Door Frame Weatherstripping Question??

[MICHELLE H.]

Hello everyone,

I am hoping that someone here can help me out? I am looking for a special type of door weatherstripping that I can't seem to find anywhere.

Many years ago when we use to live in a tenement home that was built in

1905, we had drafts around the doors. We called the landlord, and he sent the handyman over, who put weatherstripping around the outside of the door.

It worked really good at stopping the drafts, and we wanted to get some for the doors of the home that we are in now, but can't seem to find the same type.

I will explain it the best I can. The type he put on was the type that you cut to specification to the doors height and width, and then nail or tack around the outside of the closed door. The weatherstripping was White in color, and it was sort of like a vinyl spongy foam, with either a thin piece of wood or metal on the inside of it. It was flat and not the "kurf", "closed-cell", or "tubular" type which is all I can seem to find in the stores.

It didn't have anything that went inside the door like the "kurf" kind. You would just close the door, and nail it into the door frame of the closed door. Like I said, it was flat, and was made of a "spongy" foam material inside, and white vinyl outside. If you pushed the "spongy" foam inward, you could feel that there was either wood or metal ( not positive which, because we never cut it open to see! ), on the other side of the weatherstripping for the nails/tacks to go through.

We have gone to Home Depot, Lowes, and the local hardware store, and have not been able to find the same kind?? All they have is the "kurf" kind, or the "tubular", "circular-cell", or "all wood" kind. No one seems to have the flat, spongy foam kind with the thin piece of wood on the inside.

Does anyone know the kind I am talking about, whats it called, if its still made, and where I can find it??

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

[DerbyDad03]

Have you searched the interweb to see if you can find a picture of it/ source to buy it from?

I'm not trying to be a wiseguy here, but is it possible that you can't find it because they don't make it anymore because it wasn't anywhere near as good as the styles they make today?

Technology has come a long way in the weatherstripping arena.

Why do you need this specific type? The fact that it's hard to find could indicate that there is a better option.

[MICHELLE H.]

Here is a pic of the closest thing I can find to it. This is the shape that it was, but without that thin foam sticking out of the side. It looked like just the wood part, even though the wood was alot thinner, and it was wrapped in vinyl and foam.

[RicodJour]

Home Depot sells that type of weatherstripping in a couple of different flavors. Here's one: Weather-r-strip Portaseal Model # 2-WS Store SKU # 533581

They also have something very similar, but it's aluminum with the flexible stuff.

Zero International has a slew of door seals, many that would fit your application. They would be more money, and might be tougher to locate where you are.

The stuff is all over the internet: You have to understand that the people that work at the big box stores don't know all of the stuff in their store, many have never installed the product in question and will commonly be mislead by an _exact and complete description_! My sympathies. The stuff is in stock in your Home Depot. Ask for the weatherstripping section, the stuff is standing upright in a rack on a shelf, and the inventory will be all mixed up. Keep looking - it'll be there.

R

[hrhofmann]

I wouldn't be so fussy about what kind you use, as long as it is easy to install and seals against air flow. My guess is that they don't make what you described any more as better (cheaper) products have evolved.

Bob Hofmann

[RicodJour]

Not sure who you're addressing, but since your replied to my post...

There is a big difference in the look and durability of weatherstripping. If you have never installed the good stuff, the run of the mill stuff looks just fine. If you're working on a grand front entrance door, you don't stick on ten buck weatherstripping.

Of course any weatherstripping _should_ seal against drafts and weather, but this is not always so.

R