Home: Overhead Garage Door: Garage Door Seals: Garage Door Bottom Seal

How to Install a Garage Door Bottom Seal

"Adding proper garage door seals to your garage will help you enjoy a warmer, cleaner garage"

Installing a garage door bottom seal is a simple and effective way to keep the warm or cool air in and the dirt and pests out. Five easy steps show you how to do it.

If you can glue two pieces of paper together or hammer a nail in the wall to hang a picture, you can handle this job. Weather stripping may seem daunting, but it's really not, and it's REALLY worth it!

Tools You Need For The Job

The appropriate length of weather stripping or bottom seal material
A hammer (everyone has a hammer!)
A flat bar or other type of nail pulling device (borrow one from your neighbor!)
A pencil (ask your kid to borrow his)
A measuring tape
A few galvanized roofing nails (for wooden garage doors - unless your kit includes them)
A few sheet metal screws (for metal doors - unless your kit includes them)
Scissors

When you look at the bottom of your closed garage door, can you see light? Can you feel air blowing in? Do you have an abundance of dust, leaves and other debris on your garage floor? Installing a garage door bottom seal may solve your problem. Here’s how to do it:

Installation Step 1

Raise your garage door so you can work on the bottom of the door. If you have an electric garage door opener, you can force the door to stay open where you want it. If you don’t have an electric opener, simply raise the door to the point where you want it and it SHOULD stay there.

If your garage door won’t stay open at the level where you want it, you will need to attach a C-clamp or a set of locking pliers to the garage door track under the door to keep it in position. When you are done installing the garage door bottom seal, you should also check the garage door balance.

Installation Step 2

Measure the width of your garage door so you can purchase the appropriate length of garage door bottom seal for your door. Most hardware and home improvement stores carry a variety of garage door seals and weather stripping options. Depending on the brand, typical lengths are from nine to 16 feet.

Installation Step 3

Remove the old bottom seal (if your garage door has one). If yours is an older door, the bottom seal is likely nailed on. In this case you will need a hammer and a flat bar or nail pulling device to remove the nails.

If your garage door bottom seal is attached to a track on the bottom of the garage door, simply remove it from the track by pulling it from one side and slip in the new seal, trimming it to fit the door. If your door doesn't have the track, read on.

NOTE: If yours is the nail on type of seal, this would be a good time to clean the bottom of the garage door and apply a fresh coat of primer and paint to the door bottom. This will help keep moisture out of your door and greatly prolong its life.

Installation Step 4

Unpack or unroll the new bottom seal and lay it along the width of your garage door.

Installation Step 5

Starting at one side of the garage door, attach the seal to the door bottom using one nail or screw at a time (depending on whether your door is wooden or metal). Install the new seal with the larger, sloped edge to the outside of the garage door and the flat part against the bottom of the door. Trim any excess material with scissors and pat yourself on the back. You are done!

NOTE: Pick up any loose nails or screws that may still be on the floor. Tires tend to deflate when they encounter nails or screws.

Garage Door Bottom Seal: A Simple and Effective Solution

Adding proper garage door seals to your garage will help you enjoy a warmer, cleaner garage in the winter and a cooler garage in the summer, especially if you already have insulated garage doors. For more information on creating a climate controlled garage environment, visit our pages on garage door seals or insulated garage doors.

Black & Decker Complete Guide to Garages: Includes Building a New Garage, Repairing & Replacing Doors & Windows, Improving Storage, Maintaining Floors, Electrical Service, Complete Garage Plans and more.

This "how-to" manual accompanies Phil Berg's Ultimate Garages book. Content includes help with dressing up your old or new garage, and making it a practical, usable workspace.

Highly recommended.

Reward yourself!

Once you get organized, why not install some cool new custom floor tiles, the perfect workbench that really works, and a logical storage system that puts everything you need within easy reach.

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