The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

You look out your window, and you see pouring rain. You remember the last time a storm this bad hit. It took hours to clean up the foyer. As you go to the front door, you see that water is already starting to come in under the door from the torrent outside. How do you keep this rainwater outside? It's simple. Weatherize your doors. The simplest solution to combating water is weather-sealing doors. There are several ways to accomplish this, depending on your requirements, and the process is usually pretty simple so long as you have some basic carpentry skills. One option is to use adhesive weather strips. These strips adhere to the side of the door in order to increase its width or height to meet the frame. Foam strips can be excellent, quick fixes for many lesser problems but must be replaced each spring. More durable vinyl options can be purchased, but they will not last long, either. Metal versions can be used as well for a longer-lasting option, but their efficiency depends on your ability to properly work metal with snips. The next option is interlocking strips of metal. These rely on your ability to exactly match two pieces of metal to each other. Some designs are easier to install than others, but even they can be tricky. A small amount of damage to one of the strips can ruin the way the two pieces fit together; therefore, this is not an appropriate solution for rain under the door, but it can work to solve problems at the top of the door. For the bottom of the door, you should probably use either an adjustable threshold or a door sweep. Adjustable thresholds are devices that screw into the bottom of the door and can be moved up or down to fill the proper amount of space between the door and the floor. Door sweeps, on the other hand, block the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor without actually filling the space. Door sweeps can be found in several varieties, including a number that automatically lift when the door is opened to allow them to clear carpet or other floor coverings. With the non-automatic models, you must be sure the sweep will clear your flooring when you open your door or you will risk ruining both your door and your carpet. With these options in mind, hopefully you'll be able to box out the constant showers this year and mopping up the foyer floor will become a distant memory. Good luck! --By Andrew McGlothlen, special