How to determine wool pile size without removing it?

Question

I had trouble replacing the wool pile on a door in our shop because it was difficult to get an accurate measurement of the channel width--figuring the height was no problem.

The windows in our house need to have the wool pile replaced and so I don't end up buying several widths as I did for the door, what is the best was to measure the channel width without taking the existing wool pile off the window? (I don't want to take the existing pile off in case replacement widths aren't available.) If the channels are open at one or both ends then it'd be a simple matter of measuring the width, but if both ends are closed, as they were on the door I worked on, then it becomes a problem.

Tom · Accepted Answer

I'm afraid there is no way to determine what size weatherseal you need without measuring the original sample. You can try to measure the channel itself, but it's next to impossible to get the exact size. I'm afraid there's no trick that will make it easier. Your only option is to remove a sample and measure that.