DODGING A DRAFT
Small gaps have a big effect
A how-to guru advises readers looking to solve excessive drafts coming through the bottom of a door, as well as a fix for fraying wool rugs.
Q We have replaced the door bottom on our front door twice, but a large amount of cold air is still coming in. The original door bottom was the snap-on type, but we avoided getting that type again because it was such a chore to remove the front door from the hinges and put it back on. Any suggestions on what else we can do?
A Sometimes when a draft seems to be coming from the bottom of a door, the air is actually seeping in only at the bottom corners, through the small gaps between the sweep and the weatherstripping on both sides of the door frame. You can plug these gaps with small squares of foam, which are sold alongside weatherstripping materials at home centres and hardware stores. Or you can make your own corner draft-stoppers by nailing squares of felt approximately two inches tall by 1¾ inches (4.5 cm) wide to the bottom of each side of the door frame, in line with where the door is when it is closed.
If the drafts persist, perhaps you need to adjust the door sweep itself slightly downward. Door sweeps typically have elongated holes for screws, which allows room for some adjustment. Loosen all the screws, tap the top edge of the door sweep down so the sweep touches the threshold under the door, then re-tighten the fasteners.
If that doesn’t work, you might need to buy a new sweep. Be sure to measure the gap between the bottom of the door and the top of the threshold, and buy a style designed to plug a gap at least that tall.
Q We have a beautiful wool rug
in our bedroom. Unfortunately, the woven edging on part of the rug has been torn off. Should I try to even it off with a good pair of sewing scissors and then use Fray Check (available at select stores including Walmart) to prevent it from fraying again?
A Imad Danfora, a qualitycontrol inspector, looked at the picture of it and said new edging is what you need. “It’s what keeps the rug together,” he said. Also known as binding or serging, this edging needs to be done by hand on handmade wool rugs such as yours.
On machine-made rugs, it’s possible to machine-stitch new edging, which brings the cost down by nearly half. Machine edging isn’t an option for handmade rugs, Danfora said. “They are too thick to fit in the machine.” Plus, machine edging would look wrong and would lower the value of the rug. Special to The Washington Post