Can You Waterproof a Garage Door? (A Super Simple Guide!)

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Can You Waterproof a Garage Door?

Do you find small puddles of water on the floor, just next to the garage door? Looks like you have a leaky garage door. How can you fix that? Can you waterproof a garage door? 

You can waterproof a garage door. Check regularly and replace the seals on the garage door when required. The garage door seals and weatherstripping to check are:

1. Bottom Seal
2. Bottom Threshold Seal
3. Door Stop Side Weatherstripping
4. Panel Weatherstripping

Garage door seals and weatherstripping work perfectly well when they are new. However, as time goes by they begin to be less effective. 

Even before you see water puddles on the garage floor, you may start experiencing cold drafts near the garage door sides and bottom. 

Garage door seals and weatherstripping are made from flexible polymers or synthetic rubber. The material tends to become brittle and develop cracks with time. UV radiation from the sun is the main culprit.

The variation in temperature, between day & night, summer & winter, also adversely affects the shape & integrity of the seals. They can distort or get damaged physically.

Why Is Weather Stripping Important?

When your garage door seals and weatherstripping are not in good condition they let in more than just rain water. Cold air gets into the garage, negating the effects of garage insulation. Wind will bring in dust & dirt. Even small insects, such as ants and spiders, have easy access to your garage.

Water pooling on the floor is damaging and unsafe. Water permeation results in crack development and coating failures in concrete garage floors. 

Wet floors are slippery, as it is. Cold air leaking in through a garage door that is not waterproof makes it worse. Water turns into a thin layer of ice. The floor becomes even more of a slip hazard. The frozen ice on the door seals may jam the garage door too.

You have insulated your attached garage and even installed a garage heater. Unfortunately, a garage door that is not waterproof, is negating all your efforts to keep the garage warm. 

Cold outside air, seeping in through the cracks and gaps in the garage door seals is still making your garage chilly and uncomfortable. A cold attached garage takes away some of the heat from your home too!

When your garage is not completely waterproof you will also end up spending a lot more time keeping the garage clean. It will be dusty most of the time. Spider webs and buzzing flies will become a nuisance.

A dirty, pest infested garage is more than unsightly. It is bad for your health and well-being. 

Waterproof your garage door to stay safe and cozy.

How to Weather-Seal a Garage Door?

Checking and replacing the weather-seal on a garage door is quite simple and you can do it yourself. The first step is to check the existing weather-seals. Do this a couple of times a year and certainly before winter.

Garage Door Bottom Seal

The garage door bottom seal is made from flexible vinyl or synthetic rubber. It is a U-shaped strip attached to the bottom edge of the garage door. It rests directly on the garage floor (or a bottom threshold seal) when the garage doors are closed.

Switch off all the garage lights, close the garage door and check to see if any sunlight is streaming in from the bottom. Streaming light indicates there are gaps.

The bottom seal slides into an aluminum channel fixed to the bottom of the garage door. Raise the door to a height of 5’ – 6’ and disconnect the garage door opener. Check to see if the seal is in good condition. 

It is time to replace it, if the seal has become brittle and has cracked in several places. Just pull out the old seal and insert the new seal in the aluminum channel.

Garage Door Threshold Seal

Usually a garage door threshold is attached to the garage floor for the bottom seal to rest when the door is closed. This allows for better sealing, even when the garage floor is not perfectly level.

The threshold seal is also made from flexible vinyl or synthetic rubber. It is an upside down U-shaped strip attached to the garage floor by adhesive.

Run your fingers along the entire length of the threshold seal. If it feels brittle or you find cracks, it’s time to replace it.

Rip off the worn out threshold seal with a putty knife or a scraper. Clean the garage floor surface with a solvent. Use a sandpaper, if necessary, to smooth out any roughness. 

Attach the new garage door threshold seal to the garage floor using adhesive.

Garage Door Stop Weatherstripping

The sides of the garage door are sealed using vinyl or synthetic rubber weatherstripping attached to the door stop molding. To replace it, remove the old weatherstripping. New weatherstripping is attached using an adhesive and reinforced with nails or screws. 

Sometimes the door stop molding comes with built-in weatherstripping. In this case you will need to remove the molding and replace it with a new one.

Garage Door Panel Weatherstripping

During your test when you switched off the garage lights, closed the garage door and looked for any light streaming in, you may have noticed some light streaming in through the gaps in the door panel joints. 

If so, then it means that the door panel weatherstripping has also outlived its life. It’s time to replace it.

Disconnect the garage door opener so that you can operate the garage door manually. Lift the garage door to a height where the two panels are nearly perpendicular to each other.

Lock the garage door in place using step ladders or strong wooden furniture at both ends of the door. Peel off the existing V-shaped panel weatherstripping and insert new ones.

Thank you very much for reading the post. I do hope you found it informative and useful.