# Forum Home Renovation Doors, Windows, Architraves & Skirts  Gap under aluminium french doors! Help!

## holesaw

Hi, 
The draft is killing me over Winter, and I'm trying to find something suitable to cover the 5-6mm gap under the doors. 
Do you know of anything which might work, and match the colour of the doors? I've had a look at the raven door seals, but the colours seem to out of sync with the doors. 
Does it also matter if there is a small gap on top of the doors? 
I tried to find the supplier of these doors, but couldn't see any markings on the door itself? Could you tell the supplier of these doors from the photos?   
Thanks in advance, 
hs

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## joynz

I believe you can get stick on alumium and rubber  seals that would be ok - think  I saw them in Bunnings.

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## Marc

The problem with doors and gaps under them is that when you open the door, you need to clear the floor. Whatever you add to the bottom of the door will probably scrape as you open. Some ancient external doors had a strip of wood across the opening for the door to seal against it when closed. The Raven strips retract when you open the door so can seal hard against the floor and still open with no problems. 
Try opening the door a tad and slip a bit of cardboard or plywood that fits snug under the edge of the door, then move it across and measure every 100 mm or so and see if you have a consistent opening/gap. If the gap opens, you are ok, if the gap closes, you are in trouble.
If the gap remains constant or gets bigger, you can take the door off the hinges and stick a strip of drought seal under it, this way you will not see anything at all.
However I think that the best is to use a proper strip like the Raven one and may be give it a bit of paint.

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## holesaw

Thanks Marc and joynz! 
I'll do it tonight, and post my results! 
Who would I hire to fix the problem, and other general draft issues? I think my windows, and door seals would need to be re-sealed, on top of fixing the draft issues.

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## joynz

> Thanks Marc and joynz! 
> I'll do it tonight, and post my results! 
> Who would I hire to fix the problem, and other general draft issues? I think my windows, and door seals would need to be re-sealed, on top of fixing the draft issues.

  Sealing doors and windows is really easy - buy stick on rubber or foam at Bunnings, clean the surface of grease etc and stick it on. 
Normal draft excluders for doors are easy to fit (even the ones that rise up and down, though they are a bit more complicated).  Just need to read the instructions carefully.  May need a bit of cutting with a hacksaw to get the right width.  (There is one kind of door seal that incorporates a metal sill -I wouldn't use that).   
If you buy one, make sure it is deep enough to cover the gap - refer to the chart on the back on the back of the pack. 
 If you  want someone else to do it, an experienced handyman/women should be able to.

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## holesaw

Thanks again for the help!  
Would you go for the screw-on types door seals? I've been concerned about drilling holes in the aluminium doors, and doing an unsightly job.  :Smilie:  
I think there is already a threshold there under each door. Is the metal bit at the bottom, the sill, or it is a threshold? 
Should there be a slight gap on top of the door as well, or are we generally more concerned about the bottom, and sides of the doors?

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## holesaw

I tried the cardboard trick, and I couldn't see much of a deviation. 
This could have been due to either the cardboard moving slightly as the cardboard is resting on the threshold, or I can't notice the deviation.

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## joynz

> Thanks again for the help!  
> Would you go for the screw-on types door seals? I've been concerned about drilling holes in the aluminium doors, and doing an unsightly job. 
>  Should there be a slight gap on top of the door as well, or are we generally more concerned about the bottom, and sides of the doors?

  I would use stick on. 
Since you have a raised threshold, you could put a bottom strip on the inside of the door, with the bottom of the rubber below the top of the threshold (i.e. covering the gap, and it would still be above the floorboards so the door would open easily. 
If there is a gap at the top of the door that air comes through, then seal that too.  The rubber/foam strip for side/top sealing comes in different depths for different size gaps.

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## holesaw

Any chance if you might who might have built the door? I'm trying to find the supplier, so I can purchase a few seperare parts of the frame, but I don't know where to start.

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## mike100jobstodo

If I were you, I would fix a door seal to the French doors. They come in different colours. So you will most probably be able to find a colour that matches your door colour. 
Let me know how it goes.

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## holesaw

Is there a way to know if the door, and door frame straight/square all round for a novice? I also couldn't really do the cardboard trick to know if the door falls off level? 
Do I just get a string on each corner of the door, and if it matches it's square? How would I do the door frame, and generally opening/closing of the door, all by a novice like myself? 
Out of all of the usual raven guards, what other guards are there which might comes in that primrose type colour? There is also a slight recess on the bottom of the door, in the middle, between the door itself, so I would if there is some sort of door seal I can get, which fits into that recess?

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## joynz

> Is there a way to know if the door, and door frame straight/square all round for a novice? I also couldn't really do the cardboard trick to know if the door falls off level? 
> Do I just get a string on each corner of the door, and if it matches it's square? How would I do the door frame, and generally opening/closing of the door, all by a novice like myself? 
> Out of all of the usual raven guards, what other guards are there which might comes in that primrose type colour? There is also a slight recess on the bottom of the door, in the middle, between the door itself, so I would if there is some sort of door seal I can get, which fits into that recess?

  Just visit a hardware store for styles and colours.  
No need to worry about squareness for the seal.  If you use a stick on, just Sellotape it in place temporarily, swing the door to check the height, adjust if required, check again - mark the correct level then stick it properly.

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