The Importance of Your Garage Door Weather Seal

Often, your garage door weather seal is least thing on one’s mind. There are many other things that need attention most of the time that the last thing one may think of is a weather seal on a garage door.

Do not be mistaken though, they’re important, and we’ll tell you why along with how to seal it back up easily.

What Does the Weather Seal Do?

Just as the name states, a weather seal keeps the weather out. This isn’t only wind but rain and snow too. It is understandable that your garage door would do the main work when it comes to standing up against weather, but the seal is necessary too.

Your garage door was designed to fill that open space and protect your garage from rain, snow and wind. As great as this is, the door can’t be perfectly aligned which leaves an inch and a half to an inch of room around for weather to creep in. The weather seal stops that.

Did you know that just a small crack or gap around your garage door can cause for some serious damage? If it rains and your garage is not protected with a weather seal or the seal has been damaged, rain water can seep in causing a layer of ice once froze over.

This can be dangerous to one’s health or even cause you to have trouble driving out of your garage. Your garage door weather seal allows you to be more energy efficient keeping the temperature of your garage’s air inside.

Does Your Garage Door Need It?

Every garage door could use a weather seal. As listed above there are several scenarios that could happen when not having the proper weather stripping. If your garage door already has a weather seal, then it’s good to see if it’s still in good shape.

Garage door weather seals wear out overtime and will need to be replaced. Below are a few signs that your garage door’s seal needs a replacement.

• You’re finding puddles of water around or near your garage door.
• You can feel drafts coming through the garage door.
• The metal around or on the garage door is beginning to rust.

If you’re having any of the above going on then your weatherstripping should be replaced as soon as possible. Ignoring the issues can result in much more damage. The best thing to do is address the situation right away.

However, none of the above situations are happening, you’re more than likely in the clear and don’t need to replace anything at this time. It’s always good to keep an eye on it.

How to Replace the Weatherstripping

For the most part, replacing your garage door weather seal, is a simple task. It can get difficult and be installed improperly if you don’t take your time in the preparation process. There are some simple rules to consider when fixing or applying a new seal.

Before You Start

In order to know what materials you’ll need, examine your garage to see what’s already there. You’ve probably already done this to see if you need to replace any seals. Another quick look will determine what to buy.

Unfortunately, there are no universal garage door weather seals. The seal you need will be based on what model garage door you have.

Step One

For starters, you should raise the garage door to a height that’s easy to reach. At this point all you’ll be doing is taking measurements. It’s important to know how much weatherstripping you’ll be needing to cover the entire doors edge.

Don’t remove the garage door weather seal until you’re ready to replace it and have the new one in hand and are prepared to put it on.

Step Two

If there’s a gasket screwed to the door, take a screw driver and back the screws out removing this gasket. Don’t be forceful and strip the screws. Take your time and use the proper screw driver head.

Then slowly back the screws out so you don’t damage the garage door. Damaging the garage door in the process can end up costing a lot more money in repairs and cause an even bigger leaking or draft problem.

Step Three

Carefully install the new gasket. It should fit snug. Slide the new gasket into the bracket that the old gasket was in. This should slide right on. Gently, but firmly, replace the screws and install the new gasket in place of the old.

You may have to remove the excess trim before closing your garage door. Be careful not to trim off too much. You wouldn’t want to shorten the length and not have it where it’s needed. All in all, the gasket should only stick out about an inch maximum.

Don’t form new screw holes if necessary. This can only cause room for damage to your garage door.

The Final Step

Once all the screws are back in place and the garage door weather seal has been trimmed to fit properly (only an inch sticking out on both sides, maximum), you can test the garage door to make sure it opens and closes correctly with the new weather seal.

The new garage door seal should sit flush with the floor all the way across. The seal should not be broken anywhere along the bottom of the door with the floor.

Some Things to Avoid

Make sure that you’re purchasing the correct weather seal for your garage door. Try to avoid buying a garage door weather seal that claims it’ll fit any door.

Usually these won’t fit like they should. They’ll be aggravating to install and trying to get it to fit the door can be a chore. It’s always better to go with what the door model says should be installed.

Never go without a garage door weather seal. As noted above, make sure you have the correct replacement ready to be installed before removing the old weather seal.

Without the proper garage weather seal in place, the garage door can come down and hit the flooring hard. This can wear the door out or even cause some damage to your garage door.

You Must Maintain Your Garage Door Weather Seal

We understand that the garage weather seal may come off as something inexpensive and irrelevant to some but in the end, it’s an important piece. It does a lot to protect the garage door, the garage and you from rain, snow, hail and wind.

When you have a properly working garage door and weather seal, you’re protected against water that may freeze into ice, water damage, drafts and even some insects that may creep in.

We can’t stress enough how important that simple piece of stripping is. There are many things that can occur when your garage is not sealed correctly.

Save yourself the time and trouble and check your garage weatherstripping and make sure it doesn’t need to be replaced. If it does, get a free quote from Feldco. We’re the Midwest’s leading garage door provider.