One of the most often overlooked parts of your garage door actually isn’t a part of the door at all. There are 3 types of seals on your door that shouldn’t be overlooked.
When a new door is being installed or an older door is being serviced one of the very first things we look at are the seals. Specifically engineered to keep the weather and wind out of your door they perform another important function as well.
There is a reason the seals (other than the bottom which is in place when we received your door) are one of the last things we do. The door is assembled in place and special care is taken to make sure we have the appropriate spacing needed for the top and side seals. This is because when the door comes down fully to the floor we also want the side and top seals to flex and firmly press back against the panels to create the weather resistant seal.
Over time these seals flex and bend and can become worn and even torn in some cases. This not only allows snow, rain and wind into your garage but also begins to allow the door itself to flex more so than when the seals were new.
You can run a couple of quick tests to determine the usefulness of your seals. With the door in the fully open position the seals should flex back to their original position. If they stay fully bent they may be reaching the age of replacement. We see this primarily with not only our colder climate here in the winter but also in some garage doors that have hours of sunlight beating on them. You can also flex them with your fingers and they should feel pliable. If they feel stiff and seem like they want to crack you may want to consider replacing them. Lastly, with the door fully closed, and you on the outside, use a little pressure and push in on the door near the seals. The seals should move with the panel you are pressing on. If they don’t move with the door then wind can flex the door as well and open gaps.
Thankfully we stock just about every color available and sell the seals by the foot. If you’re a Do It Yourself’er or would like us to come out and replace your seals just give us a quick call and let us know the height and length of your door.
The bottom seal is the one that gets the most abuse and with your door full open you can quickly scan the bottom seal to look for tears of depressions that look out of the ordinary. There are many different types of bottom seal and we recommend having a service company do the replacement for you. Some bottom seals will require a re-leveling of the door to create that like-new seal once again.
As part of the entire garage door system these 3 types of seal assist in the overall insulation value as well.
So whatever name it goes by: seal, weather stripping, weather guard, or what we like to call “mother nature stay away from me” rest assured that we have what you will need to tighten up your garage and have the experience to do the work.
Your Overhead Door Team – Of Rutland Vermont
