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Doors and DraftsDrafty Door Repair and Storm Doors Seal the Drafts This Fall
If you can feel cold air at the door on a windy night, or see daylight around it in the morning, the seal has failed. Usually it is a cheap fix, as long as the door itself gets fixed first.
Short answer: most drafts at a Central Indiana door come from three places. The jamb weatherstripping is worn out, the door sweep is missing or flattened, or the door has sagged out of square and no longer meets the seal. We adjust the door first, then replace the weatherstripping and sweep, set the threshold, and add a storm door where it helps. There is a $150 minimum on small jobs. Storm doors run $260 to $455 labor plus the door.
Find the Leak: Three Checks You Can Do Tonight
- The paper test. Close the door on a sheet of paper at the top, middle and bottom of the latch side and along the hinge side. If the paper slides out easily, the seal at that spot isn't touching.
- The daylight test. In the morning, with the lights off inside, look at the corners and along the bottom of the door. Any light you can see is air coming in.
- The windy-night test. On a windy evening, run the back of your hand slowly around the door and window frames. Moving air is easy to feel against bare skin.
Why We Fix the Door Before the Weatherstripping
The Department of Energy weatherstripping job aid says to tighten loose hinges and adjust the knob and strike plate before any weatherstripping goes on. That order matters. A door that has sagged on its hinges leaves a wedge-shaped gap at the top latch corner that no seal can close. Put new weatherstripping on a crooked door and it gets crushed at one end and gaps at the other, and it fails within a season.
So the visit starts with the door. We drive longer screws through the top hinge into the framing, shim or adjust as needed, and set the strike so the door latches without being slammed. Then the seals go on.
Drafts We Fix, and How
| What you notice | Usual cause | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Light or cold air along the bottom of the door | Worn or missing sweep, threshold set too low | New sweep, threshold cap adjusted or replaced |
| Gap at the top corner on the latch side | Door sagging on its hinges | Long hinge screws into framing, re-hang, then new jamb weatherstripping |
| Door has to be slammed to latch | Strike out of line, swollen or sagging door | Strike adjusted, door planed or re-hung |
| Storm door won't close or bangs | Worn closer, bent sweep, loose frame | New closer and sweep, or a new storm door |
| Rattling, drafty window sash | Worn sash seals on older windows | New sash weatherstripping, or storm windows |
| Cold air from the attic hatch | No gasket, uninsulated hatch cover | A gasket and an insulated cover on the hatch |
| Leaves and cold air under the garage door | Bottom seal cracked or missing | New bottom seal, side stops checked (see garage doors) |
What Draft Sealing Saves
ENERGY STAR estimates that air sealing plus insulation saves a typical home an average of 15 percent on heating and cooling costs. That figure includes attic and crawlspace insulation, which we don't do; the door, window and hatch sealing is the air-sealing part of it. Sealing also matters for pipes. The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor says caulking, sealing and weatherstripping also help decrease the risk of a frozen pipe. In practice the biggest change is comfort: no cold strip across the floor by the front door, and no whistle when the wind comes out of the northwest.
Pricing
Most draft-sealing visits cover a few doors and a hatch in one trip, and they fall under our small-job pricing: a $150 minimum, with most small jobs running about $350. Add freeze prep and the hose bibs, and it is still one visit. Storm doors run $260 to $455 labor plus the storm door, and storm windows run $225 to $340 per window labor plus the storm window. Larger door or window replacements get a written quote first.
We book Monday through Friday, 8 to 6, and Saturday, 9 to 2. Evenings, Sundays and other after-hours visits can be arranged ahead of time at a $225 minimum. We are not an unscheduled emergency service.
Common Questions
How do I stop a draft under my front door?
Check the threshold first. Many have an adjustable cap that can be raised to meet the door. Then replace the sweep on the bottom of the door if it is torn, flattened or missing. If daylight shows at the top latch corner too, the door has sagged and needs to be re-hung before any seal will close the gap.
How do I know if my door weatherstripping needs replacing?
Close the door on a sheet of paper. If it slides out easily, the seal at that spot is weak. Look for daylight at the corners and along the bottom, feel for moving air on a windy night, and check whether the foam or rubber is flattened, torn or missing. If the door has to be slammed to latch, it has probably sagged, and new weatherstripping alone won't fix it.
How much does storm door installation cost?
Storm door installation runs $260 to $455 in labor, plus the storm door. On an older or single-pane entry door that takes direct wind, a storm door adds a second seal and protects the main door. On a newer, well-sealed insulated door it does less. We'll tell you which case you are in before you buy one.
Can weatherstripping be installed in winter?
Yes. Kerf-in and screw-on weatherstripping, sweeps and thresholds are mechanical and go in at any temperature. Adhesive-backed foam tapes and exterior caulk are the exceptions. They need a warmer surface to bond, so in cold weather we use mechanical products and save exterior caulking for days warm enough for it.
Why is my house drafty even with new windows?
New windows rarely fix a drafty house on their own. The common leaks are door bottoms, the latch corner of a sagging door, an unsealed attic hatch, and the garage door bottom seal. Those are cheap to fix, and they are the ones we check first.
Do you do energy audits or blown-in insulation?
No. Whole-house energy audits, blower-door testing and blown-in attic insulation are outside our scope. We do the sealing work on doors, windows, the attic hatch and the garage door.
Do you seal commercial doors too?
Yes. Storefront and service doors, door sweeps, thresholds and closers for property managers and facility teams. See commercial door hardware.
More Fall and Winter Work
Draft Sealing Service Area
We seal doors from Greenwood, Center Grove and Franklin up to Carmel, Fishers and Westfield.
Nick's Handyman Service, LLC · 1230 Dusty Trail, Greenwood, IN 46142 · (317) 893-3717 · nicholas@nhsindy.com
Last reviewed October 2026.
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