Door Knob Air Leak

Door Knob Air Leak - Look Above At Giant Gaps!

Eric Shimomura lives in Clayton, DE and has a door knob air leak on an exterior door. Here's his question:

"How do I prevent air leaks through the door knob?  It's not the door itself, just the door knob and dead bolt assemblies."

Here's my answer:

Eric, in all my years of answering questions, I've never had this one before!

Related Links

How to Replace a Door Knob - Easy As Pie

Air Leaks in Antique Door Hardware - WATCH THIS VIDEO!

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All Common Door Knobs Leak Some Air

Let me start by saying that most door knobs leak air. The moving parts of the knobs have tight tolerances, but not tight enough to be air or waterproof.

I'm going to assume the holes in the doors have been drilled correctly - meaning they're the right size so the hardware overlaps onto the door's surface.

I'm also going to assume the door knob and deadbolt locks are tight against the doors and there's no wobble. If there is wobble, watch the video above where I show how to tighten up a knob.

This means the air is just leaking through the mechanical parts and the tiny gaps in the metal.

Some inexpensive knob and lock hardware might not have the tighter tolerances that high-quality lock sets tend to have.

Here's a high-quality lock set that will leak very little air. Don't buy pieces of crap from the big box stores. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW to order this amazing lock set.

Parts Must Move Without Restrictions

It must be remembered that you can't add gaskets, insulation, etc. inside the working area of the lock sets because this would interfere with the movements.

I'd be sure the door knobs are tight to the door. If the hardware seems loose, then I can see why lots of air might be passing through.

If the hardware is tight, I can't think of any way to stop this minute amount of air that's passing through the door knobs.

Tackle Larger Air Leaks For Better ROI

My guess is you probably have other air leaks in and around your house that are allowing 100 to 1,000 times more air in. These are robbing you of energy dollars much more than the tiny amount of air a typical lockset might allow into your home.

I'd concentrate on those if I were you.

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