Need help with insulating my slider door for the winter

[rosencra38]

We usually use the 3m insullation products on all of our windows and this slider door during the winter months and they work really good. This winter I'd like to store my wood on the end of my deck at the slider door (less than 10ft from wood stove) so I don't have to treck the wood in from the opposite end of the house. Problem is if I use the 3m insulation I'd have to take it off and reapply everytime I bring in wood. Does anybody have any good ideas for insulating the slider door while retaining the ability to bring wood in the door? I was thinking about buying a couple 4X8' sheets of 1" foam insulation to stick against the glass but I'm not sure how well they will insulate. I'm not concerned about looking out the windows (to the back yard) but my wife wouldn't like to look at the blue foam from the inside. Any thoughts?

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Edited post below

 

[Cluttermagnet]

You didn't say, but I am assuming these slider doors are at least double glazed? Or not? I like the pink foam sheets. They are available at my local Home Depot and Lowes. Not much R-value, however. They are not all that thick.

You could adhere sheets of the stuff to sliding and stationary door panels, but only if opening clearances allow. I think adhering to the inside of the slider or the outside of a stationary panel wouldn't work. But perhaps on the other sides of each? But then you can't see out your windows- unless- you might cut view ports in them. Well, that's better than nothing. I think the R-values run between about 2 to 5 as the thickness goes from half inch to two inch. You could adhere it using Frost King (or similar) weatherstripping tape. That's the clear stuff in 2in width. It has a less aggressive adhesive, and is not as hard to get back off later.

A view port on the stationary side (inside) could be hinged, like the doors of the old 'speakeasy' bars in the 'roaring twenties' during prohibition. Tape hinge. Simple.

BTW I believe that a lot of expensively heated air is going out the door if you are opening it all the time to get firewood. I decided to risk storing moderate quantities of firewood inside my house. It's good and dry. I think I'll be OK. Zero sign of any insect activity over months of careful watching. Having this 'buffer' allows me to pick the warmest, least windy times to bring more wood inside. That's my plan and I'm stickin' to it. ;-)

 

[Stevebass4]

try this

http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/energy/conservation/basics_1/window_cover.htm

 

[rosencra38]

You didn't say, but I am assuming these slider doors are at least double glazed? Or not? I like the pink foam sheets. They are available at my local Home Depot and Lowes. Not much R-value, however. They are not all that thick.

You could adhere sheets of the stuff to sliding and stationary door panels, but only if opening clearances allow. I think adhering to the inside of the slider or the outside of a stationary panel wouldn't work. But perhaps on the other sides of each? But then you can't see out your windows- unless- you might cut view ports in them. Well, that's better than nothing. I think the R-values run between about 2 to 5 as the thickness goes from half inch to two inch. You could adhere it using Frost King (or similar) weatherstripping tape. That's the clear stuff in 2in width. It has a less aggressive adhesive, and is not as hard to get back off later.

A view port on the stationary side (inside) could be hinged, like the doors of the old 'speakeasy' bars in the 'roaring twenties' during prohibition. Tape hinge. Simple.

BTW I believe that a lot of expensively heated air is going out the door if you are opening it all the time to get firewood. I decided to risk storing moderate quantities of firewood inside my house. It's good and dry. I think I'll be OK. Zero sign of any insect activity over months of careful watching. Having this 'buffer' allows me to pick the warmest, least windy times to bring more wood inside. That's my plan and I'm stickin' to it. ;-)

Thanks for the advice. I'm not really concerned about looking out the windows at all. I don't plan on going outside everytime I need wood, I usually bring in enough wood to last a couple of days.

 

[rosencra38]

try this

http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/energy/conservation/basics_1/window_cover.htm

This is a nice idea that I could possibly use. I wa rethinking things a little and I could probably put the 3m plastic on the slider part that opens with no problems and then maybe use the idea above for the stationary part of the window/door. I'll have to look into this a little further.

 

[Hogwildz]

You could also hang a heavy comforter and cover the entire slider on the inside. You could swing it out of the way while gathering wood, and let it drape back in place when done. Maybe even velcro strips to secure it tight.
Conforters work real well for keeping drafts out and do insulate a tad. Better than nothing. If you use a dark on, you may get some solar heat gain benefit also.

Ive also read somewhere about solar curtains, may be another option.