Keeping the draught out

Towards the end of last year I contacted the council's housing department on behalf of council tenants and owner occupiers of former council properties in the Strathmore Street area who have had new security doors fitted to their communal entrance. The new doors don’t fit the door frame as neatly as the old doors did leading to draughtier internal common areas.

In response I was told that in most of the new installations there is an appreciable gap at the floor level and this tends to be greater than was previously obvious at locations which had a more traditional timber unit in place. Of the 1200 properties across the city that have been fitted with security doors only between 20 to 30 have had an existing door completely replaced with a steel equivalent. The vast majority of installations take place on blocks with no existing door (about 75%) or else on existing doors that are easily adapted to accommodate the locking devices.

Apparently on occasion a bespoke draught brush has been provided if local conditions allow it without hindering the opening and closing of the door.

I recently received an update advising me that the Housing Investment Unit Project Team has now discussed the use of draught excluders and the outcome is that from now on these will be fitted as standard to all new rear steel doors where building design allows.