Guide to the Seals That Keep Your Garage Door Protected

The importance of proper weather stripping for your garage door is something that cannot be overstated and for a good reason. What many people fail to realize is that without it you could have a serious energy problem and a power bill you can’t contend with. Let’s start by talking about the potential for energy loss which comes from multiple points in your garage. It all starts with the walls and if they are not properly insulated, cold and heat can radiate through the drywall material, causing you to waste energy. It might only be a little bit at a time, but it adds up and will make you wish that you’d acted sooner. The same goes for your garage door seal; while the door does close, there is always a little bit of a gap, big enough to allow air to both escape and enter. Your garage will not only be colder or hotter, depending on the season, it will also cost you more money than it should, and that is simply not acceptable. This is where any garage door service in Weston will tell you to invest more in your garage door seal.

Garage Door Repair Tip: Invest in Your Seal

If you have ever examined your garage door closely then you may have seen the rubber strip affixed to the bottom – this is the weather strip. It is designed to protect the space behind the door from weather, leaves, and other debris that could sneak in through that tiny gap at the bottom. Weather strips are available in different styles which we will talk about in the following paragraphs.

It is important to note that concrete floors are never completely even, necessitating the bottom seal, also known as a gasket. This helps to seal the gap, and we often refer to it as a garage door bottom seal. As mentioned before there are a few different types:

Bulb Seal–A common type of seal which has a circular bottom and a T shape at the top.
Beaded –These are also t-shaped, but they are used as double channel retainers.
J-Type –Used as a single channel retainer
T-Type –Much like the beaded seal, they employ the T shape on both sides and are double channel retainers.

A Word on Brush Seals

In the case of commercial doors or even some residential doors, brush seals are very popular. They can seal up gaps just as easily and are typically found on high-speed doors. Brush seals consist of thousands of filaments placed closely together to create a solid barrier; their greatest benefit is that they can conform to virtually any surface, giving them a leg up on practically any other seal on the market. You will also find that, even though they are more expensive than their rubber counterparts, they also tend to be more resilient.

Your Door, Your Choice

The type of seal that you use for your garage door is ultimately up to you, but it is imperative that you do choose one. Most overhead garage doors today come standard with bulb seals. As with any other part of your garage door, it is imperative that you regularly check your weather stripping to see if it is cracked, dry, or even coming loose from the door itself. The great news is that this is the most visible part of the door and it is also the easiest to replace. A good garage door repair company in Weston can save you a lot of money and frustration.

Now you know about weather stripping and a few of the different types, but what about the mechanical garage door systems? What do you need to know about them? In our next blog, we’ll be looking at three critical garage door systems that always fail first, and what you can do to make sure they don’t catch you by surprise.