Seven Common Errors Of Weatherstripping

When buying garage door weatherstripping in the winter, beware of these common errors en route to your purchase:

1. Buying enough weatherstripping for your door’s height or width.

It’s better to get a little more than have to run back to the store!  For example, with bottom inserts, you may need 1 foot more than the width of your door to have enough to fold over and re-insert into the channel to ensure a snug fit that will not shift from side to side.  Also, make sure that you have thick enough product to cover all the potential gaps.  Conduct a visual inspection of your door’s sealable area, and take measurements.  See #7 below for tips on this.

2.  Ordering the corresponding sizes of inserts for retainers.

For top and side weatherstripping, standard retainer goes with standard inserts, and large retainer goes with large inserts.

3.  Ordering non-matching inserts for your retainer type

Bottom “T” U-shaped astragal goes with bottom retainer with double, 1/4″ “T” shaped channels.  Bead shaped astragal goes with bead retainers.  Certain door makes such as Wayne Dalton have their own “D” shape style ends.  Clopay door often uses a connection where both ends of the insert fit into a single groove, with the insert material shaped like the picture below.  Single “T” shaped retainers take bulb seal (pictured above), which flattens from an “O” shape to form the seal. And if none of this makes sense… Call us!

4. Ordering commercial product for a residential application and vice versa.

The products needed for a commercial vs. a residential job can vary quite a bit.  Different sizes are used as standards and it’s very important that you use the correct products for your job.

5. Ordering seal with inserts.

If you order a “bottom seal,” you have the surface for fastening to the door, and the rubber or vinyl seal as well.  It is not necessary to order inserts if you have a bottom seal product.

6.  Ordering appropriate width of a bottom insert

If your door is 2″ thick, you’d be best off with 4″ wide insert.  If 1 3/8″ thick, go with 3″.  General rule of thumb is at least 2x the door’s width for the insert width.

7.  Underestimating the level of weather sealing needed for your climate and conditions

Synthetic rubber products are generally better for sealing and durability than vinyl.  Extremely cold, coastal, and storm-prone regions need special care and high-durability products.
We hope these tips have helped.  Contact Price’s Guaranteed Doors today if you need any help with weatherstripping!