Doors – Door weatherstripping: is this slot a kerf or something else

door-framedoorsweatherstripping

I recently moved to a new place, and the front door is a little drafty in parts. It looks like the previous owner put white EPDM rubber foam tape over a hard but flexible vinyl strip that was inserted by the side of the door stop.

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In the second picture, I pulled that vinyl insert out. Is the slot it goes into a kerf for weatherstripping, like I can buy something like this from home depot https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-E-O-1-in-x-7-ft-White-Vinyl-Clad-Foam-Kerf-Door-Seal-DS7W-25/100205412 to replace it? Or is the slot something totally different, and that vinyl strip is not meant to be removed?

Wasn't really clear to me why the previous owner put foam tape on it instead of replacing it…the foam tape still leaves a gap and does nothing to stop the drafts.

Best Answer

Yes, you are correct that the slot may be used for insertion of kerf-type weather-stripping, either for the Z-compression-foam shown in your link or a simple "flexible bulb" plastic edge that is positioned in the gap by the blade edge in the slot and compressed when the door is closed.