For all doors and any door, whether its the more common steel door, or wood, aluminum, fiberglass, glass, insulated, and non insulated doors, proper weather stripping is a must.
Having your garage door properly sealed is a great benefit as it will keep leaves, snow, water, insects, rodents, and debris from entering the garage. You will also recognize a substantial financial savings if the garage has heating and/or cooling. Prevent your door cables, bottom bracket, door track, and roller from rusting by sealing out moisture from getting under the door, particularly at the corners.
The purpose of this tutorial is to get you familiar with the importance of weatherstripping and what to look for when replacing or installing weather seal on your door. We’re here to help you determine which seal you will need while explaining the differences between each kind.
There are three focus areas on a garage door that need proper weather sealing.
Sides
Top
Bottom
Side and Top Seals
Side and top seals can sometimes be referred to as:
Garage Door Stop Molding
Garage Door Weather Seal Molding,
Garage Door Trim Molding
Door Weatherstripping
Weatherstripping
Garage Door Seal
Garage Door Trim
Door stop
Typically nailed to the door jamb, Side and top seals have a vinyl flap molded to the PVC portion that folds over onto the garage door, sealing off the gap between the door and the door jamb. The part of the weather seal that is nailed to the jamb is made from PVC and is available in a wide variety of colors. Matching colored nails are also available. PVC is a durable product that will not fade and is easy to work with. This is paint-able but it is advised to match the color of molding to your needs. Typically the PVC portion is imprinted with a wood grain finish to further compliment the overall finish and look of the garage door.
This door stop is square cut, not mitered. When installing the top is put on first, then after measuring the sides cut and nail in place.
Side and top seal
See our tutorial on installing side and top seals for detailed installation instructions.
Garage Door Bottom Seal
Bottom seal for a garage door can be referred to as:
Weather Seal
Garage Door Bottom Seal
Door Weatherstipping
Rubber seal
Garage door draught excluder
Door bottom seal and so on.
Here we need to take a close look at the existing weather seal in order to determine the correct replacement seal. Most residential garage doors are steel, there are other types of doors but steel doors are by far the most common.
Steel, aluminum, fiberglass and other types of garage doors have a channel on the bottom of the door that the weather seal slides into. This is called the retainer. The retainer is attached to the bottom of the door. Some retainers are actually a part of the door but most are a separate entity from the door itself. Retainers can be made of Steel, Aluminum or PVC.
Aluminum Retainer
The most common garage door bottom seal is U shaped with T ends that slide into the retainer. The T width is not all the same, ¼” is by far the most common but 5/16” is also used by some garage door manufactures. We have a wide selection of ¼” T style weather seal and 5/16” T style in several sizes. There are several other styles of weather seal, such as bead style and bulb style. Wayne Dalton uses a type that is a cross between a T and a bead style. Overhead Door brand garage doors use several types of seal that are exclusive to their doors.
1/4″ Black T Style Weather Seal
You may find other types or styles of bottom seal on your particular application. If the current type or style of weather seal on the door is not readily available the solution is to replace the retainer (see above) with the common T style type. There is a wide selection of weather seals available for the T style U shaped seal. Common vinyl, rubber, PVC, Rodent Proof, and Super Seal – a premium seal with a tube bonded to the inside of the U. There are also various sizes of T style available 3”, 4”, 6” (laid flat) to accommodate any situation.
Super Seal Weather Seal
We offer a complete kit that includes the garage door bottom retainer and the weather seal. When considering a kit, you will need to measure the thickness of your door and the width. Common garage door thickness is 1-3/8” & 2”, with 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16 & 18’ being the typical width. The weather seal kit is a simple solution and is very easy to install. You can also purchase the retainer and weather seal separately to match your situation.
Aluminum Retainer Kit
Wooden garage doors have the weather seal nailed directly to the bottom of the door. There are two standard types of bottom seal availed for wood garage doors. One is a soft sponge type that will conform to slight irregularities in the floor. There is also a dense rubber seal that although it is a bit more durable does not conform to irregularities as well as the soft sponge type. If you have a smooth and level door the dense rubber may be the better option, sponge type if the floor is a bit uneven.
Soft Rubber Seal
Another option for wood garage doors is the retainer and weather seal system explained above. There are flat retainers, L shaped and a cap style that is similar to the adjustable bottom cap on a screen door. Here again you can buy a kit or mix and match the retainer and weather seal to suite your needs.
Browse through our product categories to see all options available. You could also use the search box.
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