Entrance doors are often represented by metal structures that effectively perform the protection function and open up wide possibilities for sealing the opening. Wooden sheets are used less often, as they are inferior in reliability and durability. In addition, doors made of natural material are not so effective in terms of sealing, which, in fact, leads to the need to strengthen their thermal insulation qualities. The advantages of wooden models include decorative properties and environmental friendliness - they justify all the insulation work.
What is the insulation formed from?
In the usual sense, thermal insulation is represented by one or more layers of a special material. Much more complicated is the technique by which entrance doors are endowed with sealing. Wooden insulated structures involve the installation of an insulator in several areas. The composition of heat insulators includes insulation, gaskets and upholstery, which in addition to the aesthetic role also contributes to the conservation of heat. Installation foam is also a good assistant - it is convenient in application and effective in operation, it provides reliable self-fixation in the gaps and eliminates any “cold bridges”. Now it is worth examining insulators and gaskets in more detail.
Materials for thermal insulation
Despite the initial requirements for the presentability of the input structures, they are very liberal in terms of compatibility with insulation. This can be foam rubber, synthetic winterizer, extruded polystyrene foam, foamed polyethylene , etc. Mineral wool is considered to be a traditional insulator in Russia, but due to the transient loss of its original hermetic properties and against the background of more technologically advanced analogues, this option is rarely used. Especially if you plan to insulate the entrance wooden door in a private house, you should not save on funds to ensure tightness.
But, on the other hand, the aforementioned synthetic-based heat insulators cannot be called ideal due to their unnaturalness, but they perform their primary functions - at least they demonstrate reliability and durability, not to mention ease of installation.
Gaskets
Sealing of window openings is usually associated with this material, but a high-quality implementation in the design will also allow insulating the entrance wooden door with minimal cost. The action of the seal is aimed at isolating the areas where the canvas is adjacent to the box. There are single and multi-layer seals, the choice of which is done depending on the characteristics of the house. The material used in the manufacture of this insulator is also different - rubber, silicone or plastic.
The role of upholstery in insulation
Do not consider external upholstery as a lifesaver from precipitation and drafts. Whether it is leather substitute with dermantine or high-quality leather, they will not provide proper sealing. Their main task (except for decorative) is to ensure the integrity of the door cake, which will maintain the reliability of the main heat insulators. In this regard, it is important to use the appropriate fasteners: finishing wire, furniture nails, staples and other elements that firmly fix the material without distorting the appearance of the door. By the way, insulated wooden entrance doors, the photo of which is presented on the right, show an example of high-quality design with aluminum-coated upholstery.
Elimination of defects
Before direct insulation of the doors, their current condition should be assessed and, possibly, damage should be repaired with structural deviations, which will further contribute to the fact that the wooden entrance doors insulated do not provide adequate protection against heat loss.
The penetration of cold is often due to the weakness of the loops, which leads to sagging and distortions of the structure. Therefore, it is necessary to tighten the screws, screws and other accessories that secure the blade. It happens that the deviations are so great that the adjustment of the loops does not help, manipulations with the canvas are difficult. In this case, there is only one remedy - to trim the base with a planer.
It is not possible to insulate the entrance wooden door with quality, and if there are gaps between the duct and the wall, this problem is solved by introducing mounting foam. But before that, it is recommended to remove the remnants of the existing seal. If you plan to replace accessories, locks and related items, then it is better to perform it before warming.
Insulator installation
As the main warming agent, foam rubber, batting, or another soft-based heat insulator can be used. At the selection stage, it is important to consider the compatibility of the material with the upholstery. As already noted, the upholstery coating itself does not practically affect the warming function, but as a fixing component it is very significant. The local climatic conditions of the region will also help determine the upholstery. For example, if you want to insulate the entrance wooden door in Minsk, where winters are not so cold, ordinary dermantine is also suitable. However, if a house is insulated in a region with a more severe climate, it is better to provide quality leather. But in most cases, a faux leather and foam rubber become a good combination.
The door must be removed from the hinges, after which it must be removed from the fittings and laid horizontally. The parameters of the dermatin should be calculated according to the door leaf and add a few more centimeters to create hemings. The heat insulator is laid out on a wooden base and fixed with a stapler - the step should be at least 10 cm.
Next, you can insulate the entrance wooden door with sheathing. The installation of dermantine begins from the top, while the edges must be turned inwards. Then the casing is fixed on the sides, and the bottom is processed last.
Temporary insulation with rollers
This technique can be used as an addition to the main thermal insulation, as well as as insulation for a short time. Affordability and ease of execution make this method economical and at the same time effective. The roller is the same combination of foam and upholstery that allows you to insulate the entrance wooden door from the inside or outside. The work uses tubular foam, which should frame a wooden canvas. To create warming rollers, you must initially leave at least 10 cm of dermantine along the edges - then the tube is wrapped in an upholstery and placed around the perimeter. The result is a point thermal insulation in places most dangerous from the point of view of the passage of cold.
Seal installation
The use of gaskets is justified in openings where the wooden base is not tightly adjacent to the box. Thus, the auxiliary material eliminates cracks and improves the insulating qualities of the entire structure. The most convenient to use are tubular models made of rubber with a self-adhesive coating.
The calculation of the length and thickness of the insulation is done on the basis of a fold located at the junction. The material fits into the grooves and is immediately fixed. The length of the strip should slightly exceed the perimeter of the box, and during operation should ensure uniformity of the laying of the material.
By the way, there are options that are mounted on self-tapping screws - in this case it will be more difficult to heat the entrance wooden door with your own hands , but the result will also be durable. Also, as an alternative, more modern silicone seals are often used . They are really better, but their cost is much higher.
The effect of door insulation
It is not worth it to rely entirely on door insulation, as the main barrier to heat loss. Only comprehensive measures to seal the house can provide the appropriate microclimate - in addition to the doors, the attic, window openings, basement, ventilation niches, etc. must be insulated. Nevertheless, with the high-quality thermal insulation of wooden paintings, the heat storage coefficient can be increased up to 30%.
Therefore, you should not save on insulation materials, because if you insulate the entrance wooden door with low-quality and outdated means, then the costs will be guaranteed on the other hand - in the form of payment for the operation of heating equipment. It also raises the question of the feasibility of using wooden doors, if initially high demands are placed on heat saving. But the fact is that metal structures as such are slightly better than their natural counterparts. High-quality insulation in terms of creating the optimal microclimate in the house puts wooden and steel sheets in a row.