Your garage door is one of the parts of your home that’s most vulnerable to air leakage. It can simultaneously drive up your energy bills and affect your indoor comfort. However, there are ways to reduce how much air escapes or enters your garage door when it’s closed. Here’s everything you need to know about installing weatherstripping on your garage door.
Begin With Your Garage Door Weather Seal
If you have an overhead garage door, it’s most likely to develop air leaks along its bottom edge. The expansion and contraction of the garage door materials make forming a seal against the ground difficult. That’s why overhead doors have an attached bottom weather seal. Most use rubber because it’s flexible, durable, and excellent at blocking air and water infiltration. Unfortunately, they only last for around 10 years, after which they require replacement.
You can visually inspect your garage door’s weather seal whenever the door is open. Look for cracks or tears in the material that may make forming a weathertight seal impossible. If you find any, you should replace the seal. Some weather seals slide out of a retaining channel attached to the bottom of your door. On wooden garage doors, you may find weather seals nailed directly into the door. Replacing the former means buying a replacement seal and sliding it into place. The latter requires a bit more work. You must remove all the nails, clean the bottom edge of the door, and nail your new seal in place.
Add a Threshold Seal
Consider adding a threshold seal to augment the weather seal on your garage door for optimal protection. Threshold seals are typically rubber or vinyl strips that adhere to the ground beneath your garage door. Installing one is simple. First, measure the width of your garage door opening from one side of the door frame to the other. Then, cut whichever threshold seal you’ve chosen to that exact width. Lay the seal in place to ensure it extends across the opening before proceeding. Next, clean the threshold with a dry cloth and apply construction adhesive along its width. Then, you can put the threshold seal in place and add adhesive to its ends to create a watertight fit.
Installing Weatherstripping
With your garage door’s bottom edge addressed, you can move on to its sides and top edge. That’s where you should install weatherstripping. Most garage door weatherstripping consists of vinyl strips that attach to a garage doorjamb with nails. Its purpose is to fill the gap between the doorjamb and the door without interfering with its operation.
You should begin with the top edge when installing weatherstripping around your garage door. Start by measuring the opening from doorjamb to doorjamb with the door open and out of the way. Then, measure your weatherstripping to that exact length and mark it using a T-square. That will allow you to cut a precise edge to support a tight air seal. Cut the weatherstripping using a miter box and a hacksaw. Alternatively, you can use your T-square and a sharp utility knife to do the job.
With your weatherstripping cut, close your garage door before proceeding. You need the door closed to decide on the ideal placement for the weatherstripping. It may be helpful to have a friend act as a second pair of hands while doing this. Hold the weatherstripping against the doorjamb, with only the flexible part of the material touching the door. You want that flexible part touching the door and forming a J-shape against it. Once you’re confident in the weatherstripping’s placement, secure it with a few well-spaced temporary nails. That will let you open and close the door a few times to check if the weatherstripping interferes with the door. If it doesn’t, add more nails to secure the weatherstripping. Otherwise, remove your temporary nails, make adjustments, and try again.
Weatherstripping the sides of your garage door is next. You can use the same method you used for the top of the door. Make sure the side strips overlap the flexible section of the top strip. That will create a tight corner seal when the door closes. Once your weatherstripping is in place, run a bead of caulk along its rear edge, where it meets the doorjamb. That will keep outside air from getting underneath the weatherstripping and into your garage.
Local Garage Door Experts
If you need help maintaining your Montgomery, IL garage door, BDK Door Company is the place to turn to. We’ve served homes and businesses here since 1979. We’re a family-owned business offering residential and commercial garage door services. We also handle lifestyle screens, fire doors, and entrance swing doors. We have a vast parts inventory, so we can offer quick repairs when you need them. We also provide keying services to help secure your property. We’re accredited by the Better Business Bureau too, so you can count on us to provide quality service. If you need garage door services in Montgomery, call BDK Door Company today!
