whether the part fits your door.
Matching a published working range to a measured gap needs no lab, is fully reproducible by you with a tape measure, and answers the only question that actually determines whether the thing works when it arrives. That is the trade we are making: no testing claims, and a method you can check.
Tell us we are wrong
If a spec on this site is out of date, a pick has been discontinued, or a gap range does not match what the manufacturer currently publishes, email info@draftanddoor.com. We fix errors and we date the fix visibly. The corrections policy is on editorial policy.
Questions people actually ask
- Do you test the products you recommend?
- No, and we say so on every commercial page. We compile published manufacturer specifications and match them to a gap you measure yourself. We would rather publish a method you can reproduce than a testing claim you cannot check.
- How do you decide the order of the picks?
- Fit for the measured gap first, then mounting suitability for the surface in question, then price per foot. Commission plays no part, and because the method is published you can check any ranking against it.
- Why does a product show 'Check price' instead of a price?
- Because we had no live retailer price for it at the moment the page was built. We never print a remembered or stale number — the button takes you to the current listing instead.
- Do you accept free products or sponsorship?
- No. No manufacturer has paid for placement, sent us product, or reviewed our copy before publication.