I’m a little bit of a fanatic when it comes to drafts. (Remember the time I weather-stripped my garage doors?) Over time I’ve addressed most of the pesky cracks and crevices that invite cold air into our home. But, there was one draft that I’ve been meaning to serve an eviction notice to since the first winter we lived in our house. Today I’ll show you how to build a fireplace insert draft stopper!

build a diy fireplace insert draft stopper

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper

If you have an old wood-burning stover, or even one converted to gas logs, you likely know this old fireplace can be the source of cold air and drafts in the winter. Even with the damper closed, there is a draft that escapes into the room.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

You can’t weatherstrip the damper (that would be a fire hazard), so I solved the issue by building a rustic reclaimed wood fireplace insert to stop the draft.

How to Make a Vintage Rustic Sleigh Ride Sign | Pretty Handy Girl How cool! You can use this technique to make or transfer any sign graphic.

Want to build your own fireplace insert draft stopper? It’s not hard and you can complete it in an afternoon!

Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper Materials:

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Notes: I chose pegboard because it was slightly cheaper and weighed less than the masonite but was still rigid enough to hold the reclaimed wood. You can ask a Lowe’s employee to cut down the rigid foam insulation for you so you can fit it in your car. You can also have your pegboard cut at Lowe’s if you know your measurements upfront. I chose to use the Kreg Rip Cut because I was anxious to try it out. I liked how it worked and it was a good option if you don’t have a table saw or track saw. Finally, adding the reclaimed lumber is not necessary, I just like the look.  Another option would be to buy foam insulation and wrap it with fabric and batting and simply fit it in the fireplace opening.

Instructions:

Start by measuring your fireplace opening. (Pssst. You can see that our bricks are faux painted in this picture. Learn how I painted my fireplace back to brick without sand-blasting!)

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Check the width of the edge bumper (the one I used is 1/4 inch) and subtract that amount from three sides of the fireplace opening measurements.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Mark the cut lines on your pegboard material.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Lay the pegboard on top of the excess foam insulation and set the saw blade depth just below the pegboard.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Cut the pegboard to size. (If you don’t own a rip cut or track saw, you can make your own DIY Track Saw for your circular saw here!)

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Check the fit of the cut pegboard with the edge bumper inside the fireplace opening. The pegboard should be loose, but allow the edge bumper to compress against the sides for a snug fit.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Building the Reclaimed Lumber Frame:

Using the same dimensions as the pegboard, cut your frame pieces (miter cut the corners for a clean look). 1″ x 4″ cedar boards worked well for the frame.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Use a Kreg Jig to make pocket holes in the corners. Clamp the corners (use a square to maintain true 90 degree angles) and drive the pocket screws into place.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

 

Cut a vertical support piece for inside the center of the frame and attach it with pocket hole joinery.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Cut your reclaimed lumber edges at 45 degree angles. Lay each piece inside the frame and use the speed square to scribe a line where you need to cut.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Dry fit each piece and continue until you’ve filled the frame.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

When all the pieces are cut, set them in the frame.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Time to assemble the “sandwich”. Lay something (scrap plywood, pegboard or foam insulation) on top of the reclaimed lumber design and flip it over so the backside is facing up. Use a liberal amount of construction adhesive on the back of the reclaimed lumber frame.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Lay the pegboard onto the reclaimed lumber and press firmly in place.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Lay the rubber edge bumper onto the side of the frame/pegboard sandwich and measure the area for the rigid foam insulation. Cut insulation to size. It should be inset on the sides and top to allow room for the bumper (as shown in the photo below.)

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Add construction glue to the pegboard. Then lay the rigid foam on top of the pegboard.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

 

Flip the frame over and double secure the frame to the pegboard with finish nails. Be sure that the air pressure is turned down so the nails don’t pierce through the back of the insulation.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Apply the double-stick tape that came with the bumper to the sides of the frame.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Cut the foam bumper for the first side and press it onto the double-stick tape.  Cut the next side and notch out where there are any overlaps.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Firmly secure the bumper to the sides of the frame with a staple gun. This is a necessary step because with repeated removal of the insert, the bumper will eventually come off.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Feel free to add a handle or decorative pull to the front of your insert.

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Press the insert into your fireplace and stop the drafts forever!

As a bonus, it also eliminates that big gaping black hole in the living room. And the insert is easily removed to enjoy a warm fire.

This Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper looks good year-round. My only regret is not making it sooner.

Pretty Handy Girl's Colorful Fall Home Tour

PHGFancySignWinter is coming, help a friend stop drafts too by pinning this image!

Build a Fireplace Insert Draft Stopper with Reclaimed Lumber | Pretty Handy Girl

Want more ways to save on energy bills and prepare for winter? Here are 21 Ways to Get Your Home Ready for Winter.

21 Tips to Get Your House Winter Ready

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes | Pretty Handy Girl

You may sense a theme here, yesterday I talked about weatherstripping the garage. But, as the temps are dropping, it’s important to take some time to seal your home and eliminate drafts wherever they are lurking. One of the biggest offenders in our home was the fireplace. On cold nights, it is cozy to light a fire. But, on the evenings we didn’t light the fire, I had to bundle up in a blanket to combat the drafty fireplace. Even with the flue closed, it just isn’t weather tight.

full_fireplace_mantle

The solution can be as simple as cutting a piece of rigid foam insulation to fit into the opening of your fireplace. If you want some more attractive ideas, you could wrap the insulation with fabric. Or use construction adhesive to attach thin plywood and wood slices to the fireplace insert like Pepper Design Blog did:

Another option would be to cover the insulation with black craft paper and draw a chalkboard scene on it:

Chalkboard fireplaceInspiration from Sophia’s Decor

Finally, if you want an attractive reclaimed wood fireplace draft stopper, you can build your own following my tutorial here.

fireplace-insert-beauty-shot

At the very least you can cut a piece of rigid foam insulation to fit under the flue. Just remember to remove it before you light a fire.

Stay cozy and warm this winter.

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wooden fireplace cover to prevent drafts

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes | Pretty Handy Girl

 

Do you have a garage? Are your garage doors insulated or weather stripped? Or do you have big gaps in the sides like this:

gap_in_garage_door

If you don’t have weather stripping on your garage doors, you could be throwing away money on heating spaces above and/or next to your garage. Not to mention, making it uncomfortably cold for any of us Handy Peeps who work in the garage.

Day 26 – Weatherstrip Your Garage Doors

In an hour you can seal the gaps around your garage door. This could make a huge difference in the temperature of your garage. And you could improve the temperature in adjacent rooms. After installing the weather stripping we noticed a huge difference in the temperature of our bonus room that sits on top of the garage.

A Garage Door Side and Top Weather-strip Kit costs less than $20. Be sure to measure the sides and top of your garage doors and order enough to cover.

Use the nails included in the kit to secure the garage door seal against your doors.

For a time saving tip and more detailed directions you can follow my full tutorial for installing garage door weatherstripping.

These were the resulting temperature shifts after I installed the weather stripping on our garage doors:

Before Weather Stripping:

Outside Temperature Inside Garage Temperature Temperature Difference
45ËšF 55ËšF 10 degrees
30ËšF 45ËšF 15 degrees

 

After Weather Stripping: 

Outside Temperature Inside Garage Temperature Temperature Difference
45ËšF 65ËšF 20 degrees
30ËšF 58ËšF 28 degrees

 

Go ahead and seal those gaps and enjoy a warmer garage and home this winter.

garage_doors

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adding weatherstrips to garage door

Protect Spigot from Frozen Burst Pipes | Pretty Handy Girl

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes | Pretty Handy Girl

Winter is coming and this year I want to help you protect your home from a burst pipe because it froze. Much like your water pipes (which should have foam insulation sleeves on them,) it’s important to protect your spigot on the outside of your house from freezing.

Protect Spigot from Frozen Burst Pipes | Pretty Handy Girl

Luckily, Frost King makes this handy dandy Insulated Outdoor Faucet Cover.

Day 12: Protecting Spigots from Frozen Burst Pipes

To install the insulated cover, you simply slip the interior cord loop over the spigot handle.

Protect Spigot from Frozen Burst Pipes | Pretty Handy Girl

Cinch the cord lock tight onto the styrofoam cover.

Protect Spigot from Frozen Burst Pipes | Pretty Handy Girl

And your spigot is protected from freezing leading to a costly burst pipe.

Protect Spigot from Frozen Burst Pipes | Pretty Handy Girl

The nice thing about these covers is they can be installed and removed in seconds. If you need to use your spigot, it’s simple to remove and then replace the cover.

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protect frozen pipes from bursting

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install weather stripping garage door

Last year I froze my handy buns off working in the garage. (This year they returned after eating loads of Christmas cookies! Ugh.) In all seriousness, while searching for bigger and more powerful heaters it occurred to me that I might want to try weatherstripping my garage doors.

seal garage door

When you have garage doors with no weatherstripping, you might have a gap as big as your hand!  Can you imagine? That is 68 linear feet (2 doors) of cold air rushing in. This is the equivalent of all the windows in your house being cracked open an inch. You’d never dream of doing that in the winter, and yet that was the situation in our garage.

Weatherstripping garage doors is a very easy DIY task that shouldn’t take more than an hour. Buy neoprene rubber stripping from your local hardware store or home improvement warehouse. (I purchased the Garage Door Side and Top Weather-strip Kit by Frost King for under $20.)  The rewards of this project are that you can take your garage from an icebox to comfortably cool in less than 60 minutes!

Here are my unscientific results of the temperatures in our garage before and after weatherstripping.

Before Weather Stripping:

Outside Temperature Inside Garage Temperature Temperature Difference
45ËšF 55ËšF 10 degrees
30ËšF 45ËšF 15 degrees

 

After Weather Stripping: 

Outside Temperature Inside Garage Temperature Temperature Difference
45ËšF 65ËšF 20 degrees
30ËšF 58ËšF 28 degrees

I was so thrilled by the difference it made that I knew I wanted to share the tutorial with y’all. But, sadly I didn’t take any photos. So, I asked my friend, Holly (the one with the adorable house that has loads of character and charm), if I could help her install some on her doors. Luckily I didn’t have to twist her arm too much. Here is how we did it (the super quick way, but not necessarily the “correct” way.)

Weatherstripping Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

weather stripping seal garage door tools

Open the package of weatherstripping and remove the bag of nails included. Put on your hearing protection and safety glasses.

garage door sealing weather strip

Unroll the weather stripping and pull the end up to the top of the garage door on one side. The short side of the foam strip should be against the frame of the door, and the longer side should be pressed lightly against the garage door.garage door weather proofing

Nail one nail into the frame of the door to hold the stripping in place.

weather stripping garage door

(Here is where we cheated.) Instead of using only nails, use the brad nailer to attach “U” shaped staples into the weather stripping. After every 4th staple, hammer another nail into the frame. By using mostly staples we were able to cut down significantly on the install time. Be sure to start and end with a nail.

applying weather strip to garage door

At the bottom of the door, trim the weatherstripping at an angle as shown. We left a longer tail on the door frame side to close up the gap under the door frame.

garage door weather stripping corners

Continue attaching weather stripping along the top of the door. Alternate between hammering a nail and then four staples.

weather stripping garage door top

When you reach the sides, cut your weather stripping so that it meets the side pieces. Do not let the weatherstripping overlap or it will create a gap.

cut garage weather stripping to exact fit

Repeat for the second garage door (if you have two.)

after garage weather stripping applied

Here are a few other bonus features of the weatherstripping:

  • Quieter. Which means I can get away with using power tools a little later at night.
  • The bonus room above the garage stays warmer. Before it was always chilly up there.
  • Less critters. Since installing the weatherstripping I’ve seen a lot fewer spiders and centipedes.
  • Now when I use the space heater, I can bump up the temperature in the garage by a few degrees per hour. Before the weatherstripping, the space heater really didn’t warm the garage because all the heat was being lost out the sides of the doors.
  • Do I even have to say it? Energy savings! We don’t have to pay as much to heat the bonus room. And I don’t spend hours running the space heater.

I should note that our garage has insulation in the walls. If yours doesn’t, you may not notice as big a difference as I did.

I’d love to hear from you if you tackle this easy project and if you notice a huge change in temperature in your garage too. I can’t tell you how excited I am with the results. I can continue to work in my garage/workshop in comfort through the winter now!garage door weather stripping tutorial