How to Best Seal a Garage Door

With the weather getting chillier it may have become clear that your garage doors have air gaps around the sides that needs to be fixed. It's important to know that the garage is a space that needs proper sealing, especially if it is attached to your house. Having a seal around your garage door will have many positive benefits. 

Creating a seal for your garage doors is fairly simple. There are a few tips and tricks to make the best possible seal around the doors. You have to choose the type of seal you want for your garage door. This is purely based on your preferences. There are also many colors to choose from making it easy to match your garage and house. 

Inspecting and preparing your garage doors 

First inspect your garage doors, gaps will allow light in. If you have gaps you will need to seal or reseal the doors. To prepare for sealing be sure to adjust the door opener or the top joints in order to get an even gap. A key point to remember while installing the sides and top is not hammering nails in while the stop boards are bent, if you are using a seal that has a PVC molding. This will result in breaks and fractures in the boards. 

Sealing the top of your garage doors 

The top of your garage door should be sealed first. When sealing the top of your garage door the process will be similar to that of the sides. However, one step that will be important is to cut the corners of your vertical stops. This will allow the sides to meet the top without any gaps. 

Sealing the sides of your garage doors 

In order to have a good seal you must address all sides of the garage door. Weather stripping for the garage door is ideal for the sides. The outdoor elements such as wind and rain can easily leak through without proper materials. The weather stripping is simple to install. You need only use some nails to attach the material to the garage frame. 

With both your top and bottom garage door seals you must make sure the seal creates a 45 degree angle against your garage door before completely nailing them into place. You may have to adjust some sections slightly. Try to keep your nail spacing for the top and sides at about 6 inches apart. 

Sealing the bottom of your garage doors 

You can address the sealing at the bottom of your garage door in two ways. One, you can use a bottom seal. This is a flexible rubber or vinyl that attaches to the bottom edge of the garage door. It will keep out the water from rain, cold chills from the wind, pesky vermin, and even dirt. The bottom seal is easily slipped with no extra fuss. 

The second option is to install a threshold seal. The plus side to this option is that it can be more durable than a bottom seal. However, it does make sweeping a bit more challenging, and it is harder for water to flow out. It is also easy to install and usually comes with the adhesive needed. 

With a proper seal on your garage doors you will find it warmer on cold nights, you won't have to worry about critters entering your space, and with a proper seal you will find a reduction in noise. Not only does this benefit your home, it also benefits you. Not only that, the savings you will see on your energy bill is an added bonus.