Slamming Doors

[Tom Bender]

We have a couple of outside doors that need a little slam to get into the weatherstripping and latch. They are well installed, can be pushed to with one finger but tend to get slammed lightly. They are heavy doors and this shakes the wall which can be heard thru the house. What kinds of fixes can you suggest? Door closers would be annoying and major wall surgery would be ,,,well major, but possible I guess.

[Dave Zellers]

You're in hockey country- Seems like a gentle hip check would do it. ;)

[John TenEyck]

Is it possible to change the weather stripping to either a softer type of the same dimensions or a slightly shallower type? You may also be able to move or file the latch so the door latches earlier.

John

[Bradley Gray]

I really like the silicone flap seals from Resource Conservation. I have some that have been in service for 25 years

[Mel Fulks]

When I was in grade school , hardware stores and "5 and 10cent stores" sold those rubber ball 'soft closers' . Piece of
wire a few inches long with a small rubber ball on the bottom. When the spring propelled door shut quickly to keep out
flies the ball would swing out and get between door and jamb just long enough to prevent a big slam noise . Then the ball was thrown out and door closed with a small bang. Perhaps you could Google up one of those.

[Doug Dawson]

We have a couple of outside doors that need a little slam to get into the weatherstripping and latch. They are well installed, can be pushed to with one finger but tend to get slammed lightly. They are heavy doors and this shakes the wall which can be heard thru the house. What kinds of fixes can you suggest? Door closers would be annoying and major wall surgery would be ,,,well major, but possible I guess.
Look closely at the fit between the door and the frame. If it’s not perfect, the hinges can be bent slightly. It doesn’t take much. (There are tools for this.)

[Jim Matthews]

I wonder if the same seal treatment for convertibles might help?

https://www.nextzettusa.com/gummi-pflege-rubber-care-stick/

[Adam Herman]

I really like the silicone flap seals from Resource Conservation. I have some that have been in service for 25 years


this stuff? looks interesting.
http://www.conservationtechnology.com/building_weatherseals_components.html

[Bruce King]

If the weather stripping is new it will be hard to close for awhile. If it’s just a nice tight installation where the bolt won’t drop into the strike plate until in further it’s actually correct for proper sealing. You don’t slam these newer type doors, just push or pull with the door handle until it latches. If that does not work they might still make an adjustable strike plate.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

It's probably the weather stripping getting stiff in the cold and requiring more force. You could switch weatherstriping, I like the magnetic stuff if its an option, helps close the door itself. If it's shaking the wall, may be that the sill is not fastened down. It being loose will make all of the force of the door shutting go to the king studs, which are perfectly engineered to transfer force to the wall. A sill that is fastened down absorbs a lot of that force into the lower plate or foundation, which is directly connected to a lot more mass and will help mitigate it to some extent. GRK Caliburn masonry screws work well, nothing wrong with a little PL400 adhesive under there too. Worth a look anyhow.

[Tom M King]

I really like the silicone flap seals from Resource Conservation. I have some that have been in service for 25 years

29 years here.

[Tom M King]

this stuff? looks interesting.
http://www.conservationtechnology.com/building_weatherseals_components.html

I've used probably half the stuff on that page, for various things. For entry doors, I don't remember using anything but the WS15, but I always made all the jambs.

[Larry Edgerton]

Another vote for Conservationtechnology. About thirty years on all custom doors and no failures that I know of. One on a restaurant/bar door has been opened and closed probably millions of times in thirty years and they still look good. That one has the WS11 and I was skeptical how long it would last with a 450# door, but still good as of last year. Like Tom, I make the jambs so I can prepare for it.

[Tom Bender]

Ok the problem is not stiff weatherstripping, it's a 40 pound door and a 10 pound wall.

The suggestion to look at the transfer of force to the bottom plate is good. I'll do that. And since the door we use most closes into a wall that is backed up behind the striker side by a wall perpendicular I'll make sure the transfer of force there is solid.

[Bruce King]

Are you saying that the door won’t latch when pushed at or near the door knob?

[Tom Bender]

Normally people don't gently push a door shut, we give it a little throw, enough to move the door, enter the weatherstripping, counter any air pressure difference (it's an outside door) and engage the latch. Typically there is a little extra momentum. It latches fine. But when someone throws the door shut the door weighs enough more than the wall that it shakes the wall like a drum. Now that I've talked it thru here I know that I need to stiffen the drum.

[Doug Dawson]

Normally people don't gently push a door shut, we give it a little throw, enough to move the door, enter the weatherstripping, counter any air pressure difference (it's an outside door) and engage the latch. Typically there is a little extra momentum. It latches fine. But when someone throws the door shut the door weighs enough more than the wall that it shakes the wall like a drum. Now that I've talked it thru here I know that I need to stiffen the drum.
The door to my garage used to do that. Then I covered the surrounding wall with all kinds of French cleats with many dozens of clamps hanging from them, among other things, shelves etc, and it damped right out. Like an exoskeleton to make up for what was undoubtedly a lack of adequate internal bracing.

Just say, If you can still see the walls then you’re doing something wrong. Etc.

[Kevin Jenness]

Doors with a solid closing sound have their own issues.

I used to work in the woodshop of a local custom design build company. One of the owners was trying to sell a parsimonious client (with a 4000 sq. ft. house under construction) on a door package. The woodshop manager was detailed to discuss the matter with the client, who said, "Your doors make such a great solid sound when they close". The manager replied, "yeah- ka-ching!", thereby sinking the deal. The company owner was not amused.

In regards to the op's issue, the ka-ching sound comes from a heavy door with good hardware and weatherstripping in a solid jamb well anchored to a solidly built wall.

Another vote here for RCT weatherseals.