Project Snowballs, DIY, How Hard Can It Be?

It was so nice out yesterday, minus the wind, that I felt like doing some weatherstripping.

• This is easy, you just take down the old and install the new. I was delighted to see that there were screws included in the package instead of nails. It is too hard to nail those tiny brads with the door closed. You need to have the door closed so you can tell if the strip is touching the door.
  

• I pushed the strip up tight to the door and with my 18V screwdriver I zipped those screws in fast.
  

• Then I opened the door and closed the door to check for leaks. But the door wouldn't shut, not unless you put your whole body weight into it. Shoot, OK, I'll adjust it. Luckily the slots for the screws were large enough you could move it a bit without taking the whole screw out.

• Then the door shut nicely. But then I could see daylight in the crack. So I adjusted some more, then some more.

• Maybe if I move the door latch-catch thing slightly to the inside it would catch the latch better. I took off the hardware and was amazed at the number of times this piece must have been fooled with over the house's almost 90 years. Some pretty big openings in there from the large, old antique hardware.

• This required Bondo. I'm getting pretty good with Bondo. I filled the old screw holes with glued slivers of wood and hollowed out areas with the Bondo stuff, sanded it smooth and replaced the hardware.

• Very nice. The door shut perfectly, almost no air coming through the cracks around the door. I still need to replace the overhead top piece, though, that's another day.

• I put my tools away and cleaned up my mess, vacuumed where I had chiseled some wood and then locked the door. Ooops. The deadbolt now won't fit in its hole.

• Oh, that Murphy's Law. I went over my options. Undo everything I had just done......or move the deadbolt latch. More Bondo, more chiseling, but in the end, the door closes and the locks are striking center of the hardware now and is much more solid. I used longer, better screws than what was there. And..... the whole reason I did this, the wind stopped howling through the door.