It may seem counterintuitive to replace your external doors during the coldest part of the year — it may even seem crazy. But the truth is that winter is in many ways the ideal time to upgrade old front and patio doors with newer, more energy-efficient ones.
There are several reasons for this. First, the winter months (particularly January and February) are the slowest time of the year for most building material supply companies, which means there is a good chance you will be able to take advantage of reduced rates and product sales to get the best possible deal on a new set of doors.
Second, winter is also a slow time for contractors, which means that you will have a lot more freedom to book the work around your own schedule. If you have hired contractors in the past to do a renovation project in the spring, summer, or fall, you probably know just how difficult scheduling can be.
In most cases, homeowners simply have no control over when the work happens, and this can make things extremely difficult for hard-working professionals who don’t have the luxury of taking time off to oversee renovations.
Finally, doors play an important role in providing a tight thermal envelope — experts say that in most houses, ten to fifteen percent of all heat loss happens because of poorly insulated doors (you can click here to learn more about the role doors play in insulating your home). This means that upgrading to steel or fibreglass entry doors can play a huge role in reducing your home’s overall energy loss and lowering your heating bill.
If you do decide to swap out your old doors for new ones this winter, however, there are a few things you should keep in mind if you want the process to go as smoothly as possible:
- Have the Work Done When you aren’t Home: Replacing your doors is going to mean letting an awful lot of cold air into the house. Planning to have the work done on a day when you don’t need to be at home means you can turn the thermostat down and avoid the cold altogether.
- Make the Contractor’s Work Easier:This is generally good advice for any home renovation. Clearing the worksite and laying down your own groundsheets is a great way to ensure that the contractor can work as quickly and efficiently as possible
- Insulate your Living Space: Heat barriers will help you minimize overall heat loss, and can be fairly simple to construct. Hanging a thick sheet of plastic or a heavy blanket between the entranceway and the main part of the house is a great way to make sure cold draughts are kept out. Of course, it is important to erect heat barriers in such a way as to not impede the work itself!
External doors play a vital role in your home, and new, high-quality energy-efficient doors can go a long way toward improving your house’s value and curb appeal. If there are signs that your current front or patio doors aren’t making the grade, don’t wait until spring to replace them — if you follow these easy steps, installing new doors during the winter can be absolutely painless.