The better to insulate an iron front door

How to insulate an entrance iron door with your own hands + step by step instructions

Metal doors have a huge number of advantages. They are durable, strong, and can reliably protect your home from thieves. But metal cannot protect the room from the cold.

In order to increase the thermal insulation properties of a structure, a variety of materials are used. In this case, it is extremely important to insulate not just the canvas itself, but also the box.

Next, you need to consider how to insulate the front door, and what is needed for this.

Methods of warming the door leaf

Approximately 20 to 25% of the heat goes through the apartment or house door. In order for the entrance system to perform its functions 100%, it needs thermal insulation. To insulate a metal door, use:

• Mineral wool.
• Foam.

• Sawdust, expanded clay, as well as other bulk materials.
• Polystyrene boards.
• Styrofoam.

Polyurethane foam is the best option for insulating an iron door, but it takes a lot of it to process the sash. For this reason, cheaper materials are most often used, for example, mineral wool or foam.

Mineral wool is good because it is not combustible, absorbs noise, and also has high thermal insulation parameters. But it absorbs moisture, after getting wet, it will no longer be possible to dry such a heater. When using mineral wool, it is required to lay a layer of polymer waterproofing film. It is best used to insulate metal doors that go into the vestibule, entrance, where there is no huge temperature difference and there are no risks of condensation.

Polyfoam has a low cost.

When purchasing it, you need to choose materials with a high degree of density. Polyfoam and polystyrene close to it in terms of parameters are not afraid of moisture, and therefore will be useful for insulating the front door. It is their sheets that can be of different thicknesses, and therefore it is easy to choose the material for any type of door leaf design. The canvas can be insulated from the outside or from the inside. And, if necessary, from both sides.

We must not forget also about the fact that the installation of insulation increases the thickness of the sash. This must be taken into account during installation work and the choice of accessories - locks, handles and a peephole.

Details

Insulation points

Door insulation from the inside

Before you start insulating an iron door from the inside, it is extremely important to acquire certain materials. So, for work, in addition to insulation, you will need a plastic film, a timber bar for collecting the lathing, metal corners for the frame, as well as self-tapping screws.

You will also need screwdrivers and a hacksaw.

The sash insulation inside the room is carried out according to the following scheme:

1. Before insulating the iron entrance door with your own hand, it must be removed from the awnings.It is better to place the sash on stools or horizontal surfaces.
2. All fittings must be removed - dismantle locks, handles and latches.
3. Remove the fiberboard sheets that cover the sash.
4. Make a frame from a bar, inside which a layer of insulation will be placed.

   During its assembly process, it is required to take into account the measure of the hardware arrangement so that the strips do not interfere with them. To make the frame, and it was more rigid and durable, and the corners are fixed by means of metal corners.

5. Inside the frame, it is required to place the selected insulation, apply an adhesive composition to the crate and attach a plastic wrap. This will provide excellent insulation.
6. All gaps, as well as cracks, must be blown out with polyurethane foam.

7. Further, the interior trim, which is made of fiberboard, needs to be put in place and the door hung on the hinges.
8. After the insulation process, put all the fittings in place and check their functionality.

Most people are interested in what is the best way to insulate an iron entrance door from the inside, and at the same time not dismantling it? This is easy enough. On the inside of the canvas, a frame is made so that you can not only place insulation, but also attach a decorative type facing panel. It can be plywood with decorative patterns, MDF, as well as artificial leather.

If the door structure is non-separable, and all the seams are welded very securely, there are not even small holes, then it is allowed to fill the inner space in the sash with expanded clay or perlite. Although it is difficult to do this evenly, there is a risk that some of the space will be left unfilled.

Insulation outside

Before insulating iron doors from the outside, it is required to purchase an insulating material, leatherette or other leatherette. You will also need an adhesive composition. It is very easy to work with these materials, and the insulation is easy to do with your own hands.

The order of work is as follows:

• Before insulating an iron door in an apartment, the sash must be removed from the awnings, and also placed on a horizontal surface.
• Measure out the insulation material (it is better to choose felt), based on the door dimensions. Lubricate the sash with adhesive and glue the felt material.
• Cut the required piece of leatherette with a margin of 5 cm on each side.
• Glue the canvas, bending it over to the inner sash side.

  It is required to ensure that the material does not form folds, that it is stretched evenly, but not very tightly.

• To fix the upholstery, it is required to lay a metal tape along the common perimeter of the door leaf, using self-tapping screws as a fastening.

In order for the insulation material to adhere perfectly, and also not to settle over time, to give a better decorative look, an asymmetric or even symmetrical pattern is created using self-tapping screws with figured heads.So the insulation of the entrance iron door will not only be more reliable, but even aesthetically attractive.

How to eliminate gaps

Heat losses do not just occur through a metal leaf or door frame.

During the installation work of the structure, a technological gap is obtained - a gap between the box and the wall, and usually its size is about 2 cm. For insulation work, it is best to use polyurethane foam. Simply covering up the cracks with cement is not a way out of the situation, since this mixture is not a heat-insulating material. It will not protect the room from the cold, and after a while it shrinks. Thermal insulation of the technological gap must be carried out in this sequence:

1. From the side of the room, remove the platband in the place where the box starts to touch the wall.

   Secure with plastic wrap.

2. Remove the trim from outside the apartment. Moisten the gap with water. You can also use a spray bottle. This is required so that the polyurethane foam hardens much faster.

3. Apply the first thin foam layer. Its path should be uniform, without gaps and breaks.
4. After about 1/3 hour, when the first foam has expanded, apply the second. It is required to ensure that the substance does not appear beyond the perimeter of the door box.
5. When the foam has completely hardened, remove the polyethylene film that served as a protection inside the apartment.

6. At the end of the work, refit the platbands.

If the foam is much outside the box, it's okay. It needs to be carefully cut with a construction (that is, office) knife.

Installing the seal

How to insulate an entrance iron door? There is one more weak point in the design in terms of heat loss - this is the area of ​​contact between the doors and the box. If it does not fit very tightly, then a draft may appear.

This problem can be eliminated by installing a seal. It is produced in the form of a self-adhesive tape, which can have a different profile (that is, section). If the gap is small, then insulation of a round or oval section is useful. In the case when the gap is more than 0.3 cm, then you should purchase a tape having a cross-section in the form of the letter P.

Before insulating a metal entrance door, in addition to its own sealant, for insulation work it is required to acquire scissors and some kind of solvent so that the sash is degreased. The scheme of work is as follows:

• If an old seal was glued to the door, then it must be removed and the surface must be cleaned as best as possible.
• Degrease the tape area with solvent.
• Bond the gasket around the sash perimeter approximately 0.3 cm from the outer edge.

  This requires the tape to be pressed down as best as possible to ensure excellent adhesion (no waves).

Do not tighten the tape too much when gluing.Otherwise, it can grab onto the door surface, and even begin to peel off. It is not recommended to purchase a very thick seal, because of this, the doors may not close and open well.

How to insulate a door frame?

For some reason, most people think that to insulate an entrance door made of metal, it is enough to insulate only the sash.

But in fact, the box also needs insulation. If it is made of a corner (metal), then it is allowed to insulate only along the perimeter of the abutment to the opening. To do this, it is enough to blow out all the cracks with polyurethane foam. When the substance hardens, the excess can be cut off with a knife. In the event that the box is made of a pipe with a round or square section, then a layer of insulation can be placed inside it.

For this, the following is perfect:

• Mounting foam - it is convenient to use it to seal the cracks between the wall and the box, and also to fill all the cavities of the door frame.
• Bulk materials - it can be sawdust or expanded clay. To do this, a hole is made in the profile, and then the filler is poured. If you do this procedure yourself, then not all voids can be filled using the selected material. Thorough insulation is allowed only at the time of manufacture of the box under factory conditions.

But you can try to make insulation yourself. This requires a drill and suitable metal drills, insulation material (polyurethane foam) and a knife. Execution of work:

1. Make holes every 1/2 meter.
2. Use them to fill the cavity with foam inside the box.
3. Cut off any excess that has begun to show through the holes with a knife.

4. Also blow out the cracks between the box and the opening with foam.
5. When the substance hardens, it needs to be trimmed and filled.

External and internal insulation of metal doors helps to reliably protect the premises not only from thieves, but also from frost. You can also carry out insulation work with your own hands by placing the required material from the inside or outside of the sash. It is required to take care of the insulation of the box and glue a layer of sealant.

Only comprehensive work prevents heat loss.