Metal entrance doors often do not cope with their main task - saving heat in the apartment. And this is even with a high-quality internal filler. To solve the problem of sealing joints allows a sealant for metal doors.
Seal functions
Allocate a number of tasks that are assigned to the seal for metal doors:
- protection of housing from the penetration of unpleasant odors from the outside;
- elimination of drafts;
- ensuring a reliable fit of the web to the door frame structure;
- preventing the spread of smoke and fire in the event of fire hazard situations.
Types
The seal on metal doors can be replaced using several types of sealing tapes. Depending on the nature of the material of manufacture, products of the following types are distinguished:
- rubber;
- plastic;
- silicone;
- foam rubber;
- polyurethane.
Let's find out which seal for metal doors is better, consider the pros and cons of individual solutions.
Rubber
Most often used for sealing doors that open directly onto the street. The specified method of application is due to the specific properties of rubber. In the presence of various modifiers, such a sealant for metal doors perfectly adapts to the most severe operating conditions.
Among the advantages of a rubber seal it is worth highlighting:
- long service life;
- special resistance to environmental influences;
- high elasticity, which prevents the appearance of cracks as the product is used;
- absolute water tightness;
- low cost.
Separately, it is worth highlighting the rubber seal for metal doors self-adhesive. The use of the latter greatly facilitates the installation process, eliminates the additional waste of the purchase of fasteners.
Silicone
Silicone seal for metal doors is inferior, according to some indicators, to products made of rubber. The material has increased elasticity, which facilitates its installation on the surface of various textures. However, the main drawback here is the lack of the ability to modernize the composition with special additives that slow down the destruction of the structure under the influence of moisture, ultraviolet radiation, and temperature changes. As a result, silicone seals are rarely used to seal external doors.
Foam rubber
Foam sealant is the most budgetary solution. Often they resort to its use in the calculation of service for one season. More with regular use of doors such products do not stand up.
The old foam rubber seal often begins to disintegrate and crumble under the influence of humidity, sudden changes in temperature. Over time, the material breaks into a lump, loses its original elasticity, and eventually ceases to cope with the assigned tasks.
Polyurethane
Both ordinary and self-adhesive sealants for metal doors, made of polyurethane, have quite good characteristics. Products in this category are easy to install and durable. However, polyurethane has a relatively low resistance to mechanical abrasion. Therefore, such a sealant is highly recommended not to be installed on doors that are subject to regular operation.
Plastic
Plastic seals have excellent sealing properties. Most products in this category have a hollow internal structure. Thanks to this feature, an additional sealing circuit is created in the form of an air chamber along the edge of the door, which ensures the preservation of heat in the room.
Plastic products have an affordable price, but their installation can be difficult. The fact is that such products are installed in the groove and for this reason must be selected individually in accordance with the design features of a particular door.
How to choose a seal for a metal door?
Going to purchase material for sealing the front door, you should pay attention to the following recommendations:
- If preference is given to self-adhesive material, the expiration date of the adhesive should be specified, which will be applied to the inside of the product.
- It is highly recommended not to seal metal doors with a foam seal that faces the street. As a rule, such constructions account for an increased number of openings and closures. Therefore, in this case, the material will quickly become completely unusable.
- Before dwelling on a specific type of sealant, it is necessary to carefully study the information regarding the quality of the material, technical characteristics, operating characteristics, and shelf life.
- To make sure that the product is tight, just press on its surface. If the sealant instantly restores shape, this option is suitable for installation on entrance doors.
- How to glue a seal on a metal front door? To do this, use quality glue. It is better to give preference to products made on the basis of silicone, which has good sealing properties.
- Attention should be paid to the shade of the product. In most cases, the consumer is offered seals in standard colors: white, black and brown. However, some manufacturers allow you to choose the shade of the material individually, in accordance with the color of the door.
- It is better to pay attention to products of medium hardness. Frankly soft materials quickly lose their original properties. At the same time, rigid seals can prevent the door from closing freely.
- Self-adhesive product must have a textured inner surface. The presence of a coating of small particles of fiberglass is encouraged, which will provide the most reliable setting of surfaces.
Installation tips
Let's figure out how to properly install the seal on a metal door.
First, the old sealing material is dismantled. The surfaces are thoroughly cleaned. To do this, it is advisable to use fine sandpaper. At the end of the preparatory work, the ends of the door are washed with alcohol or acetone, which contributes to the degreasing of surfaces.
Often a metal door is installed at the entrance to the room. In this case, it is recommended to install several layers of sealant. This approach allows for the most reliable joint sealing. Several contours are superimposed on the door frame and the inner edge of the canvas, the remaining is mounted on the outer surface of the door. In this case, the main requirement that is presented to the qualities of the external seal is: resistance to mechanical damage, temperature extremes, moisture.
Installation of rubber products is carried out by fit on glue. How to stick a seal on a metal door? In the course of work, the surface of the tape is gradually covered with a binder as it is applied to the end and is tightly pressed to the surface. If it is necessary to mount a rubber product on a painted base, at least several weeks should pass from the moment of painting.
The simplest solution is to install a self-adhesive seal. For installation, it is enough to remove the protective strip that covers the inner surface of the product, and then evenly distribute the material along the edge of the door leaf. If during operation the seal begins to lag, it is worthwhile to additionally fix it with glue or sealant.
During installation, it is not recommended to use separate pieces of material. Such actions entail poor-quality joint sealing. Particular attention should be paid to sealing corners. It is here that the risk of wrinkling and insufficiently dense advancing of the material increases.
Finally
Sealers are extremely convenient means for sealing the joints of the front door. All of them have one common advantage - ease of installation and operation.
To eliminate drafts, to protect the room from the penetration of extraneous sounds and unpleasant odors from the outside, special skills, a professional tool and special training are not required. During installation, it is only necessary to clean and degrease the surfaces, treat them with glue or sealant and evenly apply a sealant to the joints.
A particularly convenient solution are self-adhesive products. For their installation does not require the purchase of glue or additional fasteners. Such seals serve for a long time, at the first need they can easily be dismantled and replaced with new material.