Purchased a house recently in Texas and have these gaps at the bottom of the garage doors. Never had these in our house in Pennsylvania. Not sure if this is common in Texas as it does not get as cold. I would like to seal these to prevent rodents getting into the garage. Would love to hear any thoughts and ideas.
How do I seal this gap?
- Thread starter pathipat
- Start date
Bondo
Well-known member
Ayuh,..... The bracket look to be adjustable, to move the door tighter to it's seals,....
I would not adjust the tracks, they were set by the installer & messing with that may be asking for trouble... but do you have weatherstrip on the outside of the door?
K'ledgeBldr
Well-known member
Adjust the track; and vinyl weatherstripping (made specifically for garage doors) on the exterior.
And, while your at it, might as well replace the bottom weatherstrip also.
And, while your at it, might as well replace the bottom weatherstrip also.
rayra
Well-known member
Adjust the track. Check the condition of the exterior gaskets
But first check the diameter of the wheels. The tracks are usually 2" and aftermarket replacement wheels are often 1.75", which introduces the sort of slack / gap you see there.
But first check the diameter of the wheels. The tracks are usually 2" and aftermarket replacement wheels are often 1.75", which introduces the sort of slack / gap you see there.
rlitman
Well-known member
We need to see the outside to know everything about what's going on.
If you set the door too close, it can rub on the wall, so I too would be wary about moving the track.
My own garage doors came without any weatherstripping seals on the outside. They were wooden doors in an unheated detached garage, so I guess nobody cared, but I got tired of leaves and snow blowing in. I removed the wooden stop moldings and replaced them with vinyl ones that had integral seals. Easy peasy.
Veranda 2149 7/16 in. x 2 in. x 7 ft. PVC Composite White Garage Door Stop Moulding 5094069 - The Home Depot
Get the 7 ft. x 2 in. x 7/16 in. Vinyl Garage Door Stop 0214907003, white Never Rot material, low maintenance, resists damage at The Home Depot
www.homedepot.com
Now if the top isn't hard against the wall when closed, the tracks might need adjusting.
nadogail
Well-known member
The vinyl moldings look like a decent solution to your problem.
Top and bottom are hard against the wall. I have attached an exterior picture and there is no weather stripping on the exterior. I will install that.
But the bottom gap between the wall, floor and the door looks too big to be fixed by the weather stripping. The 2nd picture shows the outside as it looks at the bottom. It looks like it was designed that way.
But the bottom gap between the wall, floor and the door looks too big to be fixed by the weather stripping. The 2nd picture shows the outside as it looks at the bottom. It looks like it was designed that way.
Attachments
New door seals as suggested above. I have had luck with the green hinge system also.
It puts spring pressure on the seals from the wheels ,it does wear the seals out faster though
Greenhingesystem
It puts spring pressure on the seals from the wheels ,it does wear the seals out faster though
Greenhingesystem
rlitman
Well-known member
Ok, that's far too good looking to use the white vinyl **** I posted, though it is sold in brown. You don't need a seal there for rodents, but if you want it to be air-tight, it helps a lot. Seals made for ordinary doors aren't designed to withstand the sliding abuse that garage door seals take, but there are concealed seals made for just your situation. Or you could add a brush seal. This would be the cheap option (if you go this way, add a few staples for good measure):
For the bottom of my door, I stapled on a rubber seal meant to go on a wood door. For that corner, a wood (I'd use a scrap of vinyl decking) block can be fitted to the jamb to almost meet that seal, because yes, as it sits, it is inviting to rodents.
CraigStu
Well-known member
Looks to me like that 1x2 is 2 inches too short. But it doesn't look like you would be able to just ad in a 2 inch piece. If you have the stain color you could ad in a 6 or 8 inch piece which would be long enough to give you space for 2-3 nails or screws. You do your best to make a nice joint new piece to old piece but, since it will be just 10 inches or so off the ground, a bit of imperfection won't be very noticeable.
Jeff Ivers
Well-known member
If it were me, looking at your second pic, I would cut a piece of 1x2 or 1x3 (whatever is appropriate) and run it horizontally on the jamb so that it goes under the trim piece that is too short. Might have to replace it once in a while, but would close the hole.
dcg9381
Well-known member
At the ground: We foamed ours... Cut off the remaining once the foam got hard.
pima67
Well-known member
Even if you get the gaps eliminated, I suggest installing glue boards on either side of the door. I also use them for the house doors. Catch lots of insects, scorpions, mice and even, one time, a Gilia Monster (he/she was freed from the board using mineral spirts)