Do-it-yourself insulation of an iron entrance door. Do-it-yourself door insulation

When comprehensively insulating a house or apartment, it is important to take into account all possible places of heat loss, since only in this case can truly effective thermal insulation be obtained.

Statistics show that about 25% of the total heat loss of a cottage or private house occurs through doors and windows.

1 Why insulate the front door?

The issue with window insulation, in view of huge amount information on the Internet has already exhausted itself, while the thermal insulation of a door, which, in practice, is a fairly simple task that can be done with your own hands, requires some explanation.

In most cases, both in apartments and private houses, metal doors are used as an entrance door. Such structures, in comparison with wooden doors, have one key advantage - maximum strength characteristics.

Having installed quality door made of metal with, and good castle, you can be sure that your home is reliably protected from intruders. However, metal structures also have certain disadvantages.

First of all, this is the high thermal conductivity of the metal itself, which, given the relatively small thickness of steel doors, leads to very serious heat losses. It is not uncommon for the temperature in the corridor where the street door is located to be 3-4 degrees lower than in the rest of the house.

In addition, a metal street door, as a rule, has gaps between the door itself and the doorway, the thickness of which can reach up to 5 millimeters. Such gaps cause a constant draft, which should not be allowed, especially if small children live in the house.

Another weakness of metal doors is that they do not have normal sound insulation, and in the house you can perfectly hear all the sounds coming from the entrance or from the street.

High-quality insulation of metal entrance doors with your own hands using basalt (and it is safe, by the way) can fully solve problems with both noise insulation and heat loss.

1.1 Which insulation is better to use?

Ordinary foam rubber has been and remains a widely used material for door insulation, but using this material for thermal insulation of the front door is unjustified due to a number of reasons.

In general, this is the lack of the required technical characteristics that can ensure the fulfillment of all the requirements put forward for high-quality thermal insulation– foam rubber does not protrude additional sound insulation, and does not have a sufficiently low thermal conductivity. The only thing it is good for is use as a sealant to eliminate drafts.

Of the insulation materials on the market for thermal insulation of doors with your own hands, fibrous insulation, such as mineral wool, and panel materials - polystyrene foam or extruded polystyrene foam - are best suited.

We recommend that you insulate front door ordinary polystyrene foam or, since this insulation has optimal ratio cost and thermal insulation characteristics. Polystyrene foam is a good sound insulator; it significantly reduces the sound penetrating into the house through street doors.

Mineral wool, in comparison with polystyrene foam, has one significant drawback - it is vapor permeable and shrinks when saturated with moisture. While insulating a door, it is extremely important that the insulation retains its size and tightly fills all the cavities inside the structure.

One of the key requirements for insulation that will be located in the front door is hydrophobicity. Since the door is a structure that is constantly in contact with warm air inside the cottage and cold air outside, condensation will constantly form in it.

Insulation that is saturated with moisture gradually loses its thermal insulation characteristics and ceases to be an effective sound insulator. Polystyrene foam will not absorb condensation, since the material has a closed structure that does not allow steam or moisture to pass through.

If the budget does not limit the choice of thermal insulation material, then it makes sense to choose extruded polystyrene foam and. Essentially, this material is both visually and technical specifications similar to polystyrene foam, but it is an order of magnitude better in terms of thermal conductivity.

The thermal conductivity coefficient of polystyrene foam is about 0.04 W/μ, while that of extruded polystyrene foam is 0.029 W/μ. This suggests that with equal insulation thickness, the efficiency of thermal insulation with polystyrene foam will be an order of magnitude higher.

1.2 Required tools and materials

To insulate street doors with your own hands, in addition to insulation, you will need the following tools and materials:

  • Plywood panel, or laminated chipboard, identical in size to the dimensions of the door, which will be used as internal lining;
  • Wooden blocks for arranging the internal frame that holds the cladding material;
  • Liquid penoizol or non-expanding foam;
  • Plaster or putty mixture;
  • Sealant in the form of a polymer tape;
  • Adhesive for foam plastic to metal surfaces;
  • Hacksaw for cutting bars;
  • Stationery knife for cutting insulation;
  • Screwdriver and wood screws;
  • Spatula as for .

1.3 We insulate the door frame

Typically in the wall door frame reinforcement pins are fixed, and the box itself is a frame welded from metal corner. This design, even after sealing with polyurethane foam, often has gaps from which a draft can be drawn.

Even if the sealing with polyurethane foam is done efficiently, the main disadvantage of this material is the loss of properties under direct influence sun rays, to which the street doors of the cottage are constantly exposed.

High-quality insulation of a door frame with your own hands is carried out according to the following algorithm:

  1. The opening between the frame and the wall is cleared of residues polyurethane foam;
  2. The resulting gap is moistened with water and foamed with liquid foam insulation;
  3. After the penoizol hardens, the excess material is cut off flush with the wall;
  4. Within 3-5 centimeters from the door frame, the wall is covered with a putty compound that will perform protective function. The places where penoizol is located are puttied with a fairly thick layer using.

Such insulation of entrance wooden doors necessary to the same extent as for metal structures. Such thermal insulation guarantees the absence of drafts and acts as additional sound insulation.

2 We insulate metal entrance doors

The technology for thermal insulation of the front door with your own hands involves lining the inside of the door with slats, and subsequent installation decorative panel on top of the insulation.

The first stage of work is the arrangement of the internal frame of slats. The bars are installed along the inner perimeter of the door, including along the central stiffeners.

You must first drill into load-bearing elements door holes for self-tapping screws that will fasten the timber. The hole spacing should be 5-10 centimeters.

To attach the slats, it is necessary to use self-tapping screws approximately 5 millimeters longer than the total thickness of the slats and metal frame doors.

After the holes are drilled, the door is measured, the bars are adjusted to size, and secured around the perimeter of the structure.

We cut the foam panels so that the insulation fits tightly between the wooden frame. The smaller the gaps, the better thermal insulation and the insulation will have sound insulation. All cracks between the wooden slats and the surface of the metal door are foamed.

Polystyrene foam is installed into the cells of the wooden frame, and the insulation is fixed using glue. The joints between foam plastic and slats are sealed with polyurethane foam.

After the foam has hardened, we cut off its excess and sheathe the door decorative material. To cover the front door with your own hands, chipboards, plywood, laminate, wooden slats etc.

The front door trim is attached to wooden frame by using liquid nails, after which it is additionally fixed with nails or self-tapping screws.

Along the perimeter wood paneling metal is installed, or plastic corner. Also, entrance door trim made of leatherette or dermantin is often attached on top of the decorative panel - construction stores sell special kits that include all the materials necessary for upholstery.

2.1 Features of insulating entrance doors with your own hands (video)

Most of the apartments are equipped with an iron entrance door - thanks to them you don’t have to worry about security. However, the iron door has a drawback - it lets the cold in. After all, iron is an excellent conductor, so in winter the apartment loses a lot of heat through it. To avoid this, you should take care of how to insulate an iron door.

Usually, manufacturers of iron doors do not insulate them, so each owner needs to carry out insulation work independently.

Material selection

There is a wide choice of materials on the construction market, but fiber and polymer insulation materials remain the most accessible.

However, it should be remembered that mineral wool can get wet and lose its properties, so when choosing such raw materials you should immediately think about moisture insulation.

Experts in installing iron doors advise using ordinary polystyrene foam - it is often used for cladding facades multi-storey buildings, so can be purchased in slabs various sizes and thickness.

Foam plastic has long been used as insulation in construction and is highly rated: it is easy to install, designed for long-term use, and does not deform load-bearing structures.

Foam boards are easy to trim to fit perfectly into the desired space, and this is what is important in the case of a door. This same property allows you to make the insulation layer as aesthetically pleasing as possible. You should buy polystyrene foam of the maximum thickness that can fit inside the iron door.

Start

To insulate the entrance part, the metal door will have to be removed from its hinges and disassembled before starting work. It is necessary to prepare all the contact areas and slopes next to the opening - they are also responsible for thermal conductivity. You don't need much for the job insulation material– a couple of sheets will be enough.


Procedures

Let us describe the sequence of work on insulating a door with your own hands:

  • the door is removed from its hinges and disassembled;
  • the lock, peephole, number are removed;
  • pieces of foam plastic are cut out and placed inside the door so that there are no empty spaces left;
  • all empty spaces are filled with polyurethane foam;
  • locks are screwed on;
  • start facing work.


Instead of polystyrene foam, granular filler, rubber seal, or self-adhesive foam rubber can be used. Internal insulation of a metal entrance door can be combined with outer skin dermatin. The procedure is carried out as follows:

  1. door leaf It is covered on both sides with thin insulation in the form of heat-reflecting material. It is glued to the door with a special compound;
  2. For decorative effect the surface with insulation is upholstered with canvas - leather, leatherette or other durable material.

The problem is condensation

Moisture may settle on the metal door and on the entrance part in the form of slopes, which will lead to rust on the iron structures- so simply insulating it will not be enough.


What is the cause of moisture? Cold air landing And warm air rooms meet in the area of ​​the door space. Condensation forms and settles on surfaces.
To prevent such a problem, all joints should be covered with a rubber seal. You can even use special material for waterproofing - liquid rubber, which is used for pipelines, bathtubs and shower rooms.

What about the slopes?

All slopes near the box also need insulation, especially indoor slopes. Usually these building construction plastered, puttied or sheathed with plasterboard. In these cases, you can achieve an aesthetically attractive result, but the problem is that the materials described will not become a barrier to the penetration of cold.


Plywood, wood and MDF, as well as chipboards, have great thermal insulation characteristics. It is quite possible to attach insulation boards in the form of isover or mineral wool under the facing panel. When covering internal slopes with insulation and cladding panels, heat loss in the door area will be minimal.

About materials in general

When choosing a material for covering an iron door leaf, you need to take into account not only the practicality and attractiveness of the material, but also its insulating properties. For example, plastic sheathing: the material is inexpensive, looks nice, lasts a long time, but conducts cold. Therefore, the entire load for thermal protection will fall on the foam boards.


Other cladding materials are more expensive, but they can prevent cold from penetrating into the room. Wood, plywood, chipboard and MDF have low thermal conductivity characteristics. This figure will increase if the facing layer is made thicker.

Two-door vestibule

The best insulation option is to install a second door at the entrance and the heat will remain in the room. It doesn’t matter what materials the second door will be made of: it can be made of wood, metal, MDF or plastic.

By constructing a vestibule of two doors at the entrance to the room, you can achieve the same low thermal conductivity as is inherent in the externally insulated walls of the house. The condensation problem will also be solved. The disadvantage of this insulation method is the loss of living space and the financial costs of purchasing an additional door.

A high-quality entrance door reliably protects an apartment or house from drafts, heat loss, foreign odors and sounds. Modern new designs of entrance doors made of metal or wood are immediately insulated and reinforced during the manufacturing process. But what to do if there is no desire or means to replace the old entrance door, which does not have high sound and heat-saving properties?

It’s simple – the door can be visually improved and insulated efficiently without large financial losses.

Reason #1

If the front door is old, then it is quite possible that the insulation located between the panels is damaged. For example, mineral wool with high humidity begins to rot.

Reason #2

Gaps and cracks between the door leaf and the frame. This problem may be caused by the box being skewed due to incorrect installation, high humidity or frequent use of the door. Also, cracks appear due to deformation of the canvas, shifting or damage to hanging fittings.

Reason #3

Gaps between the door frame and the opening. If the doorway is larger than the frame, then all gaps are sealed with polyurethane foam. If the foam is not applied in a continuous layer, the structure may have low heat-saving properties.

Restoration and insulation of the door are carried out in several stages.

  1. Fastening the seal around the entire perimeter of the door frame.
  2. Seal gaps and cracks between the frame and the door leaf.
  3. Checking hinged and locking fittings.
  4. Upholstery and insulation of the door leaf.
  5. Sealing the holes between the frame and the opening.

Required materials

Insulation

Seals

This type of material is located along the entire perimeter of the door leaf and when the door is closed, it qualitatively seals the structure.

Seals are divided into several types according to the location of the sealing ribs: single, double and triple. The more additional layers a material has, the better it protects against cold and noise.

The seals can be attached to the ends of the canvas using self-tapping screws or a self-adhesive base. The first type of fastening is higher quality and more reliable, designed for high loads.

Upholstery

In order for the restored door to become aesthetically pleasing, it is recommended to upholster it with a material that does not allow moisture and air to pass through. Eco-leather, leatherette, and genuine leather are suitable for these purposes.

To keep the upholstery firmly on the door leaf, special nails are required. You can also complement the door design with a special wire, which is attached between the nails and creates a pattern on the front surface of the door.

Wooden lining, MDF board (8 mm) with one-sided lamination. These materials can be used for interior decoration doors.

Tools

  1. Angle grinder with a cutter for cutting a groove on the door leaf.
  2. Screwdriver.
  3. Hammer.
  4. Stapler with a set of staples.
  5. Roulette.
  6. Scissors.
  7. Polyurethane foam.

Preparatory work

Before starting work, you need to determine exactly what materials will be used to restore the door. If the inside of the door leaf is made of MDF, then you need to purchase or order a sheet of material of the required size in advance.

If the door leaf has sagged under its own weight, it is advisable to tighten the hinges with new screws or completely replace the hinged fittings.

It is advisable to carefully check the perimeter between the box and the wall opening for sealing; if necessary, remove the old foam and re-foam the cracks.

If the door is severely deformed due to humidity, then you can process the ends with a plane so that when opening and closing the door leaf fits freely into the door frame.

Can be replaced during restoration door lock, peephole, chain,

Seal installation

Step 1

Determine the dimensions of the gap between the box and the canvas. If the gap around the entire perimeter is more than a few millimeters, then there is no need to cut a groove for the seal.

Step 2

Cut the seal into pieces of the required size. If the tape is self-adhesive, then you need to glue it along the entire perimeter of the door frame, closer to the outside of the door.

Step 3

If the seal is made of silicone, then you need to attach it to the ends using a stapler. This type of fastening is much stronger and more durable than sealing with self-adhesive material.

Step 4

If the gaps between the blade and the box are not too large, but a draft is felt, you can use a grinder to cut a groove 1-2 mm deep and 3-4 mm wide. A seal is attached to this groove; you can use two-layer or three-layer material.

Insulation and restoration of door leaf

These devices are designed to seal the gaps between the door and the jambs.

Step 1. Leatherette is cut into 4 strips, 10 cm wide. The length of the strips is equal to the width and height of the door leaf + a margin of 5 cm on each side.

Step 2. A strip of leatherette is placed on the edge of the door with the wrong side. Every 10-15 cm, the material is attached to the canvas using a stapler or upholstery nails.

Step 3. Strips are attached around the entire perimeter of the door. Near the hinges, the material must be cut in a special way: the roller should not interfere with the closing and opening of the door. To prevent the roller from puffing up, you can trim off the excess material at the edges. The final installation of the roller is carried out after the door leaf is insulated.

A roller made of foamed polyethylene, which must be inserted around the entire perimeter of the door into a strip of leatherette

Insulation of the door leaf

You can upholster a door with leatherette on both the inside and outside. outside. Also, the inner fabric can be decorated with laminated MDF board. The color of the material can be chosen as desired. The canvas is secured with self-tapping screws around the perimeter. It is also important to pre-cut holes for the handle, peephole or internal lock, if any are present on the door.

Most often, restoration is carried out using eco-leather or leatherette upholstery. This is not difficult; if you wish, you can do this process yourself.

Step 1. Fastening to the insulation sheet. It is important that the size of the insulation on all sides is 10 cm larger than the dimensions of the door leaf. Most often, ordinary foam rubber is used for these purposes, having a thickness of 2-3 cm. Using a stapler, the foam rubber is aimed at the door leaf at small intervals.

Step 2. Excess material is trimmed around the perimeter of the door. The reserve is needed so that there are no problems with attaching the insulation: it is easier to trim off the excess edges than to accurately shoot a sheet of material cut to size.

Step 3. Additionally, it is recommended to attach batting on top of the foam. This material will improve the heat and sound insulation of the door structure.

Step 4. Leatherette is cut with a margin: 4 cm on each side. You need to nail the material to the insulated sheet from the middle. This fastening method minimizes distortion and wrinkles in the material.

Step 6. Fastening leatherette along the edges of the canvas. You need to stretch the fabric tightly to avoid the appearance of lumps.

Step 7 Leatherette must be carefully secured around the entire perimeter of the door. The gap between the locations of the nails is 5-6 cm. It is advisable to drive the nails at the same level and at an equal distance.

Step 8 Final fastening of the roller. The protruding ends of the fabric are rolled into a tube and nailed. It is advisable that the roller be the same size on all sides of the door. This will improve her appearance.

Step 9 Handle attachment. In the place where the fittings are located, you need to make a hole in the leatherette, and then attach the handle using self-tapping screws.

Step 10 Ennoblement appearance doors. To prevent the canvas from looking too simple, you can decorate it with nails, wire or fishing line. To do this, markings are applied to the leatherette: mesh, squares or other geometric figures. Nails are driven into the corners of the figures to serve as fastenings for wire or fishing line. The wire is stretched between the nails, visually dividing the canvas into fragments. It is important to respect the geometry of the drawing.

Video - Insulation of a wooden entrance door

Insulate metal structure can be done in several ways: by installing internal or external insulation.

Internal insulation

Doors in which metal panels are attached to the frame with self-tapping screws are best insulated using polystyrene foam, isofix, or expanded polystyrene. You can also purchase special acoustic panels that will reduce the penetration of noise from the outside.

Stage 1. At internal insulation The covering of the canvas located inside the apartment is removed. Opening the outer panel is impractical and dangerous; the structure may lose its former strength and reliability.

Stage 2. After the casing is removed, you need to unscrew the screws holding the metal sheet. The old insulation located between the stiffeners must be removed. New material need to be cut into pieces of the required size and placed between the partitions of the frame.

Stage 3. The metal sheet is attached to the old place. It is advisable to use new screws. The door trim can be restored by replacing it with a new one or using old material. It all depends on the condition and type of canvas.

Video - Insulating a metal door from the inside

With this method, the insulation is attached on top of the metal sheet, due to which the thickness of the door noticeably increases.

Stage 1. Installation of a frame made of wooden blocks around the perimeter of the door from the inside. Beams 15-20 mm thick are screwed to metal sheet using self-tapping screws. Also, with the help of beams, internal stiffening ribs are formed, between which the insulation is attached.

Stage 2. Installation of insulation sheets. The material is cut into pieces so that they fit exactly into the recesses between the stiffening ribs. The thickness of the insulation should not be greater than the thickness of the beams.

Stage 3. Finishing doors. A canvas is cut out of eco-leather or leatherette and attached to the bars with nails with wide heads. The edges of the canvas should overlap the ends of the beams so that the material completely covers the entire structure.

You can also use laminated MDF sheet cut to size instead of fabric.

Conduct self-insulation doors are not difficult, the main thing is to follow all stages of restoration work.

In winter, during severe frosts, ice, frost or condensation may appear on the inner surface of the door - this indicates freezing of the metal entrance door. What to do in such a situation? The difference in temperature outside and indoors leads to such consequences and indicates poor thermal insulation of the door. Therefore, we will consider in detail how to insulate a metal door in a private house and apartment.

Metal by itself cannot serve as a heat insulator, i.e. it's different high coefficient thermal conductivity. Honeycomb cardboard, which is used to fill most cheap ones, e.g. Chinese doors also fails to cope with the function assigned to it. And it doesn’t have such a task; it is designed to reduce the weight of a metal door.

In rare cases, the cavity of the door leaf is filled with insulation, but it is impossible to check its presence in doors in the middle price range, so you have to take the seller’s word for it, and then think about how to insulate an iron door with your own hands.

It's obvious that simple ways Like sticking a seal around the perimeter of the door leaf can do little to help in this situation. A more serious approach is required here, in particular, to insulate the entrance metal door in accordance with all the rules for carrying out thermal insulation work.

Do-it-yourself insulation of a metal entrance door

The process begins with the selection of the optimal thermal insulation material, which determines the effectiveness of insulation and its duration.

How to insulate a metal door

  • penofol. Thanks to the reflective ability of the foil layer, it retains almost all the heat in the room. Used only as additional material;
  • rigid insulation. These include polystyrene foam and expanded polystyrene (penoplex). Their advantage is ease of installation and relatively low price. Since it is not hygroscopic, it does not require additional films. This is the only suitable option for installation in a cottage, country or rural house. Indeed, in this case the door serves as a barrier to low temperatures and wind, which is not observed in apartment buildings, where the door opens into the entrance.

Note. When choosing thermal insulation material, give preference to penoplex (expanded polystyrene). It is an order of magnitude denser than polystyrene foam and will provide the door with much more effective insulation.

  • soft insulation. This category includes glass wool and mineral (basalt) wool. Their difference is only in the raw materials, in their thermal insulation characteristics they are not much different. Mineral wool is environmentally friendly, Fire safety, the ability to vary the installation height without additional trimming.

Cotton wool is sold in rolls or sheets, which makes it possible to cut blanks from it required sizes and place them in cells formed by the stiffening ribs of the door itself. To ensure the required height (thickness of insulation), simply press down the material (press cotton wool), thermal insulation properties will not be harmed.

But cotton wool has a drawback that prevents it from being recommended for installation in iron doors for private homes. Because With different sides the doors work different temperatures, and sometimes the difference is up to 40°C (-15 outside and +25 in the house). This leads to a shift of the dew point inside the insulation, and the wool gets wet. The effect can be neutralized by installing a hydrobarrier film. But, nevertheless, professionals do not recommend insulating an iron door with cotton wool in a private house. It can become an acceptable option only if the entrance door to the apartment is insulated, since in this case there is not such a big difference in temperatures (it is much warmer in the entrance than outside).

  • inflatable insulation. Presented with polyurethane foam. Spraying makes it possible to fill all the cracks, but has a high price.

Thermal insulation of luxury metal doors is carried out using three types of materials: foam plastic (main material), penofol (additional), polyurethane foam (filling the voids of the stiffeners and frames).

Note: a set of materials, which can be found in stores, for insulation outer door made of metal is of little use, because They use dermantin, foam rubber or synthetic winterizer as insulation.

Additional materials for door insulation

  • liquid nails, hardware, polyurethane foam - when insulating with rigid insulation;
  • hydrobarrier film, vapor barrier, adhesive tape - when soft;
  • sheet of fiberboard, plywood, OSB (for cladding, if the door leaf is non-removable);
  • decorative material for finishing: dermantin, MDF panels or plastic panels;
  • seal (rubber, silicone).

Tools you will need: tape measure, drill, jigsaw, screwdriver, pencil, stationery knife.

Note. When working with glass wool, you need to take care of protection respiratory tract, hands and eyes (respirator, gloves, goggles).

Frame structure inside the door (stiffening ribs)

After the door leaf is disassembled, it may turn out that there are no stiffeners in the door cavity, then they will need to be made.

For this, a metal profile or corner with dimensions corresponding to the thickness of the door is used. Its widespread use is due to the fact that it is easier to weld metal to metal surface doors.

However, many masters agree that it is better to use wooden beam, because Wood has lower thermal conductivity. The difficulty when working with timber is that it is difficult to secure it securely enough without damaging it. front layer door leaf.

How to insulate a metal entrance door in a private house

Insulation technology steel door from the inside will be described in several stages, in the form step by step instructions so that even without experience in construction you can do the work yourself.

  • the door leaf is removed from the hinges. Masters are able to perform work “by weight”, but for a beginner this can cause difficulties;
  • all overhead elements are dismantled. These include: lock lining, handle, peephole;
  • The casing on one side is dismantled. If the door is collapsible, i.e. it can be opened without disturbing one of the layers, then the dismantled plane of the door is set aside and then installed in place. Otherwise, one of the sides of the door (usually the inside) is cut off and subsequently replaced with a sheet of chipboard and finishing material;

Note. When planning to insulate a Chinese metal door, be prepared for the fact that it will not be possible to disassemble it. You just have to cut one of the front sides of the canvas and replace it later with an overlay made from a sheet of chipboard.

  • If there are stiffening ribs inside the door cavity, you can begin laying insulation. Otherwise, you need to take care of their arrangement;
  • formation of internal sheathing. To do this, first make a frame to which the stiffeners are mounted. The metal profile is welded, and the beam is fastened with hardware so that the integrity of the front covering of the door is not compromised.

Advice. It is not recommended to make only longitudinal or transverse frame cells; it is advisable to use a combination of them. Especially when it comes to insulation with soft insulation materials, which tend to settle (fall down) during operation.

  • Insulation is placed in the cells of the frame. When laying, you need to ensure that it completely fills the entire space of the cell, while corresponding to its height;
  • When insulating with foam plastic, it is cut into blanks of the required size, liquid nails are applied to the blank and glued to the surface of the door. If there are cracks, it is recommended to fill them with foam;

How to insulate a metal door with polystyrene foam - video

  • when insulating with cotton wool, work begins with laying the film, which should occupy the entire inner surface of the door and extend beyond it by 150-200 mm. Next, the cotton wool is cut into pieces of 10-15 mm. larger than the size of the cell (expanding a little, the cotton wool will easily fill them) and placed in the cells. Then the cotton wool is covered with a second layer of film, and the folds from the bottom layer of film are wrapped on upper layer films and sealed with tape. Thus, the cotton wool turns out to be in a case, which will become reliable protection from moisture.

Note. If the cotton wool is not protected, it will get wet and conduct heat; in addition, it will come into contact with the inner surface of the door. And constant exposure to moisture on metal will sooner or later cause it to rust. Moreover, the average door does not have internal corrosion protection.

  • the insulation is covered with penofol (if the door is facing the room) with a reflective layer into the room;
  • if the door leaf is disassembled without problems, then the second removable part is installed in place, and the insulation of the metal door can be considered complete. But often, it is necessary to prepare a covering sheet that will replace the panel removed from one side of the door.

For these purposes it is used chipboard or plywood. To prepare the workpiece you need:

  • transfer the dimensions of the door leaf, including the peephole and lock, onto the sheet;
  • cut out a template;
  • screw the sheet to the door frame with self-tapping screws;
  • eliminate irregularities, protruding edges, and also grind off the edges of the sheet a little.

Note. Fastening cladding panel performed from bottom to top. This way it will level out as you screw it in.

  • last executed decorative upholstery or door trim and installation of previously removed elements and fittings.

The result of all work will be an insulated steel door, which will reliably protect the premises from heat loss.

Now you can hang it back on the hinges and check the functionality of the handles and lock.

But it is worth noting that insulating a metal door only in the area of ​​the door leaf is a small part possible works on thermal insulation of doors.

One of the sources of heat loss is the door frame. In most cases, it is hollow, which means it transmits heat well.

Insulation of metal door frames

The door frame is insulated by blowing polyurethane foam inside metal profile. It's easy to do. It is enough to drill holes in the frame profile (not through holes) at a distance of 400-450 mm. The diameter of the hole is equal to the diameter of the tube from the foam container. After this, the cylinder tube is inserted into the profile and the foam fills the free space.

Note. In the same way, you can insulate the metal stiffeners in the door cavity immediately after installing the frame.

Upholstery and insulation of an iron door - video

Additional insulation of the entrance metal door

In addition to the work performed, there are two more directions through which heat escapes outside (blowing from under the iron entrance door).

  1. Through a loose fit of the door leaf to the frame. This problem can be eliminated by gluing a rubber seal around the perimeter of the door.
  2. Through door slopes. In this case, you will have to dismantle the slopes and inspect the safety of the foam that was used when installing the door. Restore foam if necessary. Then make a new insulated slope.

All work on insulating street or apartment metal doors can be done independently. But if you are afraid of making a mistake, it is better to order the services of a master. The cost of his work will be from 1,500 rubles. (excluding material cost). And the final price will be determined taking into account the type of door, the complexity of dismantling one side of the door leaf, the presence of stiffeners, the type of seal and the type of finishing material.

However, the costs of insulating external doors made of metal are always justified, since they entail a significant reduction in heat loss through the doorway and avoid the appearance of condensation on the surface of the door, which leads to the destruction of the door leaf.

Tags: Doors, Entrance doors, Metal door, Insulation

A high-quality metal door gives a feeling of reliability and security, but at the same time it also has significant drawbacks. Due to its thermal conductivity, condensation often appears on the door, which has an adverse effect on the metal and destroys it over time. In addition, a metal door does not retain heat well, so you need to know how to insulate a metal door from the inside.

How to insulate a metal front door with your own hands

In order for the house to always be warm, and the door to serve for a long time and not be subject to corrosion, it must be insulated from the inside. The choice of materials is quite large, but most often fiber or foam plastic is used. Thermal insulation boards cover cold bridges and form a microclimate that does not allow cold to penetrate into the room.

Fiber-based slabs are non-combustible stone, mineral wool in rolls or slabs. This material retains heat well and does not allow outside noise to pass through. The main advantage of fiber boards is their ease of installation.

Significant disadvantage Such insulation is lack of moisture protection, that is, when moisture gets in, volume is lost and the quality of thermal insulation decreases. Fibrous materials It is advisable to use it to insulate the entrance door in an apartment building.

For private houses, you need to use moisture-proof material as the basis for insulation. Polystyrene or polystyrene foam is perfect for this purpose. These materials are produced in the form of slabs. Polystyrene foam is a foamed material with air bubbles, while polystyrene contains nitrogen instead of air, which improves its performance and increases its resistance to high temperatures.

Step-by-step instructions: insulating the front door

In addition to insulation, you will need:

  1. Chipboard, MDF or plywood.
  2. A larch beam equal to the thickness of the protruding elements of the door.
  3. Polyurethane foam.
  4. A sharp thin knife.
  5. Polymer tape.
  6. Putty or cement mortar.
  7. Putty knife.
  8. Universal glue.
  9. Screwdriver and jigsaw.

The frame for the front door is often made of a metal corner. This frame is secured with iron pins. The gaps left during installation of the frame are sealed with foam. If, when insulating the door, the foam changes color to yellow or brown, then it must be removed and the holes foamed again. Before sealing cracks, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the surface and moisten it for better adhesion. After the foam has hardened, the excess is cut off and puttied or plastered. The plaster should go over the box in order to securely fasten it and make it invisible.

Before starting work, you need to remove all the fittings from the door. Then a frame is made from timber. The beam goes along the perimeter and has two crossbars. It is attached with self-tapping screws so that they do not come out from the outside of the door. The thermal insulation material is cut with a thin stationery or regular sharp knife.

Insulation is inserted between the frame and the metal. It can be glued to the surface, fastened between the beams, or used both methods together. The gap between the insulation should be minimal.

The glue is applied in an even layer, after which the insulation is glued to the surface. For a better fit, you need to press it and hold it for a couple of minutes. If there are gaps after gluing, they need to be filled with foam or thin strips of polystyrene placed on the glue.

Then the door trim is done. This will protect the insulation and decorate the door leaf. For these purposes, laminated MDF, chipboard or plywood is used, which has moisture-proof properties and is covered with leatherette.

Cut from sheet to size outside door canvas. Holes for fittings are cut in the canvas using a jigsaw. If plywood is used, it must be covered with dermantine. Fastening is done with a furniture stapler, and the folds of the leather go into inner side. Decorative nails are then driven into the top.

Then the frame on the door is smeared with glue and the canvas is pressed. For reliability, it is secured with self-tapping screws. Self-tapping screws are taken with decorative caps and screwed in at forty-centimeter increments around the perimeter of the door.

Then the fittings are inserted. AND the final stage, the polymer tape is being glued to the door frame, which will protect the door from cold bridges.

Properly insulated metal door long years will protect the house from cold and moisture, and also have an attractive appearance, without losing its soundproofing qualities. Do-it-yourself repairs will help correct any shortcomings in the materials used. Insulate the door in a private house, garage or apartment, then in winter time the room will be warm and cozy.