How to insulate the entrance metal door?

Metal doors today are among the most popular entrance structures. The main problem of these products is the minimum level of insulation. Therefore, the question of how to insulate the entrance metal door worries many apartment owners and houses who do not wish to freeze in the cold season.

The modern entrance door is a complex system consisting of several layers of different materials. One of its main purposes is to preserve heat indoors. But in a private house there are often leaks of thermal energy. There are several factors that cause this phenomenon:

• Cracks. This damage often occurs during shrinkage at home. At the same time, first of all, they appear in the “thinnest” places, among which doorways can be distinguished.
• Wall thickness In a single-layer construction, heat retention rates are much worse than those of multi-layer surfaces.
• Technical openings. This includes both windows and old doors. The latter type of construction is one of the most frequent causes of heat loss.

Therefore, when insulating the apartment, you should first of all pay attention to the door. The lack of iron construction is poor sound insulation and high conductivity of thermal energy. In a single-layer Chinese door, the protective layer is rather small and is not always complemented by high-quality thermal insulation.

Before proceeding to the insulation of such structures, it is necessary to identify the real causes of cold penetration. If this is not done, then such an operation simply will not give optimal performance.

Insulation of doors involves the application on their surface of an additional layer of material that does not transmit heat well. Today, for such purposes, you can use several types of materials:

• Basalt slabs and mineral wool. Substances have high thermal insulation. At the same time they can reduce the penetration of sounds, which is an additional advantage. The disadvantage of these products is that some of them can accumulate moisture and stray, which leads to a loss of the original qualities.

• Batting. The material is a product based on wool and various types of wool. Differs in environmental friendliness and high heat-insulating indicators. But over time, the insulation can stray, which will lead to the emergence of "bare" areas.

• Polyfoam and expanded polystyrene. Products differ in availability and high heat-insulating characteristics. As for expanded polystyrene, it also withstands high temperatures and does not support combustion. These materials are one of the most optimal options. But note that if such a heater will be mounted outside, there is a risk of damage by rodents.

• Polyurethane foam. Foam perfectly retains its shape for a long time, and also prevents the penetration of heat. But the cost of polyurethane foam is quite high, so its use is economically disadvantageous.

• Penofol. The material is a thin layer of insulation on which foil is applied on one side. It reflects the heat and does not allow him to move on. This product is used as an auxiliary layer.

The technology of insulating a metal door involves the introduction of an additional thermal insulation layer into the structure of the structure. Such an operation is feasible only if there are certain skills in working with such materials. Therefore, before embarking on weatherization, it is necessary to clarify how experts do this correctly.

Internal warming is one of the easiest ways that is easy to do with your own hands.It should be understood that such an operation is possible only for folding door panels. If the system is integral, then it is impossible to perform insulation from the inside. Although some masters can cut the top protective layer, and then in its place install a chipboard sheet or solder the metal back. But in this case, the aesthetic appearance of the door will be lost.

The technology of internal insulation can be divided into several successive steps:

• Dismantling the front metal door. Covering the frame should be performed on a flat surface. Therefore, it is important to remove the web and remove one of the removable covers. At the same time, pens and other structural elements are also dismantled.

• Preparation of insulation. This process involves cutting sheets to the size of the cells, which are formed by internal stiffeners. Pay attention, if they are not there, then it is advisable to replace the door, as it will not last long. When cutting a heat insulator, it should be fitted tightly to all cells. It is important to eliminate the formation of large gaps.

• Mount. Fixation of insulation is carried out with the help of liquid nails.To do this, they are put on the bottom sheet of the door, and then glued individual pieces of material. This process is quite simple and requires only care. After that, in the gap between the insulation and the frame is placed mounting foam. Its goal is to fill all the holes and increase the insulating characteristics. Please note that this should be done very carefully, as the product increases in volume and may push the cotton wool or other product. When the substance is attached, it is covered with a film. It is necessary to prevent the penetration of moisture into the structure. This is especially important for mineral wool and other similar substances. Some experts recommend placing the film on both sides of the insulating layer. To improve thermal insulation, you can also place a layer of penofol on top of the main insulation.

• Assembly. After laying the sheets, proceed with the installation of the door leaf. Reassemble in the reverse order. Some masters recommend lubricating the eye with a sealant to fix it securely.

The outer lining is carried out in the case when it is not possible to remove the top sheet of the door leaf. At performance of similar operations decorative features of a door will decrease.

The exterior trim algorithm consists of several consecutive steps:

• First of all, the door is removed from the hinges. In some cases, you just need to unscrew a few locking screws. When the doors are removed, they are laid on a flat horizontal surface.

• At this stage, the formation of the frame, which will be located on one side of the canvas. It is made of wooden bars or metal pipe. The thickness is chosen individually, as it depends on the quality of the door structure. Many experts recommend the use of thin bars, but to insulate with both sides of the canvas.
• Installation of the frame begins with the mounting of supports around the perimeter of the door. Wooden bars are screwed to them with a few screws. If you use metal products, they can simply be welded to the top of the sheet. Please note that this process requires certain skills to work with welding, since the thickness of the layer is minimal and you can just cut it.
• Attach several transverse supports between the support bars.Often their number does not exceed 4 pieces. These strips are located parallel to the lower and upper ends of the door, and fixation is performed in the same way as previously described.
• After that, inside the frame are placed sheets of insulation. It can be either mineral wool or foam. They are attached, as in the first case, with the help of liquid nails. For better thermal insulation, gaps can be filled with a small amount of polyurethane foam.

• When the doors are insulated, proceed to their decoration. To close the frame, often used laminated chipboard, which can be chosen for a specific color of the door. To do this, cut out from it the workpiece, which in size must be equal to the frame made. It is desirable to cut with a jigsaw or on a special machine to eliminate the appearance of a large number of chips.
• After that, the sheet is screwed to the frame with screws. It is important to do this together, which will allow you to accurately align the workpiece. When everything is screwed, the chipboard surface is sanded and painted in the desired color. If desired, you can use additional decorative plates.
• The process ends with the installation of fittings. To accurately cut the holes for the handles, you must first mark the places for the formation of holes on the chipboard. Please note that these plates will increase the thickness of the door leaf. In most cases, the handle, locks and other elements may not fit these dimensions. Therefore, you will have to buy a new hardware.

In some cases, the weatherization does not allow to cope with the cold bridges that arise because of the cracks between the box and the door. To fix this problem, you can use special sealing tapes. Find out what insulation can be used to help experts in one of the shops. Often, experts recommend focusing on the size of the cracks.

The process of applying the seal is relatively simple and consists of several steps:

• First of all, the surface of the door frame is thoroughly cleaned and degreased. To do this, you can use regular white spirit. Please note that if you do not get rid of fat, then the life of the tape is reduced several times.
• After that, a protective film is removed from the inside of the seal, and it is glued along the entire perimeter of the door leaf, including the threshold.In the corners, the rubber joins each other at an angle of 45 degrees. To do this, one layer is superimposed on the other, and then both are cut off with a sharp knife.

It should be understood that to achieve absolute insulation of metal doors will not work. But it should try to minimize any sources of cold.

You can do this by following a few simple guidelines:

• Apply tape for heat insulation on vulnerable spots that lead to cold. This can be both the box itself and the threshold, which is not insulated by anything.
• Check the condition of the trim around the door leaf. It often happens that drafts appear because of the cracks that are present in the mounting foam. If such a deficiency is identified, a part of polyurethane foam should be removed, and then a new foam should be filled in the hole. It is important to moisten the base with water so that the substance adheres to high quality.
• Check for cracks and other defects in the walls near the door. If there are any, you can fill them with special silicone or cement mortars.

Insulation of a metal door is a complicated procedure that can not always be performed independently.The quality of the result here depends not only on the selected heater, but also on its correct location and fastening. Therefore, such operations should be trusted only to experienced craftsmen who guarantee a long and reliable result.

How to warm the metal door, see the following video.