Fitting a draught excluder

As I write, winter is here in full force and our cat isn't happy with his bed being beside the garage door as the big gap underneath lets a whole lot of cold through. Even in his nice soft basket, he'd like a be a bit warmer.

So, it's down the DIY store to pick up something to close that gap. I chose a brush style device from the very trustworthy looking Mr Cosy. At under a fiver it's probably going to pay for itself in saved heating bills in a couple of years. That's good for the wallet and environment and extra smugness for the homeowner.

Fitting is withing the capability of anyone who can handle a screwdriver and junior hacksaw.

First, the excluder has to be shortened. As supplied it's 36 inches long so I had to hack off a few inches to fit the door. The brush bit has to be slid back and the plastic holder chopped with the hacksaw. Being PVC it's an easy job - just hold it up to the door, mark with a pencil and chop away.

The metal strip that holds the brush has to be shortened next. The instructions say to use pliers but don't explain this. What you do is chop the metal with the wire cutting part of the pliers. This probably won't cut through it - at least if your tools are around 40 years old - but it will weaken the metal and you can bend it back and forth to snap it. Then grip the newly cut end very hard to squash the U-shape, or "crimp" it. This grips the brush and stops it sliding out. Incidentally, the left over brush makes a handy tool for clearning debris from a workbench so nothing need be wasted !

Slide the metal brush holder back in the PVC part with some glue (UHU will work) to stop it sliding around in the plastic.

Then screw the unit to the door with the screws provided. I'm assuming a wooden door in which case a hand screwdriver worked well for me. Good thing too, as the battery in the electric one was dead. Something to do with being a cold garage I suppose. If it's a metal door you'll need to drill some pilot holes.

The holes in the PVC are slightly slotted to allow for adjustment. You want the brush to just touch the floor not wear it's way through ! Open and close the door a few times to make sure.

Four screws are provided and after shortening I had 3 holes so used these. Then the final one was screwed through the plastic at the opening end of the door, just to be on the safe side.

All in, about 20 minutes work. Result: no draught and more importantly, a happy cat.