Domakihub How to Fit a Door Draught Excluder in 5 Easy Steps
Stop cold air, noise, and insects from sneaking under your door with the right seal and a few basic tools.
Reviewed by Domakihub home & decor pros · 2026-06-23 · 4 min read
A gap under your front or back door is one of the cheapest energy leaks to fix, yet it gets overlooked in homes, holiday apartments, and hotel rooms alike. The video above from Woodie's walks you through the installation visually; the steps below give you the precise measurements, tool list, and pitfalls specific to wooden and aluminium doors common in Greek properties. Whether you are preparing a villa for rental season or winterising a city apartment, this job takes under an hour and needs no special skills.
Why Draught Excluders Matter in Greek Homes
Greece is sunny for most of the year, but winters in northern regions, mountain areas, and even coastal cities like Athens and Thessaloniki can be genuinely cold. Gaps under external doors let in draughts that force heating systems to work harder, push up electricity bills, and make rooms feel damp. During summer they also let in insects and dust from the street.
For short-term rental properties, a draughty door is a recurring guest complaint. A simple draught excluder fitted once can prevent a one-star review and the energy cost of running an air conditioner or heater to compensate.
Choosing the Right Type of Excluder
The two most practical types for residential use are brush-strip excluders, which screw to the bottom face of the door and allow it to sweep cleanly over tiled or marble floors, and adhesive foam or rubber threshold seals, which attach to the door frame or floor threshold. Brush strips are the better long-term choice for heavy-use doors because foam compresses and degrades within a couple of seasons.
For aluminium doors common in Greek apartment buildings, look for a draught excluder rated for aluminium frames — these come with self-tapping screws or a pressure-fit channel rather than wood screws. For a rental property where durability matters more than cost, choose a stainless or anodised aluminium strip over a plastic one.
How to Fit a Brush-Strip Draught Excluder
- 1
Measure the door width and buy the right strip
Close the door and measure its width from one edge to the other with a metal tape measure. Buy a brush excluder that is at least as long as that measurement — most strips come in 90 cm or 100 cm lengths and can be cut down. Also check the gap beneath the door: if it is more than 10 mm you may need a heavy-duty drop-down seal rather than a standard brush strip.
- 2
Clean and dry the door bottom
Open the door and wipe the bottom face with a damp cloth to remove dust, paint flakes, and old adhesive residue. Let it dry completely. Any moisture or grease will prevent adhesive-backed products from bonding and will cause screw holes to strip in softwood. If the door is painted, lightly sand the bottom face so screws bite into solid timber.
- 3
Mark the screw or adhesive line
Hold the strip against the bottom of the door so the brush or seal just touches the floor when the door is closed — test this by closing the door gently on the strip before fixing it. Mark the screw hole positions in pencil. For a brush strip, aim for the brush to sit flush with the door edge on the outside so it is invisible when the door is closed.
- 4
Cut the strip to length and fix it
Use a hacksaw or strong tin snips to cut the aluminium or plastic body of the strip to the exact door width. File any sharp edges smooth. For a screw-fix strip, drill pilot holes at each marked position using a 2 mm bit to avoid splitting the wood, then drive in the supplied screws with a cross-head screwdriver. Do not overtighten — the strip should sit firm but not bow. For an adhesive seal, peel the backing and press firmly for 30 seconds at each point.
- 5
Test the seal and adjust if needed
Close the door slowly and check that it moves freely without the strip dragging on the floor. Slide a sheet of paper under the closed door: you should feel clear resistance at every point across the width. If you find cold spots, loosen the screws at that section and slide the strip down by 1–2 mm before retightening. For threshold seals on the floor side, apply a strip of silicone along the back edge where it meets the floor to prevent moisture getting underneath.
Rather have a pro handle it?
Get a vetted handyman pro in your city — one number, booked in EN/EL/DE.
FAQ
- Can I fit a draught excluder on a door that opens outward?
- Yes, but the technique is slightly different. For an outward-opening door the strip must be fitted on the inside face of the door bottom so the brush presses against the threshold as the door closes. A drop-down or automatic excluder that retracts when the door opens and drops when it closes is the neatest solution for outward-opening front doors.
- Will a brush strip work on uneven stone or tile floors?
- A brush strip tolerates small irregularities better than a rubber or foam seal because the bristles flex individually to follow the floor surface. For very uneven stone floors — common in older Greek village houses — use a deep-pile brush (15 mm or more) so the bristles can bridge the dips. You can also fit a flexible rubber threshold bar on the floor side to create a flat reference surface.
- How long do draught excluders last, and when should I replace them?
- A good-quality aluminium brush strip fitted on an interior or sheltered exterior door will last five to eight years before the bristles flatten. Foam or rubber seals in exposed locations degrade faster, typically two to three seasons in Mediterranean conditions where heat and UV accelerate ageing. Replace any seal as soon as you can see daylight under the closed door or feel cold air on a winter evening.