garage door leak

[jevoy]

Hey there. Just had overhead garage doors installed and they are leaking under the seal on the bottom when it rains. The seal does not compress much when the automatic door opener closes the door. Can this be adjusted? Spring too tight and not allowing the door to close down tight enough? Thanks.

 

[k-os]

Do you know what kind/model of opener you have? That will help get some answers to your questions.

 

[jevoy]

I believe its 1/2 horsepower chamberlain.

 

[James-W]

Just a couple quick questions.

First of all, is the concrete for the approach sloped away from the door?

Second, when you say rain, are we talking about a gentle rain with little or no wind, or are we talking about a driving rain due to very strong winds?

 

[rayra]

heh. what on Earth makes you thing the seal is supposed to be waterproof?

The problem is water puddling against the outside of it. Solve that.

 

[jevoy]

Yes the concrete is sloped away from the door but it is flat were the seal meets the floor. It leaks when the wind and rain are moderate. Also what is the point of a seal if it is not waterproof? It is an exterior door. Should be waterproof.

 

[jevoy]

The seal itself is rubber. Rubber is waterproof.

 

[gscallon]

I've had this problem. The 6 inch apron on the outside of my door was flat to slightly sloping inward. I had to use an angle grinder with a diamond bit to grind it down so that it sloped outward. I also used Sikaflex caulking on the sides where the door meets the wall. Now any water that hits the door and falls straight down runs to the outside. No more leaks. My view is that until you have the slope angled outward, you'll always be fighting leaks.
I also had a wavy concrete floor where the door touched down such that at one point the door's seal would be nice and squished and at another there would be a gap. I used 1/4" thick slats to take up the space and sanded them down to conform to the concrete. All that work and so far this winter I have no leaks. That said, I live in California where it rains like 1 inch a year.

Good luck!
-Greg

 

[djjsr]

The seal does not compress much when the automatic door opener closes the door. Can this be adjusted?

Yes. Check your manual.

 

[jevoy]

Hey Greg. I thought of the grinder thing as well. I think that is my only option. Was it difficult to make a nice job out of it? Time consuming?

Thanks.

 

[jevoy]

Thnx to djjsr.

 

[djjsr]

Most openers have similar adjustments. Opening travel limit, closing travel limit, opening force limit and closing force limit. You need to adjust the closing travel limit slightly to be sure the door is closed tightly against the seal. If you go too far, the closing force limit will tell the door to open.

I never really thought the opening force limit was too important until one day my door froze to the floor and I didn't know it. When I hit the button to open the door, the door didn't want to be opened and the opener proceeded to destroy the top panel. Lesson learned, about 800 bucks worth. Check the book and be sure ALL of the adjustments are set properly.

 

[gscallon]

Hey Jevoy,
It took me about 2 hours to grind the apron using a diamond bit from Home Depot attached to my crappy Chinese angle grinder. I believe the diamond bit was 6" in diameter. I used a sharpie to mark a straight line exactly under the door and that was my high point. Just make sure you always keep the slope angled outward and you'll be OK. I also used the grinder to grind some pathways for the water to travel across my driveway into the bushes.
The process didn't take that long but it was super dusty. I cracked my garage door open about three feet and used thin plastic painters tarps and blue tape to seal up the garage opening really well. If you don't seal it up, you'll have dust everywhere in the garage. Mine stayed dust free which is something I can't say about my neighbor's car.

Good luck. If you have any more questions, just ask.

Regards,
-Greg

 

[T_R]

You can adjust the opener to close tighter and push on the seal harder. Chamberlain should have buttons on the back for programming, read the manual. Basically you want to slowly bring the door down by tapping the down button until the seal is fully compress, but not going so far you buckle the door. DON'T just hold the down button while programming, you will buckle the door.

 

[Slowgsr]

You could try a threshold glued to the floor - that's my plan anyways.

 

[DeliveryGuy]

Check the side weatherstrip. It is often the problem. If wind can push the door off of the side rubber, water will run in from the sides and pool in the corners, making it appear as if the bottom is leaking. Make sure the side weatherstrip does not lose contact with the door if you push inward.

 

[jevoy]

Hey Greg. Just picked up a couple 7" masonry grinder discs and borrowed a friends 7" grinder. I used my 4" today and it barely touched it. I placed a line about 1/4" in from were the seal would land. Going to try the bigger grinder soon. Also bought a 40 grit flapper disc to touch it up after the major grinding. You said you used a "bit" im assuming it was a disc ...correct?

Thanks John.

 

[upndown]

Garage doors are neither air tight nor water proof! If the concrete was done correctly, the bottom W/S should be sufficient.
As mentioned earlier, maybe a little more down force.
Also when closed, lay a level on top, just to make sure a cable didn't slip.

 

[jevoy]

Upndown. I have a good slope but were the seal rests on the floor the concrete is flat or a slight slope towards the door. Im betting if i fix the slope issues that will fix my leak issue.

 

[gscallon]

Jevoy,
I don't think the masonry discs you're describing are what you want. Here is the exact bit/disc I used.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-7...rbo-Cup-Grinding-Wheel-HD-TAW7012L1/202884368

Good luck with the job. Hopefully it'll go smoothly.

-Greg

 

[TonkaJoe]

You could try a threshold glued to the floor - that's my plan anyways.

^^ This right here.. my floor is sloped along with the driveway but I still had snow sneaking in during storms in the winter months, solved the problem with this. Be sure to check that you have your opener properly adjusted for allowing enough downward pressure like others have mentioned too.. that combination should solve your issue. Link below shows the threshold

http://www.garagepower.com/index.php?moduleId=SGW9DWrh&browse=product&p=WyK2zuTl

 

[unslow1]

In some cases I've also seen guys put foam like you would wrap a water pipe with inside the bottom rubber strip. It looks like those pool noodles.

 

[jevoy]

TonkaJoe. Thanks for the link. Looks like a nice product. I have 3 doors to do so i would need 29' which would cost me well over 300$. I am going to try grinding first and if that fails i will consider the thresholds.

Thanks.

 

[onthefence777]

Hey there. Just had overhead garage doors installed and they are leaking under the seal on the bottom when it rains. The seal does not compress much when the automatic door opener closes the door. Can this be adjusted? Spring too tight and not allowing the door to close down tight enough? Thanks.

My crappy garage door didn't leak water into the garage because it was a crappy door, but because my driveway was either designed by idiots and/or poured by idiots.

When I had my real nice insulated door installed, I asked the salesman if rain would still get in my garage. He replied:"I don't sell submarine doors son. I sell garage doors. If you have a grade problem now, you will have a grade problem even if I sell you the most expensive door"

I bought a nice insulated door from him that seals well, and low and behold, the rain still gets in my garage LOL

 

[encantofred]

i have two 14' wide doors. i get some seepage with a heavy rain. the last thing i want to do is start grinding the concrete. and no, i did not slope it at the door. didnt like that.

there are two simple things to try. one cheap and one not so cheap. the rubber threshold that slides onto the bottom of the door is available in bigger diameters so there is more sealing power. that is pricey.

this is what i did. i slid this stuff (foam backer rod) through the bottom of the rubber threshold. costs 4 bucks per door. it did help. it does tend to work its way out once in a while.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/MD-Build...acker-Rod-for-Gaps-and-Joints-71506/100165680

you might give it a try. easy to try and easy to take out if you dont like it

tom