Garage door question

Bryan D
by Bryan D
When i bought my house three years ago i was told that the two owners ago used the garage as a second living room and had the the garage door taken out and built a wall there. Then the owners before be put in the garage door and track. My problem is the door is not sealed up just right. I can see daylight almost all the way around mainly on the bottom, and the sides and top, as seen in the pictures are, only sealed by the white rubber door seal. What can i do to seal this up better to help keep it warmer when i am working in it?
  8 answers
  • The exterior gaskets that are fastened to the trims should be re-set. Remove the trim that holds the rubber seals on the side and top area of the door. Close door and place the trim against the door so the gasket is tight against the door. Just be sure not to push the gasket seal to tight or it could bind the door. Start with the top trim then each side. If the gaskets on the wood trims are torn or worn, these can be purchased at most home centers for very little money. One the bottom, i noticed that the door is not sitting tight on one side. Check to see if the floor is level or not. If the floor is level, then the door track is out of square. If the floor is not level then you need to purchase a thicker bottom door gasket. These half round gaskets are fastened to the bottom of the garage door and will seal up floors that can be as much as one inch out of level. If the door is out of square and the floor is level, the door track will need to be loosened up and adjusted to square up door. This may be something you may want a pro to do for you. You must be careful when working around adjustments on doors such as this as those winding springs and cables have a lot of tension on them.
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Mar 13, 2013
    Do you have a heat source in there? My work shop is unheated and I used a pair of Mr heater propane bottle top heaters. They say these are for outdoor use only but most of the time I'm running my dust collection systems which moves about 2000 cfm out of the shop...there are enough small leaks about for fresh air to replace. http://www.mrheater.com/product.aspx?catid=42&id=21
  • Clopay Garage Doors Clopay Garage Doors on Mar 13, 2013
    Hi Bryan. Woodbridge Environmental's advice is spot-on. You can purchase a thicker vinyl astragal for the bottom of your garage door through The Home Depot or your local garage door dealer. A photo is below. If your door is out of alignment then you definitely need to contact a garage door professional to come out and reinstall the door properly. Clopay has dealers located throughout Indiana.
  • Bryan D Bryan D on Mar 13, 2013
    KMS Woodworks. No i dont. I have been looking for one of those single ones but everytime i am at the hardware store they are always out.
  • Bryan D Bryan D on Mar 13, 2013
    CLospay i think that will fix the bottom of the door for sure. Thanks
  • Bryan D Bryan D on Mar 13, 2013
    Woodbridge i will do that. is there another material that i should put on the inside of the garage to help out? like behind the tracks or do you think that adjusting the weatherstripping will work?
  • Just adjust the trims and install the bottom rubber seal. Anything else may bind the door when you try to open it.
  • My friendhave undergone same issue. His door haveweather striping on the top and sides outside as well as the bottom. It wasjust not sealed well. The track was rivited to the brackets instead of bolts,so I drilled out the rivits and moved it closer to the wall. It seems to besealing better now.