We have a big sliding door in my son's room, going out to the deck and because of this, that room gets a little cold in the winter time. Any ideas to insulate the door so the cold doesn't get through?
I'm sorry I don't remember the name of the company ( it was in Wisconsin) but they made custom order thermal shades. Imagine a thin warm blanket on a roll that unrolls down and covers the patio door. It really did the trick and kept us warm and comfy in the winter. Maybe google energy efficient window coverings or something like that. good luck
L.
If you choose curtains, JC Penney's popular drapes (usually pinch pleated, I think) come in a patio door width. Watch for their sales, you have a little time.
I believe there may also be curtain rods for patio doors, that are hinged so you can fold it back, if you need to open the door.
I would also recommend the draft thing for the base of the door. If the weather stripping is letting in air, remove it and put on a new one.
Another thing to consider would be moving your son's bed to an interior wall, so he is not closest to the outside wall/cool air.
Can you tell where the air is getting in? My parents had a sliding door and the air got in at the bottom, so my mom made a draft stopper. It was just a cylinder of fabric that she sewed and then filled with rolled up newspaper. She laid it at the bottom of the door and it really did help. You can also purchase draft stoppers if you don't sew.
If it is really bad, you could get the plastic stuff that you put up and use a blow drier to get it tight. We use this on some old windows in our house that are drafty and it helps a lot as well. We buy ours at Menards.
Good Luck,
D.
Most home improvement stores carry large plastic sheets in a kit that goes over the door. You just use double sided tape and place the plastic over and shrink it with a hair dryer. Its not to expensive just as long as your aren't planning on using that door.
You might want to check and see if you have any air leaks coming through. If so, just take a trip to the hardware store and get some weatherstripping. Also, I've used the window insulation film. It looks like saran-wrap that sticks on with double-sidded tape and then you use a hot hair dryer to shrink it so it's nice and taught. You don't even notice it's there, but it provides an extra layer of air for insulation on the window. I also agree that heavy drapes are a good option as well.
The other ideas sound good - also, insulated drapes. You can also buy insulating backing if you sew, and make your own.
Something that my family has done for as long as I can remeber is buy plastic for the windows. 3M carries the product, you can get it at Wal-Mart, Target etc. They have plastics that goes both on the inside and the out. As long as you don't want to use the sliding doors to go outside at all during the winter this is a GREAT solution. Hope this helps.
Assuming you may still want to use the door from time to time and need a temporary fix, you could get a folding screen in a nice fabric and stand it up in front of the doors. I have found that even closing blinds or curtains can be enough to warm it up some. So you could also get some heavy fabric drapes too.
