Wooden door panel gaps

[GLHS60]

Hello All:

My first post, I found the site while searching for info on sealing older wooden door panel gaps.

I have an older Tudor style house, built on a hill, with a small garage that is essentially in the house basement.

It has a very low ceiling and two separate wooden garage doors, each with a typical over head electric door opening system and low headroom track.

My main issue right now is draft entering the garage between the wooden door panel gaps.

I saw a post recommending foam strips between the gaps, installed from the outside. Sounds reasonable.

While I have good mechanical skills automotively speaking, I'm not very savvy with wood in general.

I probably really need new doors but they will have to do for now.

I'm going to tackle the door drafts as soon as its warm enough to try the adhesive backed foam.

Any tips either way would be appreciated!!!

Thanks
Randy

 

[gnpenning]

Welcome.

Your saying that between the sections were they meet you have gaps?? Not around the perimeter of the door.

Are your doors ship-lap or tongue and groove?

Depending on what type of hinges you have and the condition of the doors you may have a issue with the hinges or the mounting bolt holes. The spring tension should be pulling the bottom panel up to the next and so on.

Also open the door as each section gets to the center of the radius look and see if anything is between the panels causing them not to close up the opening.

Post some pics from different angles.

 

[gungatim]

pics would definitely help. if it is frame and panel, and old, it's probably is loose when cold and swells when humid and panels are undersized, or just old and the joints are failing but really have to see it.

is it painted or stained? caulk may be your easy fix. on frame and panel, it's not uncommon to replace broken windows or broken panels with Masonite and repaint, have done that on old 70's wood doors before...you may be able to cinch the door sections with a strap and add some bracing on the inside as well...

 

[kbs2244]

4 inch strips of heavy canvas or thin rug tacked so that they drape down over the cracks should get you through the winter for low bucks.

 

[upndown]

Without pictures this is all guess work!

 

[GLHS60]

I appreciate all the reply's.

I believe the joints would be ship-lap.

The doors are natural stained on the inside and painted on the outside.

They are old, I'm guessing 1977, but are still very solid, no signs of rot, or loose panels.

There are no windows and they don't seem to have ever suffered any damage.

Is there a normal panel adjustment procedure that might tighten the gap??

They still work O.K. but its very cold and windy recently and there is lots of draft.

I can actually see light between some of the gaps sometimes.

Is it normal for wooden doors to swell and shrink depending on weather, heat, humidity etc??

Is it normal for old wooden doors to suffer shrink & swell worse than newer wooden doors??

Once again I appreciate all reply's.

I'm trying to educate myself before binding up the doors completely in the cold!!

I'll try and get my old floppy disc camera charged to take some pics.

Thanks
Randy

 

[kaymccampbell]

Next spring, Clopay Coachman. Insulated, trim as befits a tudor or craftsman house.