When you think of garage door parts you most likely think of springs, openers and tracks. You might even think of safety eyes or pulleys, but do you ever think about weather sealant? North Glenn Garage Door Repair’s customers do; especially in the winter months! In actuality, garage door seals are good year-round and we are about to tell you why! Garage door sealant is a fancy word for the weather strip that runs along the bottom of your garage door. It can be used for home, industrial and business garage doors and even though weather seals are basically simple, the work they do is needed and important. So, what exactly are weather seals? Simply put, this form of sealant is a small amount of rubber or plastic that is added to the bottom of the garage door. It is inexpensive in relation to more conventional garage door parts like your torsion springs or your opener system, yet garage door seals can help lower your utility bills, and keep your garage interior more comfortable and less susceptible to insects and noise.
Why do I need a weather seal?
While the garage door itself provides the main bulk of weather sealant, there is a tiny space at the bottom where cold or hot air can get inside. This is where the weather sealant works its magic. Let’s say it is raining here in North Glenn, CO and you don’t have any sealant on your garage door. It doesn’t take long for water to run or seep under your garage door and flood your garage. If you are like many, you have other items inside your garage besides a car. These might include boxes of books or papers, clothes, magazines and other items that can be water damaged or destroyed by moisture and humidity. Mold spores can start growing and thriving in dark, moist environments and your garage with no weather sealant fits the description.
Your weather seal also acts as a cushion of sorts for your garage door. It helps soften the impact of your heavy garage door as it closes. Over time, this would have quite a jarring effect on your garage door and all of its parts if no seal was there to cushion the impact.
It gets worse!
Our North Glenn, Colorado garage door repair pros are even familiar with cases where unsealed garage doors allowed water inside the garage which then froze during the night when temperatures dropped! This not only adds danger to your situation but additional clean-up to your efforts. As noted earlier, insects and other pests can get inside your garage if sealant is not present.
Why not just make a better garage door?
We’ve heard this one a lot; why not just make a garage door that is completely flush with the ground? Make a better door and forget the need for weather seal, right? This actually makes sense, in theory at least. The truth is, your garage door would have to be perfectly even and flat on the bottom and your garage floor would have to be perfectly flat as well. No cracks, bumps or dips on either surface would be allowed in order to make this happen. Take our previous example, for instance. If you had a small crack or space under the garage door or in the floor of the garage and water leaked into it, froze and expanded, it would make the space larger and more vulnerable. This is why weather seals are made of rubber or plastic; they conform to the surface and provide much better protection than anything else.
Life span of weather sealant
Like all things involving your garage door, your weather seal has a limited life. This can vary from a few months to several years and the length of time depends on several things. Are you experiencing weather extremes? Fluctuations in temperature can cause many items to expand, contract and age. Further, going from dry to wet or from wet to frozen can also take its toll on your weather sealant. Add to all this, the fact that your seal is attached to the bottom of your garage door, and it forcefully meets the floor of your garage every time it closes, is enough to add stress and wear to your sealant.
When should you replace your weather sealant?
Even the best weather seals won’t last forever. Again, depending on weather, temperatures, use and wear, your sealant may need to be replaced sooner than later. Check for these things; leaks, lack of elasticity, sticking and chunks or pieces breaking off. Your sealant should spring back when lightly touched; if not, it is time to replace, if not soon. Keep an eye out for any gaps in the seal as this is definitely a red flag. The best way to do this is to check with the garage door closed – you should be able to see light coming from any gaps or breaks in a darkened garage. Also, sun heat can cause damage to weather sealant and just because we are in Colorado, doesn’t mean that North Glenn weather is always cold; we get our fair share of sunshine and hot days, too.
Weather sealant is vital
For something as seemingly insignificant as weather sealant, it sure does a great job of making our garages more livable and workable. The key words are “sealant” and “weather” as this product can block your garage interior from dust, heat loss in winter, water, insects, pests, ice and even fumes that may be in the area. A properly sealed garage door reduces wear and tear on the door itself as well as other connected components and even helps reduce noise pollution. Take a tip from our North Glenn, CO garage door repair pros and make sure that your weather seals are in good shape and secured properly. Not only will you enjoy a better garage interior environment but also longer and higher quality life from your other garage door components.
Aricle source here: PROPER WEATHER SEALANT FOR YOUR GARAGE DOOR
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