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Keep the Cool Air in This Spring: 3 Fast Fixes for Drafty Doors

white front door

During the winter, drafty doors are made obvious due to the harsh cold creeping in. Many homeowners don’t realize that those drafty doors also make it difficult for your home to cool down during warmer months. No matter what the season, a drafty door can cost you money, energy efficiency, and leave parts of your home uncomfortable. Outside of installing new entry doors in Kansas City, Here are three easy ways to fix drafty doors this season.

Related Read: Which Entry Door Is Right for Your Kansas City Home? Take the Quiz & Find Out!

Add Weatherstripping

Do you have large gaps between your door and door frame on either side or the top? Install a weatherstripping gasket around your door frame to keep the outside conditions where they are meant to be…outside. To ensure the efficiency of your weatherstripping, make sure it sits tightly on the inside when the door is closed. The weatherstripping will make sure little to no air can seep through the sides or top of your door opening. While most front entry doors come installed with weatherstripping common culprits, that don’t come equipped with this feature, include garage and back doors.

Helpful Hint: Can’t find where the breeze is coming from? Wait until it’s dark outside and turn off all the lights inside your home. Next, have one person stand on either side of the door and take a flashlight around the perimeter of the door. If any light can seep through to the other side, so can air, which means you’re a prime candidate for weatherstripping!

Replace the Door Sweep

If you often feel a draft coming from the bottom of your door, check the door sweep, which is usually a rubber or brush-like strip attached to the bottom of the door. Is it bent or out of place? If so, it could be letting air slip into your home. You can easily replace your door sweep with a brand new one yourself. Just unscrew the old one, and screw the new door sweep into place.

Related Read: The Early Bird Gets the Worm – Find Out If Your Home is Ready for Spring

Seal the Door Frame

Is your door frame a bit loose from the wall? If you can see a gap, and can feel a draft there, you want to consider caulking your door frame. Apply silicone caulk around the door frame and let it dry for 24 hours. This will seal the door frame into place and restrict air from seeping into your home.

If these tips don’t seem to eliminate your drafty door issues, it may be time to replace your door with a newer, more energy-efficient option. While dealing with a little breeze may be bearable, the money you may be wasting is not. Be sure to check your main doors each season to ensure your home remains energy efficient and your money stays in your pocket!

For more information, give All-Weather a call at (913) 262-4380 or schedule an appointment online to talk about our amazing options for replacement doors and installation!

4 Common Gutter Issues & How to Fix Them

Many homeowners overlook their gutters, assuming that they’re simply there to help divert excess rainwater. However, your home’s gutters may be your home’s most vital safety feature, protecting your roof, walls, and foundation against water damage.

We’re breaking down the importance of having your gutters inspected and maintained each season and some common problems associated with neglected gutters.

Related Read: What Has Winter Weather Done to Your Home? What to Look for & How to Fix It!

1. Find Gutter Leaks to Prevent Further Damage

The potential damage caused by a leaky gutter should never be underestimated. The stream of water making its way through a crack can cause many different forms of damage. These may include any of the following:

  • Rotting fascia boards (the board mounted just behind the gutter)
  • Attic flooding, which lead to mold and mildew
  • Bubbling, flaking, or chipped exterior paint
  • Foundation and siding damage
  • Damaged soffits and overhangs

Even a relatively minor looking leak can cause major damage over time, so it’s important to fix them when you find them. Leaks commonly occur along the seams where two lengths of gutter are connected. They may also happen anywhere along a gutter if leaves, or other debris, have caused it to back up allowing water to spill over the side.

This particular problem can be effectively minimized by having a professional install splash guards on your gutter or by having new gutters made with larger downspouts to help with overflowing water.

2. Ice Dams Do Major Damage


ice and snow in gutters and on roofIce dams can become a serious roofing issue if they aren’t repaired. Ice dams are caused when the temperature is hovering right around the freezing point and heat escapes up through the attic causing ice to melt. This water then runs down to the relatively colder edge of your roof, where it freezes again. Over time, this leads to the formation of a solid wall of ice called an ice dam.

Ice dams melt and create ponding water in the spring, which often finds its way into your home through weak points, leading to costly forms of water damage. An ice dam also represents a potential threat to your gutters because the weight of the dam can easily cause stress fractures, deformations, and other problems.

3. Seasonal Cleaning & Gutter Covers Can Prevent Gutter Damage

all-weather-windows-doors-siding-kansas-city-2C17-neglected-gutter-clogged-with-leavesDo you often find things like tennis balls or gravel in your gutters? While this might seem weird and unusual, it’s actually not. Heavy rain can cause particles from your roof to deposit into your gutters and cause clogging issues. With the added leaves and sticks from surrounding trees on your property, gutters can get clogged with lots of gunk.

In order to avoid clogging your gutters, and causing an overflow of water, simply add gutter covers! These can be custom fabricated to perfectly fit your home’s gutters and keep debris and foreign objects from wreaking havoc on your home. Even better, these gutter covers can be built right into your existing gutters so you never have to worry about them falling off!

Related Read: The Early Bird Gets the Worm – Find Out If Your Home is Ready for Spring!

4. Stay On Top of Your Home’s Gutter Maintenance

The best way to prevent the types of gutter issues discussed above is to have your gutters professionally cleaned and inspected on a regular basis. This kind of attention will ensure that your gutters are able to do their job, no matter the season or situation.

For more professional advice on getting your home’s windows, doors, and siding ready for springtime, call All-Weather at (913) 262-4380 or schedule an appointment online today!

What Damage Has Old Man Winter Done to Your Home? What to Look For & How to Fix It

Old Man Winter All-Weather Windows, Doors and Siding

Although we’re supposed to have six more weeks of winter according to Punxsutawney Phil, now is a good time to start taking a look around and seeing what type of damage the winter has done to your home. While the term is “spring cleaning,” it’s a good idea to start getting together a list of what you want to look for well before spring arrives.

To help you get ready for spring, we’ve put together a list of six signs that winter took a toll on your home.

1. Caulk Pulling Away from Windows

There are two primary reasons why this occurs:

1) Condensation between the back of the frame and the wall could make the frame swell and push against the brickwork.

2) Dry winter air could have shrunk the air-exposed part of the frame revealing a crack.

These gaps create a problem because they allow in cold air, rain and snow over time, as well as damaging the frame further. Fixing this can be done with either a spray insulation foam or by reapplying window caulk.

2. Wood Rot on Windows & Doors

wood rot damage on window frameTake a close look at the frames around your windows and doors (both internal and external) for wood rot that could have formed during the winter months. Due to wind, rain, hail and snow, the wood can become exposed to, and soak up, moisture. This causes the wood to become soft and damp, enabling wood rot. Aside from being an issue for structural stability, it is also a good way to invite termites and carpenter ants into your home.

Try the knock test. Tap all along the frame and compare the sounds at different points. If more than one-third of any piece is “soft” or “hollow” sounding, you should call a professional to assess the damage before the problem continues to spread.

3. Debris in  Window Sills

Leaving debris in window sills can damage windows when you open them up in the spring. Bits of branches, leaves, rocks, and wind-blown debris can all cause damage to your windows if left alone. Bits and pieces can get caught in the tracks of the windows, making it necessary to remove the entire window in order to dig it out. Or, if you’re unaware that something is there and you attempt to force the window down, you can cause damage to the frame. Taking a bit of time now to clean off the sills and remove the debris will save you the hassle in the long run.

If you need to repair your windows due to damage like this, we at All-Weather know all about fixing them up.  

4. Loose Shingles

damaged shinglesYour roof takes quite a beating throughout the winter. Rain, snow, ice, hail, and wind all tear at it regularly during the colder months, and it’s important to perform regular check ups to see how it’s holding up. You want to keep an eye out for things like:

  • Missing shingles
  • Soft spots
  • Gaps in between shingles
  • Bubbles underneath the shingles

5. Clogged Gutters

When the winter winds blow, you have no idea what might end up in your gutters. From the usual leaves and pine needles s, to birds nests and random garbage, your gutters tend to collect assorted debris. While it can be messy, it’s also a timesaver in the end. If your gutters aren’t letting water wash down, it can build up in the gutters themselves or on your roof, depending on how bad the blockage is. With enough ice, your gutters could end up ripping completely off of your roof. Water left standing on your roof can get underneath your shingles and rot out parts of your roof.

6. Damaged Screens

The winter elements can all damage your screens over the winter, and it’s important to check them regularly. If they’re ripped or broken, you should get them replaced so that you can let in the cool spring breezes, but no pests, when spring arrives. At All-Weather, we would love to help out by making sure that your windows and screens are sturdy and secure, so you can enjoy the warmer weather. Whether it’s broken windows or screens, or it’s just time for a new look, we can do it all.

If you think you have windows, doors, or siding that needs to be repaired or replaced, call All-Weather at (913) 262-4380. We will work with you to keep the winter wind out, and your home looking its best.

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