Until you use a more permanent solution to cross door draughts off of your home improvement to-do list, you can try any of these DIY hacks for draught-proofing doors.

Gaps around your doors account for around 12% of your home’s air leakages so anything you can do to stop them will help. You may not see the type of results that will lower your energy bills, but you can, at least, stop some of the cold air with these do-it-yourself methods.

1. Use a Door Draught Snake

One of the most common door draught excluders you’ll find in Australia is a fabric door snake. The appeal of this DIY solution is that you don’t have to do any installation work. Simply place the snake at the bottom of your door, pressing it against the gap between the door and the floor.

Door draught snakes are tubular in shape and are usually filled with sand to create a weighted draught stopper. You can purchase them for every door that faces the outdoors, such as your front door and back door. When you don’t need them, simply store with your other winter weather supplies.

While any type of door draught excluder will help, door snakes can only offer so much protection. It’s impossible to create a tight seal under the door, so you’ll still have some cold air currents coming in.

2. Double-Sided Draught Stopper

Similar to a snake, you can use tubular foam or sand-filled fabric and place it underneath the door, rather than against the crack between the door and the floor. In this case, the stopper will appear on both the inside or outside of the door at the bottom. This is a useful DIY option if you have a large gap between the bottom of your door and the ground and you need a larger excluder.

3. Install Draught Sweeps

To get a better seal, you can install door sweeps under your door. This isn't the best door draught stopper but it can help.

You’ll want to measure the door length carefully and then cut your draught sweep so it fits as close to perfect as possible. Otherwise, you’ll have open gaps where the draught can come in.

Draught sweeps can ruin the aesthetics of your doors – a plastic or metal sweep under a beautiful wooden door creates a cluttered look. To try to get around this problem, look for a draught sweep that matches your door. Use wood with wood, for example. You can always stain or paint it to create a more seamless look.

4. Foam Weather-stripping Around Your Door

Another approach you can take is to attach foam around your door. You can do this with an adhesive tape. Your local hardware store will have inexpensive foam weather-stripping kits you can use.

This is a little easier than other DIY draught proofing methods for your doors because it’s a lot easier to custom-cut a piece of foam and to tape it around your door than to try and properly install a metal, wood, or PVC door draught excluder.

Foam weather-stripping, however, will usually only work for one season. Also, it can start to fall off as you keep opening and closing your door.

Draught Proofing that Lasts...And Lowers Energy Bills

If you are tired of tackling draughts every year with different DIY methods for your doors and windows, there is a lasting solution. Not only will it give you the serious results you’re probably looking for – a cosy home, smaller energy bills every month, and a smaller carbon footprint because you aren’t as dependent on your indoor heating – it will also look great. In fact, you won’t even notice there is a draught seal because it is machined into your door, rather than tacked onto the outside.

As part of our retrofit double glazing system for windows and doors, we always include draught seals. And, we use the best type of door draught seal – high-quality seals. From our experience, brush seals, PVC, fabric, and even wooden excluders don’t achieve the same results as rubber.

To create a seamless finished look, the rubber draught seals are machined into the timber so all you see is the wood of your door. That way, your doors themselves become your solution against draughts, not your yearly DIY project.

To learn more about draught sealing, download our free guide, “The Ultimate Guide to Draught Sealing Windows and Doors.”