I've been noticing that there is a chilly draft seeping in at the bottom of the sliding glass door to my deck. The chilly air comes in between the door and the track it rides on.
Obviously if I caulked it, I won't be able to slide open the door.
Is there anything I can do to reduce that draft? Attach something to the bottom of the door perhaps?
-- Steven L.
Check your home improvement or hardware store for a stick on strip (solid or fiber) that can be attached to the face of the door and lightly contact the frame.
That is why sliders should be banned. About the most asinine solution to making an entry thorugh a wall. My wife insisted on one when I built the addition 30 years ago. Quality Anderson, We fought it all those years, chip, melt ice out of the track in winter, flimsy lock, piss poor sealing (narrow strips of "fuzz"), etc. Last January as I was going at the icy track with a gale blowing down my neck I swore that that damn door was history as soon as the weather warmed up. $1500 later it is history.
Harry K
When I had a DirecTV dish installed on my deck, the technician ran the cable from the dish through the space between the deck door and the lower-right corner of the door frame, via a flat cable coupler.
But that proves how much space there is between the door and the frame. The cable gets through--and so does the cold wind.
-- Steven L.
Huge improvements have been made in sliding doors over the years, just like in windows. Thirty year old windows are totally junk compared to the stuff today. About 6 years ago I put in a 5' Anderson slider in my kitchen to replace the 30+ year old sliders. These new doors are very tight. So, when doing, or re-doing the adjacent room, we again went for Anderson, this time a 6' unit. Both were very good. Even the glass, Low-E with Argon, was never very cold in the Chicago area winders. So, when building a new house in NC, I, of course, wanted Anderson. Well, Anderson has priced themselves out of the market. We went with a cheaper door, and the results were that it was almost as good as the "higher priced" one. It still had Low-E glass with Argon, but was less than 1/2 the cost.
I agree. I had an old leaky slider replaced by an Anderson and it made a huge difference. Even then I did note a slight draft and warped panel was replaced under full part/service warranty. I have 3 new sliders and only other problem was slight air leaks in frames and/or stink bugs getting in but caulking solved these problems.
Never, on any door, new or old saw leak mentioned by op.
Is the door adjusted properly? It may be riding too high on the wheels. Check with the manufacturer. They may have seal kit of some sort.
Our slider, which I replaced something like 25 years ago, does not leak appreciably at all. It is a vinyl clad wood cored unit - I believe it is a "Mason" brand unit. When we had the air infiltration test done the technician was surprised how tight it was - many "french doors" leak a lot worse. The "Ostaco" stiding door is another one made for intemperate climates that seals very well. Don't know if I'd want to use it as my main winter entrans - either the Ostaco or the Mason - but for the use it gets here it is more than adequate. Here we need something we can open for ventilation without letting the bugs in, and that we can open just part way if we want, and does not take up floor space either inside or outside when open. Nothing other than a slider meets those requirements. With a toe lock or a short "jam stick" the door can be left partly open and still be "secure" as well - which is impossible with anything other than a slider.
Undoubtably there are a LOT of "cheap" sliders out there that leak like a pet door - and the original aluminum slider that came with the house frosted up like an icicle every winter - and when it thawed the water got down into the wood sill belown rotting it out. The house was about 10 years old when I replaced it, and the sill was so bad you could look out through from the basement.
The only mistake I made was not planning far enough ahead to get the proper sized "new install" door, so I had to install an "insert" type replacement door - which is a few inches smaller and required having the old frame capped with aluminum, or painted every couple of years.
The only replacement window or door in the house that was not done "frame out" - And I'll NEVER do another one that way - even if it means the hole is filled with a plywood sheet until the proper sized replacement unit is available.
adhesive backed wool felt from McMaster.
leave the backing on or defeat the adhesive on the portion that you want to remain free.
I was thinking 1/8" to 1/4" thick x 1-1/2" wide.
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