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Weatherstripping

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Weatherstripping is known here as draught sealing or weather seals, and it is the cheapest comfort work you can have done to an Australian house. Door bottom seals, perimeter seals on external doors, seals on double-hung and awning windows, sealing around an unused fireplace, closing the gaps where pipes and cables enter a wall, and dealing with the exhaust fans and vents that dump conditioned air into a roof space — that is the whole list, and none of it requires opening up a wall.

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It works because Australian houses leak. A lot of the detached housing stock was built with generous gaps at doors, windows and floors, and in the southern states those gaps are why a heated room never quite feels heated. In the north the same gaps let humid air in and make a cooled room harder to hold. Either way the air moving through a gap carries the money with it.

The important discipline is knowing what is a gap and what is a vent. Sealing a house is an exchange: the draughts go, and the moisture that used to leave with them stays. Wet-area exhaust fans, rangehoods, flued heaters and subfloor and roof ventilation are there on purpose, and a job that seals those along with everything else trades a draughty house for a damp one. A good draught sealer closes the leaks and leaves the ventilation alone — and says which is which as they go.

Where the air actually moves in an Australian house

  • Under and around external doors, which is usually the largest single gap in the building.
  • Around window sashes, particularly older double-hung timber windows that have been painted and re-painted.
  • The gaps at skirtings and around floor penetrations in a house with a suspended timber floor over a subfloor.
  • Open fireplaces and redundant flues, which behave like a permanent chimney because that is what they are.
  • Wall penetrations where pipes, conduits and cables pass through, often left unsealed after another trade finished.
  • Ceiling penetrations for exhaust fans and light fittings, which connect the room to the roof space.
  • Manholes and access hatches into the roof space, which are rarely sealed and rarely closed properly.
  • Pet doors, mail slots and old vents left over from an earlier heating arrangement.

Symptoms that point to draughts rather than to the heater

  • A room that will not hold temperature no matter how long the heating or cooling has been running.
  • Cold air moving across the floor at ankle height on a winter evening in the southern states.
  • Curtains or blinds that move slightly when there is no window open.
  • Dust lines on carpet along a skirting board, which show where air has been coming through.
  • Outside noise arriving clearly through a closed door or window, since sound and air use the same gaps.
  • Light visible around a closed external door in daylight.
  • Insects and leaf litter turning up inside near a particular door or window.
  • Smells from a garage, a subfloor or a roof space arriving in a living area.

How a draught sealing visit should run

  • The leaks are located first, room by room, rather than seals being fitted everywhere as a matter of course.
  • Doors are checked for fit before sealing, because a door that has dropped needs adjusting, not padding.
  • Deliberate ventilation is identified and left alone: exhaust fans, rangehoods, flued appliance vents, subfloor and roof vents.
  • Perimeter seals are fitted to external doors, with a bottom seal or door snake chosen for the floor finish underneath.
  • Window seals are matched to the window type, since a double-hung sash needs a different approach from an awning sash.
  • Penetrations through walls and ceilings are closed with an appropriate sealant or collar rather than expanding foam everywhere.
  • Unused fireplaces are dealt with in a way that can be reversed if the fireplace is ever used again.
  • The result is checked with the doors and windows closed, feeling for what is left rather than assuming the job is done.

Seal types and where each belongs

  • Compression seals on door and window stops, which work when the door closes onto them squarely.
  • Brush or blade seals at door bottoms, chosen for whether the floor is tile, timber or carpet and whether there is a threshold.
  • Automatic drop seals for doors where a fixed bottom seal would drag on the floor.
  • V-strip and leaf seals for the sides of sliding sashes, which allow movement while closing the gap.
  • Flexible sealant at fixed junctions and penetrations, which is not the same job as a moving seal.
  • Fire-rated collars and proprietary covers where a penetration needs more than a bead of sealant.
  • Insulated, gasketed covers for roof space access hatches, which are usually the most cost-effective single item in the house.

The mistakes that turn a draughty house into a damp one

Air leakage is also drying. When a house is sealed, the moisture generated inside it — showers, cooking, drying clothes indoors, breathing — has fewer ways out, and if the mechanical ventilation is not working, it condenses on the coldest surfaces. That shows up as window condensation on winter mornings, mould in wardrobes and on the south-facing corners of external walls, and a musty smell in rooms that used to smell of nothing.

The fix is not to reopen the gaps. It is to make sure that the ventilation which was supposed to handle that moisture is actually doing its job: bathroom and laundry exhaust fans that run long enough and discharge outside rather than into the roof space, a rangehood that vents rather than recirculates, and clothes dried outside or in a vented dryer. Draught sealing and mechanical ventilation are two halves of the same project.

The other mistake is sealing what must not be sealed. Any room with a flued gas or solid fuel appliance relies on air, and vents associated with those appliances are not draughts. Subfloor vents under a suspended timber floor are keeping the structure dry. If a seal is proposed for anything that looks like a vent, ask why before it goes in.

When to do it, on the southern calendar

  • Autumn, roughly March to May, is the natural time in the southern states: the leaks are easy to find on the first cold evenings and the work is done before winter.
  • Winter is when draughts are most obvious, so it is the easiest season to locate them and the busiest season to book someone.
  • Spring suits the northern states, ahead of the humidity and the wet season, when the priority is keeping moist air out of a cooled house.
  • Summer is worth using for the jobs that also block heat, such as sealing a roof space hatch and closing gaps on a west-facing wall.
  • In bushfire-prone areas the gaps that let draughts in are the same gaps that let embers in, so this work belongs well before the fire season rather than during it.
  • Any time a door or window is being repaired or replaced is the cheapest moment to deal with its seals.

Draught sealing a rental or a strata apartment

Fixed seals are an alteration, so they need the owner's agreement. The New South Wales tenancy rules protect a defined set of small changes from unreasonable refusal, and draught seals are not among the items named on it — which makes this a request rather than an entitlement. Put it in writing, because a seal screwed to a door frame is precisely what gets argued about at the final inspection.

For renters who would rather not ask, the temporary versions work: a door snake, a removable window seal, a chimney balloon in an unused fireplace, and heavy curtains with a pelmet. None of them need a screwdriver and none of them need consent.

In a strata scheme, work inside your own lot that is cosmetic needs no approval in New South Wales, but a door onto a common corridor or a window in a common wall may involve common property, and by-laws vary. It is a one-email question to the strata manager and a long argument if it is skipped.

Weatherstripping: frequently asked questions

Will draught sealing make my house damp?

It can, if the ventilation is not working. Air leaking through gaps carries moisture out of a house as well as heat, so when the gaps are closed the moisture from showers, cooking and drying clothes indoors has to leave another way. The answer is not to reopen the gaps but to make the deliberate ventilation work: exhaust fans in bathrooms and laundries that run long enough and discharge outside, a rangehood that vents to the outdoors, and clothes dried outside where possible. Draught sealing and ventilation are one job, not two.

What is the single most effective thing to seal first?

In most Australian houses, the external doors — the gap under a door is usually the largest single opening in the building, and it is the cheapest to close. After that, the access hatch into the roof space, which is rarely sealed and connects the house directly to a space that is freezing at dawn and extremely hot by afternoon. Windows, wall penetrations and unused fireplaces follow.

Is there anything that should never be sealed?

Yes. Anything that is ventilation rather than a leak: exhaust fans, rangehood outlets, the vents associated with flued gas or solid fuel appliances, and subfloor vents under a suspended timber floor. Those exist to move air or moisture on purpose, and closing them trades a draughty house for a damp or unsafe one. If a seal is being proposed for something that looks like a vent, ask what it vents before agreeing.

Can I fit draught seals in a rented home?

Fixed seals are an alteration, so you generally need the landlord's permission. In New South Wales a tenant may make changes if the lease allows it or the landlord gives written permission, and a specific list of minor changes cannot be unreasonably refused — but draught seals are not on that named list, so it is a request rather than a right. Temporary options need no permission at all: a door snake, removable window seals, a chimney balloon in an unused fireplace, and lined curtains.

Does draught sealing help in a hot climate as well as a cold one?

Yes, for the opposite reason. In the southern states the point is stopping warm indoor air escaping in winter. In the northern states the point is stopping hot, humid outdoor air getting in and making an air conditioner work harder to hold both temperature and humidity. The same gaps are involved either way, which is why the work is worth doing in Darwin as much as in Hobart.

Sources

  1. NSW Government: Making changes to a rental property
  2. NSW Government: Strata renovation rules

Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. How we write and check our guides

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What affects the cost of weatherstripping

Prices depend on the details of your project. We only publish price ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch quote data or reliable sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the price:

  • Number and type of tasks
  • Time needed and any minimum visit charge
  • Materials and parts
  • Wall type and what's being mounted or hung
  • Height and access

How to compare handymen before you hire

  • Describe all the small jobs up front so the handyman can bring the right tools and give you a realistic estimate.
  • Ask whether they charge by the hour, by the job or with a minimum visit fee.
  • For anything involving wiring, gas or new plumbing, use a licensed trade instead of a general handyman.
  • Check that they carry liability insurance, especially for work on ladders or on the exterior.
  • Ask whether they supply materials or whether you should buy them ahead of time.

Questions to ask handymen before you hire

  • Do you charge by the hour or by the job, and is there a minimum?
  • Can you do all of the jobs on my list, or will some need a licensed trade?
  • Will you bring the materials, or should I buy them?
  • Are you insured if something is damaged while you're working?
  • How do you handle it if a job takes longer than expected?

Weatherstripping permits and local rules

Some weatherstripping work needs a permit or has to meet local bylaws. Rules vary by municipality, so ask your pro whether a permit is needed and who will apply for it — and check with your city or town if you’re unsure.

Permits and licensing

Seasonal maintenance

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