# Sealing a garage door



## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Anyone have ideas or product links to seal a garage door?
16' insulated metal garage door. It still leaks huge amounts of warm/cold air. It does have the usual "rubber" seal/stops. I am hoping to find something to stop the drafts that get by the seals. I plan on adding some foam board to the panels but I really need to find better seals!
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

What you are asking for is a way to seal cracks and crevices around the door. There are many sealants and sealing devices on the market that will work, but only you will know what you need.Take a look in Lowes or Home Depot for the many products available. If you think about it long enough, the answer will become evident. Without seeing your garage, it is impossible for us to give you a solution.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Thanks MrRon. I will look at the BOX stores although they don't have everything. It is a standard overhead garage door, no different than any other (I am a retired (15 yrs.) builder. I have adjusted it as tight as I can. 
I was hoping there was something new that someone had heard of. I still need to be able to open the door occasionally, for the most part it stays closed, otherwise I would seal it with plastic sheeting.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Let us know if you find a good easy way to do it Dez. When I look at my door, that are do many cracks and leaks it just doesn't look like it is worth the trouble!


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

I have a friend that lives in Fairbanks. They use carpeting that as near as I can tell is about the same as a quilt and operates with the door! I can ask for more details if you want.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Topa, will do!
teejk, I would appreciate it if you don't mind!
It is only the seal around the perimeter that leaks, I cannot find any way to make the existing (2 yrs old) seal any tighter. Mostly at the top where the most movement (opening and closing) takes place.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

BTW! You all are entering the contest for Lie Nielsen right? Here


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Dragons, Can you still open and close the door as needed?


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

I'm going to put some foam around my doors to stop air flow. You have to have them open to install it and when they close they crush the foam to make an air seal. Lowes has it.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Russell, Do you have a link perhaps?


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

I gave the link for the Lie Nielsen contest because….
I don't own any although I have some on loan from a friend. (I have some Montgomery Wards issues and they are very good once they are tuned. So much easier with the Lie Nielsen)
You can never have enough good tools!
You can always gift me if you don't want them!


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## OnlyJustME (Nov 22, 2011)

I assume you have these around the outside of the door you are looking for something better?


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## OnlyJustME (Nov 22, 2011)

Try here. i believe you want a pvc vinyl foam tape.

Full disclosure i have had no dealings with this company/website and know nothing about them.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

Yeah, the foam tape is pretty good stuff. In addition, you could add those brush-like seals that go on the bottom of entry doors to seal areas at the very top of the door that the foam doesn't quite get. Not perfect but cuts down on drafts without jamming the door up.

http://www.memtechbrush.com/mountings/mountings.htm


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Matt,
I do have something similar, thanks!
The foam tape may just do the trick as it is flexible enough to move and reseal!

HorizontalMike, Cool! I will look at them and see if they will work, they should stop much of the airflow.
The bottom of the door is pretty good, it is the sides, particularly at the top where the curve starts. that the biggest air leak is. I just need to cut down on the expense of heating even though I got a new heater for Christmas! I can only afford so much and I prefer the money went to the wood to make stuff out of!


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

They also make vinyl seals that fit ont he jamb and press against the door. So you have those. They seal fairly well.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Grandpa,
Yup! Not nearly as well as I would like. LOL
I have had to learn to be a tight ass since I got disabled! If I had the money my shop would be double walled - 12" with 36" of insulation in the ceiling and no rollup doors!
I think folks building today should far surpass the current building codes.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Those brushes look like they might be a great product. Thx Mike.


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

well ive seen you have gotten lots of info given to you , but i really think these new type of seals will do the job, ill give you the address of where to get them if you decide you want to try it..let me know..


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

Grizz, do you just pile them against the door?? LOL


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

Gramps, I think Grizz just uses "Sealing" tape.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Grizz,
Sweet! And if I get hungry or need a little oil for my lamps…......
I'm afraid my wife will complain about the smell and the noise.
I bet they are good insulation too!
HorizontalMike,
A great seal and a perfect way to hold em in place!


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## BentheViking (May 19, 2011)

Dez I was reading about the garage door, but came across your LN contest link too. Thanks!


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Ben
You are welcome! Thanks to a friend I've had a chance to use the LN handplanes for a little while now and they are very nice. I have my set of Stanley Bailey style by Montgomery Wards that my dad left me and they are as good as any Stanley I've seen, fairly easy to setup and use but the LN's have less slop so easier to adjust and harder blades - less sharpening, fit and finish is sweet! I would love to win the contest!


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

I am surprised the seals you have dont work well Mine work very well. are they installed properly they should acctualy flex to conform to the door surface when the door is closed. the door is set so that it closes like a wedge. the top roller is adjustable to seal the top of the door as well. you may have to remove them and reinsall them properly.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

REO,
The seals are over 10 years old and installed by someone that didn't really care. I've adjusted the seal and the door as tight as I can and still get major leaks. (I've installed a lot of garage doors as a remodeling contractor.) 
The door is insulated aluminum however I plan on adding some aluminum clad foam board to each panel to help even more. The biggest leaks are at the corners of the opening of course. 
I really don't like overhead doors, they are much harder to seal than "carriage style" types. (Perhaps my MIL will let me build some better ones but she likes the automatic openers!)


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

Are your old vinyl seals harder than new seals? maybe they don't flex like the should.

As for sealing tape….will it leave residue??


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Grandpa,
I am sure the present seals are stiffer than anything new and were probably the cheapest the builder could buy aside from nothing but a wooden stop, they are a white vinyl strip integral with a white vinyl stop. I would never build any house this poorly and it is a good one for the area!









I wouldn't use a sealing tape except to hold the seals in place? 
I have to open and close the door far too often. If I didn't have to open it to get the wife's car in and out I would frame it up and side it in to match the rest of the house, giving me more wall space! LOL!
The winters here have to be the most boring and frustrating time of the year if you don't go skiing or sledding.








This is what's left of the 17" from a week ago, about 6" with the temp between 32 deg at night and up to a balmy 45 deg during the day.


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## RonInOhio (Jul 23, 2010)

I take it this garage is not insulated ?

I wish it was still in the mid-forties around here. Daytime temps have been 
around 30 and night-time mid twenties. A high is coming through and temps are forecasted to be in the teens and single digits.

I found mid to upper forties tolerable to work in my shed. A tad cold but tolerable.

Not now however. upper 30s and lower are too cold for me.

And I agree about the winter being boring. Especially with a shop too cold to work in.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

There is hope. The days are getting longer now ;-))


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## joeyinsouthaustin (Sep 22, 2012)

Lotta responses from people in tejas. Let me put this in. My flight from Iowa over x-mas was canceled due to snow in dallas, and re-scheduled two and 1/2 days later. that flight was canceled and we drove home. This is how a garage is sealed in the middle of cold world. (as I know the Midwest corn country to be) The garage is sealed with a number of the seals already shown in this thread. (and heated with no in house return.. just positive outflow)cause ya want the jn deer snow plow to start in the morning. Then there is a double insulated door to a mudroom… and another dbl insulated door to the kitchen… in the meantime everyone argues about not letting the dogs out..(newfoundlands.. they could stand the cold) and then you get inside, shed three or four layers and start thinkin' bout life again. And who cares if the garage is sealed 'cause the "boy from texas" has to plow the drive again in two hours, "cause what if'n you cant get out for milk" (and I doubt that) but I like drivin the john deere even if it is 2 below. Awwh hell. why would you even try to seal your garage…


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

RonInOhio,
It is insulated somewhat! 3 1/2 in the walls, with 1 inch of rigid fiberglass against the roof and no ceiling, open trusses with the vents (birdblocks) blocked.
As I can and (I intend to as I can afford to) insulate and sheetrock the ceiling . (Limited budget and all that). You are too right, outside in the low to mid 40's are too cold to work especially with glue and finish, (the wife complains about the tung oil finish drying in the house.) I am luckier than some - a neighbor lets me use her deceased husband's one car garage for my power tools and the rest is in my temporary shop (read - if my wife lets me park one of the cars outside) 1/2 of a two car garage.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

Topa,
You are right, I only have to wait until spring! Problem is that my wife and the neighbors are in danger! "Idle hands are the tools of Satan"! I keep telling them that me staying busy makes everyone safer - no telling what I might meddle with otherwise! LOL
joeyinsouthaustin, 
ROFL! Been there, no Newfoundlands, just Shepherds with 4" hair!
Here it is a cold world - kind of, mostly rainy! I wish these retired community folks had that much wisdom, they put in yards that takes a retired person spending 5 days out of 7 to take care of for goodness sake!! 
I like "Buffalo built" best - (8" to 12" walls and 36" in the ceiling)! I was raised in northern Idaho - - min 6' for 6 months so I do know about cold, dad's office was the HD5 Cat, plowing snow so he could get logs out! A lot like the "boy from Texas" 
I just cannot afford to remodel the place. No plow, just a broken down back and a lot of time OR a few friends and a couple of gallons of booze!
Dragons,
The only sealing tape I have seen sticks to both the door and the jamb? I have the same 4 section residential rollup. Care to point me to a product please?


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