Materials you'll need:

• Weather-stripping tape
• Cleaning solvent
• Nails
• Silicon lubricant.

Tools you'll need:

• Hand held hairdryer
• Hammer
• Scissors or knife
• Hacksaw

Weather-stripping is used to keep out the cold and stop draughts. It can also help cut heating and cooling costs by making your home better insulated.

If you feel a draught or the door vibrates when the wind rises, cheek the weather-stripping this simple way:

• Have a helper stand inside, behind the closed door.

• Go outside and play a hand held hair­dryer all around the frame. As you move the stream of air around the frame, your helper can mark with chalk anywhere he feels air coming through. If the door does not fit snugly, new weather-stripping is needed.

The most inexpensive and easy to use is the foam buffer tape sold in rolls of several metres, with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing. About 6 metres of this tape are enough to seal an average-sized door. As well as keeping out dust and draughts, they stop annoying rattles. To install the tape:

1. Unroll enough stripping to go around the top and both sides of the doorframe.

2. Open the door and wipe the inside of the jamb well with clean, damp rag.

3. When the surface is clean and quite dry, peel the backing off the strip and apply the adhesive side to the face of the jamb so the door will close against it. To save getting tangled up in metres of sticky foam, only remove the backing from a short length of tape at a time, sticking it in place before peeling more backing off.

If the leak is at the bottom of the door there are a number of ready-made weather-strips which only require cutting to the size of the door. The simplest is an aluminium strip, which attaches to the outside face of the door and has a vinyl flap projecting below the bottom of the door. More elaborate versions look similar but incorporate a spring, which flips the vinyl flap upwards and outwards when the door is opened. When the door is closed the flap seals against the threshold automatically. Automatic weather-strips are useful when the door must clear a high-pile carpet.

Inside the door you can fit a roller-type weather seal made up of foam roller with a felt-like outer covering, fitted on brackets, which lift automatically when the door is opened.

Install a roller weather-strip.
The door seal is placed against the door. One end is usually unsealed. This is the end you should trim with scissors or knife to fit the width of your door. Place seal on floor against door and mark on door where brackets are to be screwed into place. Weather seals of this type fit most doors from 813mm up to 915mm wide. When installing the seal in a hardwood door it is advisable to make pilot holes to the depth of the screw thread before inserting the screws.

Other types of sealer.
Although these vary from professional style waterproof seals requiring removal of the door to fit, to nylon brushes which fit under the door, most are installed in similar fashion and do the same job so it is up to you to decide on how much you want to spend.

Maintaining a weather-strip.
Weather-strips tacked to a door can become worn, torn or hardened with paint. They are so inexpensive that it is much easier to replace them when damaged. If a metal strip catches as you open the door, try rubbing the strip with silicon lubricant to prevent sticking.