Sealing garage door bottom

[Rick Schubert]

I am heating my garage shop in northern Minn with a LP Hotdawg heater. I need to seal the air spaces below the garage door.

The concrete has multiple cracks and has heaved in the middle of the double car garage door leaving gaps of 1/8 - 1/4" on both ends. The rubberized garage door insulation strip does not cover these gaps.

I was thinking of taking the strip off and installing that open cell 3/4 inch foam but I'm afraid it will stick and pull off when we get rain that then freezes. Any other ideas?? I don't use the garage door very often but do some.

Thanks, Rick

[Reed Wells]

Rick, You can buy a u shaped rubber door seal from your local lumber yard. I just installed a new garage door on my addition. Where they banded the doors together the banding made gaps in the rubber. So being the lazy cheapskate that I am, I took some 1/2" pipe insulation and pushed inside the seal. It worked real good. Reed

[Clay Crocker]

Sounds like you need something like this:

http://www.jnkproducts.com/storm-shield-garage-door-threshold.htm?source=googleppc&ovchn=GGL&ovcpn=Gar age+Door+Seal&ovcrn=Category+Garage+Door+Seal+Ad+2 &ovtac=CTX&s_kwcid=garage%20door%20seal|815493970& gclid=CLOK1bnotZICFQm6PAodUDJlLQ

I had a neighbor who used a similar product on a buckled garage floor threshold and it worked pretty good.

Clay

[Anthony Whitesell]

I was just looking for foam/weather stripping for another project and I saw and know that the garage door floor sweeps (round rubber seals) in Lowe's are with the weather stripping.

[Richard Daly]

My 16' garage door had about 3/4 gap on both ends due to the concrete heaving in the center (full 4 inch concrete) After fighting it for a number of years I got 2x4 did some good measuring and cut tapers from the ends ro the center of the door where it hit the concrete, I then used galvanized nails to nail the 2x4 to the bottom . put new rubber on and what what do you know it worked...if your door is not wood you could use a screw that would not oxidise going into a metal door. good luck

keep your fingers out of joiners PLEASE ...Stubby

[Ken Harrod]

I have seen the floor piece that goes under an exterior door but made bigger for garage doors. It was either at Home Depot or Lowes. It should easily cover a gap like you have on your garage.

[Ed Breen]

There's also a foam strip that is used when you fix a camper body on a pick up. I've used it on my garage door and where the crackj was wider I used another small strip.
good luck
Ed

[josh bjork]

Rick, if you have a wood door now, I'd try a retainer and rubber like on this page http://www.garagedoorsupply.com/bottom-seal.html It isn't real cheap but it'll soak up 1/2" or so of gap. +/- if you are lucky or not. The stormshield won't really fill up a gap. It doesn't stay glued down real well, either. If you use some open cell foam it will freeze down. If you already have retainer on the door, put on some new rubber and you can mess around with foam or other inventiveness inside the rubber to fill up some of the gap. Adding anything rigid to the bottom of a door will generally make the door bind in the header or on the jamb. That's why they use rubber there, it gives.

[Jim Andrew]

If all the rubber gasket ideas fail, you could get a bucket of concrete patch and level out the low areas. They make the stuff with a latex additive that you just mix up and trowel down, the old floor must be clean, washed clean would be best. You could just lower the door to make sure you have it even with the door bottom.

[Justin King]

I am thinking of siliconing a 16' section of 1.5" angle iron down to correct my 1/4" gap...

[David G Baker]

My large roll up door has a 3 inch angle iron that was set in concrete when my slab was poured. This protects the edge from damage and makes a good seal when the door is down.

[Rick Schubert]

David, do you drive over the 3" angle iron? Would it be possible to post a picture?

Thanks, Rick

[josh bjork]

Rick, it was common in some places to put a pipe IN the concrete under the doorway. It looks ugly but works pretty well imo, but it was done when they poured the concrete.

[David G Baker]

Rick,
The 3 inch angle iron was set in concrete when the floor was poured. There are several lugs welded on the underside of the angle iron to hold it in place. Yes I drive over the angle iron with my heavy John Deere tractor. The angle is down not up in case I didn't explain it throughly. It is there mainly to give the door a straight edge to close against and to protect the concrete edge from damage. I also drive over the edge with snow chains on the rear wheels of my tractor.
The angle iron is used in many shop entrance doorways when heavy equipment is going to travel over the surface.
I don't have any photos and it is too late in the day to shoot any now. Pipe is also another option but angle stock is easier for my situation.