42 in. Brown Cinch Door Seal Top and Sides (5-Piece)

We were initially very impressed with the ease of installation and performance of this draft sealing strip. Unfortunately after about 5 months of use on our front door, the joint where the two halves of the rubber molding are attached started to deform. We removed the plastic tube that is used to attach the two halves of the rubber strip and this seemed to help however the deformation just kept getting worse. This problem only affected the hinged side of the door and seems to be created by the 'sliding' movement of the door as it returns to the closed position. This motion pulls the rubber out of the metal frame and squashes it in the gap between the door and the frame. In the end, it wrecked the paint job on our front door as you can see from the attached pics. The door had been repainted about 18 months earlier, so the paint was fully cured and this problem wasn't caused by the paint being too fresh. The top door strip and the strip on the side by the handle weren't affected by this problem, only the hinged side. In the end we just pulled the rubber strip out of the metal frame on the hinged side of the door and we're trying to figure out how to remove the aluminum sealer frame from the door frame without destroying yet more of the paintwork as the adhesive used on the metal sealer frames is quite strong.

This weatherstrip has two unusual characteristics. First, it's a study metal strip with a rubber insert. Second, it goes on the outside of inward-opening doors. The adhesive sticks well. I was able to quickly reposition the end of one strip without peeling paint or losing adhesion. It goes on easily, although the joint between the 42" strips on the left and right sides of the door wasn't as pretty as I wanted. It was unclear whether the 1/2" of rubber that sticks out of each end of the metal strip is intentional or should be trimmed for a tight joint. I ended up trimming it and still had trouble making a perfectly aligned butt joint for the two strips. There's one big advantage to this design. My door is warped enough that the top left corner doesn't close tightly against the jam. The previous traditional weatherstripping let a draft in through the resultant crack. With the Cinch weatherstrip I was able to push it tightly against the door to get a good seal.

Our situation was a little different than the one in the directions on the Cinch package. But we have tried so many conventional seals with no luck. The inside of our kitchen door is sealed, however the outside is not. The frame is a little uneven and the door does not completely seal on the outside when closed. Whenever it rained the door would swell and become almost impossible to open. We saw Cinch Door Seal in one of our searches to find something, once again, to try to seal it. We thought we might as well give it a try. Nothing else has worked. We put it on the outside of the door instead of the frame. It was so very easy, and quick. Really was a Cinch! Went up in seconds. Cinch, Great Name for a Great Product. You can see in the pictures how it seals. It really works! Got it up just in time for some unusually heavy rain-and it worked! I am so excited we discovered Cinch and It Really Seals.

I'd been looking for an alternative to the worn out foam weather stripping around my front door for a while. Because the door is unevenly mounted, foam that was too thick in some places wouldn't be thick enough in others, or could prevent the door from closing. Using this cinch door seal gets around that, as it forms a seal with the outside of the door (assuming the door opens in). The first challenge in mounting the product is that you need a hacksaw. The product comes pre-cut into 5 equal lengths of door seal, but you'll almost certainly need to cut the one used for the top as well as two of the four lengths used for the sides. Second, I realized that you really have to push the door away from the doorjam while mounting the seal - you cannot just mount the cinch door seal flush against the door in its natural closed position - the bond will not be tight enough. The rubber seal is rather stiff, so pushing the door away while simultaneously mounting the product at least means that when the door closes, it will be jammed against the rubber seal, not rest gently against it. The third thing I realized, and this was a bit late - you CANNOT remove the product to remount it once it is mounted. The 3M sticky material will rip right off the door seal. Thus, I lost an entire length of door seal when I mounted the first one without pushing the door away from the door jam. Once you get the product measured, cut, and adhered to the doorjam (again, making sure to push the door away as you do it), the result is a relatively good seal. I can still see some light coming through around the door jam, so it's probably not airtight (unless the rubber is somewhat transluscent, which I don't think it is). Overall, I think the product is good. I wish the instructions had been a bit more detailed so I didn't have to learn how to mount it through trial and error. Furthermore, I would probably recommend using it in addition to weather stripping for a more airtight seal. In addition, assuming your front door opens into the home, this product has to be mounted on the outside, which means the door seal may negatively affect the aesthetics of your front entry. Perhaps it's better used on a back door.

Did a good job of sealing our door

Met expectations. The adhesive tape makes it easy to install though one must be very careful to ensure a tight fit. I suggest pushing the vinal seal against the closed door at a 45-degree angle and then slowly lowering the adhesive section to the door frame. Once the adhesive sticks, it is practically impossible to reposition. Installing with four hands may help with a successful installation.

In the winter the 'vinyl' gets stiff. If these are installed so they actual provide a seal contact with the door and they get cold in the winter weather they get stiff and it makes slamming the door imperative to get it to latch.