One of the common problems of garage doors is a worn out bottom seal. It could get cracked, tear, or fall apart. When that happens, the elements could get inside your garage like cold air, dust, water and worse, rats.
Replacing the bottom seal is something you can do by yourself but you need to know the following;
The type of bottom seal that your garage door has.
There are four types of bottom seals and these are;
- J-Type
- T-Type
- Bulb
- Beaded
The type of bottom seal you’ll have is also dependent on the type of garage door you have and whether it has a single channel retainer or a double channel retainer.
A retainer is where is the bottom seal attaches to.
The manufacturer of your garage door
Different manufacturers will have different standard sizes and thickness of their bottom seals. One manufacturer may have a thicker and wider T-type rubber seal than the other and you can’t use one on the other.
The width of your garage door
Some garage doors could be 2 inch wide but there are others that are wider. Some garage doors in an uneven pavement may need a wider bottom seal so they spread out on the uneven cement.
Once you’ve identified the above, you can now buy and install a replacement bottom seal.
In this guide, we’ll talk about replacing a T-Type bottom seal. This is probably the easiest since you just have to slide it in.
Here are the steps.
- Undo the ends.
- Slide the old rubber seal off.
- Clean the retainer and spray on some lubricant.
- Slide the new bottom seal in.
- Tuck in the excess rubber inside the retainer.
Also, Make sure that the retainer is in good shape otherwise you may run into a problem when taking off or when installing the new rubber seal.
Still, the best way to solve any garage door problem is to call a professional. It is safer and you can be sure that the problem is solved the first time.
You might also want to read: 5 Common Garage Door Problems and How to Fix Them
