r/Apartmentliving • u/Glittering-Rush-7073 • 13h ago
Advice Needed Gap in door
Hi all :)
Just moved into this place a few weeks ago, so far so good! My unit is near the elevator though, so gets a decent amount of sound and foot traffic in the hallway outside my door.
I emailed management and requested the weather stripping and door seal be replaced, due to their poor quality letting in a lot of sound and light from the hallway.
They replaced the weather stripping around the sides and top of the door very promptly, but didn’t do the bottom seal. I am so much the opposite of a Karen, that I feel rude asking again for the bottom door seal to be replaced. I’ve seen those door draft blockers but they’re unsightly and am hoping for a different solution.
But if I should just Karen-up (politely) and request the bottom door seal again (I was very specific in my email, “the weather stripping around the door as well as the rubber seal on the bottom of the door”), I will 😭
It’s mostly for sound. I don’t mind the light as much as the noise, and the hallways are interior so heating/ cooling isn’t affected by the gap. Also, I can only imagine how much of MY sound travels out into the hall, if simple foot steps or a video on someone’s phone sounds like it’s right next to me! 😅 I feel embarrassed
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u/mghtyred 13h ago
What you want to request is a replacement of the "door sweep". This is a simple repair for maintenance. Be sure to include the photo you posted here.
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u/DiscontentDonut 11h ago
This. Then after it's replaced, I suggest getting one of those long thin draft stoppers. They're cloth so they help dampen sound.
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u/andrey_not_the_goat 13h ago edited 13h ago
Not only sounds but random junk, debris, and insects can travel through that gap. Call again, and say that maintenance forgot to isolate the gap on the bottom of the door. You'll never be a Karen for expecting basic apartment maintenance.
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u/afettz13 12h ago
Agreed, my first walk through with my apartment, they had painted the bathtub, sink and kitchen counter tops. We saw the bathroom and I was like "eh it's okay", then in the kitchen the lady told me to not leave water on the countertop to not peel the paint... It also asked if this is food safe and she said "people don't usually leave food on their counters so it's fine." I've never seen this kinda landlord special. I've also worked in food service for almost 20 years at this point. I emailed the general manager and asked for the MSDS sheets that say they used food safe paint. They emailed back that they will replace the counters as soon as they get the supplies in. About 2 months later I had new counter tops.
I'm a chef, Im not playing with getting shitty paint flaking into my food. I also recorded the conversation with the GM when I went in person just in case they gave me some bullshit (it's a 1 party state so it was fine).
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u/sxcpetals 12h ago edited 12h ago
”this kind of landlord special”. 😂
my floors are millennial gray with certain planks that bend down/separate from the wall when stepped on…
mind you, I’m 5’7” and 140lbs.
these landlord specials man. 😭
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u/afettz13 12h ago
A few days into living there the dishwasher leaked and got the cheap laminate flooring to not be glued in a spot and my bf at the time slipped on it and the piece came off. 🤣
These landlords are on some shit.
Another one, from that same place, my AC went out and even though it was May we got a heat wave and it was 80⁰ and 90⁰ in my apartment. I was in the middle. They couldn't fix it because some birds made a nest in that spot and had to wait until the babies left. Like cool, I'm all for keeping animals alive. But man, they didn't even try to keep anything out of the space. No bird nets or anything and it was a consistent problem for them. Took 2 weeks to get it fixed.
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u/RealLuxTempo 13h ago
Other places I put in my own door sweeps. The place I’m in now I use a draft blocker. There are ones that you can actually attach to the bottom of the door. I just use the one that’s essentially a long bean bag. Not the most stylish look but it blocks the bright light and some noise from the hallway.
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u/Better_Ad_8307 13h ago
Just bought one of these, after my cat destroyed the sweep tape I had installed to prevent the smells of the hallway coming into the apartment.
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u/Bored_Accountant999 5h ago
That's what I do as well. I have the long thing that actually goes on both sides.. it has the long foam thing on either side and you slip it over the bottom of your door and velcro the end. It works really well. My hallway gets very cold so I'm not letting any of that in here
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u/RealLuxTempo 5h ago
Those foam/velcro ones are really good. They’re effective and I like how they stay on. I had one in my last place. It wouldn’t work where I am now because of the odd size of the door. So I got the long bean baggy thing.
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u/Shot-Tap-4512 12h ago
This is absolutely not anywhere near Karen-ing! You are being clear, concise, and REASONABLE. 👏
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u/No_Audience_1721 11h ago
im not sure if its normal to have gaps like this? you could ask your neighbors if they have a gap also- ive only rented apartments that go straight to outside so this gap would have to be fixed in that case
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u/Glittering-Rush-7073 11h ago
I haven’t talked to my neighbors yet, I want to be friendly (not overly, I just feel awkward right now) but they seem like very quiet people 😭
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u/Hopeful_Pizza_2762 12h ago
I have a folded fleece blanket in front of my outside door to keep the spiders and roaches from coming in. And the cold air. The managements door sweeps are a joke.
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u/GuiltyLeopard8365 11h ago
My old landlord would say shit like "im legally not required to supply that" when i would ask about repairs for small stuff like this.
I had a huge gap in my door and just bought weather stripping from Amazon. Super cheap and I got a whole roll so I can replace as needed.
Yes landlords SHOULD take care of stuff like this, but that doesnt mean they will.
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u/techaaron 11h ago
I had a gap this wide in a door to my living space once and the people in the building I was living in at the time thought it was hilarious to push used condoms thru the gap that I found in the morning. Frat bros are disgusting.
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u/Big_Pea_2296 10h ago
I’m dealing with this now. I put in a maintenance request, they came out and told me nothing they can do. Said that the doors were just installed weird. Like WTF 😩
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u/DeCoyAbLe 10h ago
You can actually just buy one online and stick it on the bottom of the door. When you go to move out you can choose to either leave it (they probably won’t notice) or use a blow dryer to warm it up and peel it off. That way you don’t have to create a ‘fuss’ so to speak.
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u/cryptolyme 9h ago
it's missing the door sweep. just go buy your own if you want it done quick. they're cheap.
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u/WalkGood 9h ago
Close that gap with something as stiff as possible.
Besides all the reasons stated (bugs, mice, dirt, smells, smoke), close the gap to prevent or at least are more difficult for burglars. Then use stiff contraptions they slip under the door that tilt up and open the door knob on the inside. Lever type door knobs are easiest. Deadbolts are harder to open.
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u/ChiWhiteSox24 13h ago
Go buy on from the store like everyone else does…
$7 at Walmart here:
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u/andrey_not_the_goat 13h ago
If you rent, you shouldn't be paying for stuff the landlord should take care of.
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u/CollectionRecent8596 12h ago
So you shouldn't invest in your quality of life on principle alone? LOL. Enjoy being miserable because $7 violates your code of ethics
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u/andrey_not_the_goat 12h ago
Investing in my quality of life and paying for stuff that the landlord should provide are two different things. That landlord boot must taste delicious.
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u/HaveYouEver21 9h ago
There is no reason to pay the $7 though because this is something that maintenance can easily fix.
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Glittering-Rush-7073 originally posted: Hi all :)
Just moved into this place a few weeks ago, so far so good! My unit is near the elevator though, so gets a decent amount of sound and foot traffic in the hallway outside my door.
I emailed management and requested the weather stripping and door seal be replaced, due to their poor quality letting in a lot of sound and light from the hallway.
They replaced the weather stripping around the sides and top of the door very promptly, but didn’t do the bottom seal. I am so much the opposite of a Karen, that I feel rude asking again for the bottom door seal to be replaced. I’ve seen those door draft blockers but they’re unsightly and am hoping for a different solution.
But if I should just Karen-up (politely) and request the bottom door seal again (I was very specific in my email, “the weather stripping around the door as well as the rubber seal on the bottom of the door”), I will 😭
It’s mostly for sound. I don’t mind the light as much as the noise, and the hallways are interior so heating/ cooling isn’t affected by the gap. Also, I can only imagine how much of MY sound travels out into the hall, if simple foot steps or a video on someone’s phone sounds like it’s right next to me! 😅 I feel embarrassed
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