The garage door seal is an important component, but most homeowners overlook its importance. The simple construction of a singular long rubber strip, running along the underside and the perimeter of the door makes it easy to overlook. To understand why you should check this seal, we’ll look at the reasons it’s so important.
What Does A Garage Door Seal Do?
Protects Against the Environment
The seal is a sort of weatherstripping that prevents water from entering your garage and causing a flood and potential water damage. Standing water can damage building materials and furnishings as well as cause mold. The seal also prevents pests from intruding, where they can build nests, create infestations, and carry disease into your home. Another concern is air intrusion and leakage, which can reduce comfort and make your air conditioner or heater inefficient.
Provides a Cushion
The seal on your garage door is also an effective cushion. While modern garage doors have sensors that detect objects below and reverse the system if something is in the way, the seal protects the door in case it does strike something. Contact is less like to, for example, scratch your car, cause a panel on your garage door to break, or strain the garage door opener.
Checking Your Garage Door Seal Lets You Know When It Should Be Fixed
If the seal is damaged or not installed properly, it could throw your garage door out of alignment. Applying a garage door seal carefully is also important. A single mishap can damage the door or push it off its tracks. To start, first inspect the seal to determine if it must be repaired or replaced.
- Look for the Light: If you see sunlight coming through the bottom of the door when you’re inside the garage, you may have a poor seal. To check it at night, turn on the light in the garage, close the door, and go outside to see if light is visible at the bottom.
- Splash It with Water: Use a garden hose to splash water against the garage door base. Do not open the garage door; instead, go in the garage from the house and see whether any water has entered the garage from outside. If so, or it’s wet inside after it rains, the seal should be replaced.
- Feel for Drafts: Perhaps you can feel drafts by standing near the garage door. You can also hold a piece of paper near the bottom of a closed door, slowly walking it across. Where the paper starts to move or flutter (like in a breeze), that’s where you know the seal isn’t holding.
Visually inspecting the seal is also a good way to know if needs replacing. The garage door seal should be uniform in color, but if it ranges from different shades of gray to pale white, this is a clear sign of damage. Garage door seals are also somewhat flexible. But if you push on it and it cracks, feels stiff, or holes are visible, it should be replaced. The seal must be consistent to be effective. Warping and unevenness mean it will not protect against the elements.
What to Do When You Have a Bad Garage Door Seal?
Replacing the seal is generally a simple, inexpensive task, but it should be done by a garage door repair professional. Special equipment is needed for installation. A trained technician is skilled at completing the job without damaging your garage door.
Precision Door Service of Las Vegas can fix your garage door quickly and protect your garage and home. We offer same-day service and will inspect the system to determine whether any adjustments or minor repairs are needed, so you avoid future inconveniences and expenses. Get your free estimate by calling us at 702-637-2700 today.