Astragal and weather stripping are names that refer to the garage door seals. These seals are attached on the four edges of the garage in order to keep insects from getting inside the garage. Aside from its ability to repel insects off your garage, they also help to ensure that the cold air and moisture will not be able to seep in and out within those cracks that are often found on the garage door. The weather stripping is also a great way for homeowners to be able to save money on energy cost since it helps to keep the garage and the entire house to stay warm during winter.
Just like with the other parts of the garage door, the seals are also being subjected to daily wear and tear. And if they are being subjected to the daily abuses, they will not have as much effectiveness as when they do if they are fully functional and whole.
On this page:
- The importance
- Bottom Weather Seal
- Signs it needs to be changed
- How the Garage Door Seals are Installed
- Cost of Garage Door Seal Replacement
- Get Help from Professionals and Get Free Estimates Easily
If the weather stripping is totally worn out then insects, dusts, debris and dirt particles could easily get into the garage and this will surely have a negative impact on the door’s mechanism. The bottom rubber gasket of the door can also help to make it possible for water to seep into the garage. Thus, if your garage door seal is worn out, the best way to make them to be functional again is to get them replaced. But how much should a garage door seal replacement cost?
The importance
Installing a garage door weather seal is highly important even if it is often something that is not on the top of people’s minds, and you wouldn’t be the first person to forget about it. However, we hope that you will be aware of its importance once you’re done reading what we have to say about the issue.
When you seal the gaps around doors and windows, you’ll be able to save as much as 10-15% on your energy bill, making it an easy investment to justify.
Bottom Weather Seal
Given the ample time and wear, the lower seal will tend to wear out. The garage door seals that will match with the existing doors can be sold in a per foot basis below 2 to 3 dollars for every square foot, with the top door seals having the same cost and even less.
The retrofit solution could come equipped with a dedicated track that can adapt well to the door. The molded rubber seal will simply slide in from a side and then it will be trimmed to fit. There are kits that you can buy to address this concern and these are usually based on the thickness of the door, width and styles, and the cost ranges from $25 to as much as $70 for various applications. There are garage door service companies that will fail to quote the lower seals, which will work particularly on those less common models, which deems them a bit problematic to fix.
Signs it needs to be changed
There are some important signs you need to look out for, which could be indicative that it’s time to replace the seal.
- If the metal around the garage door is starting to rust, it could be time to have it replaced.
- Since the seal’s job is basically to keep weather outside, this is what it should be doing. If all of the sudden you’re starting to feel a draft inside the garage, check out where it is coming from, as it might very well be the seal not holding up.
- As with the previous point, water and rain should also be kept out by the seal. Puddles of water on the ground is a sure way to know that something is wrong.
If you experience one or several of those things, you should replace the seal as quickly as possible to avoid the negative consequences of inviting the weather inside your property, and the most important thing is just that you stay aware that it will need to be done eventually.
How the Garage Door Seals are Installed
Any of the garage door repair specialists should be able to replace your worn out garage door seal. The cost of hiring them will greatly vary depending on some factors, but here’s how they go about installing the new weather seals.
- Take measurements of the entire length of the door – when it comes to installing new garage door weather seals, it’s very important that the installers will have to appropriately measure the length and width of the door so as to ensure that they are installing the right size. When putting on the bottom gasket, they have to make sure that they install the size that is six inches longer than the overall length of the door.
- Turn the power of the garage door off – it is important that the installers turn off the power of the door before they start working. This is to ensure that there is no electricity that is flowing through the door especially when they are in the process of removing the old weather seals and then installing the new ones. This also helps to prevent any injuries in case someone might accidently open the door.
- Determine where the handles that fasten the door are located – without the power that will allow for the door to automatically close or open, it is important that the repair specialist knows where to find the handles that will allow them to be able to manually open or close the door. There is usually a red rope that dangles right above the garage door and this is what helps you to be able to disengage the door opener, allowing for the manual operation of the door.
- Begin the replacement – when it comes to replacing the bottom gasket, the door should be raised in such a way that the bottom will be located just slightly below the junction where the roller track will usually start to curve away. With the garage slightly open and secured well, the installer can then start to pry the slopes that will serve as tracks for the rubber at the bottom gasket on every end of the door.
They can then make use of a screwdriver for doing this. Straightening the tracks can allow for an easier way to insert the new garage door seals. This must be done for the rest of the seals that need replacement.
- Inserting the new seals – finally, the new seals will have to be inserted. To do this, the installers will have to pull the old seals off and remove the debris that will remain at the door and then coat the insides of the tracks with the use of a silicone lubricant spray, after which the new seals will be inserted.
Cost of Garage Door Seal Replacement
Installing one to five interior doors should cost an average of $94, while it is around $135 for five to ten and $180 for more than ten. Similarly, it will cost around $60 to install weather stripping in a single exterior door or about $85 for two, $200 for three and $130 for four.
As mentioned above, there are also weather stripping kits that you can purchase, which are available in varying thickness and quantities. You can also find a pack of the weather stripping material for only a couple dollars, which is just enough to do the touch-up sealing. You’ll also find heavy duty materials that you can use to address other garage door issues such as garage door sealing, which is far more expensive due to the thickness and the design of the products.
A pack of weather stripping material for garage door could cost somewhere between $10 and $20. Those with higher densities could cost a bit more, although the pricing can be warranted because of its increased durability. Bulk order can also result in huge savings that are important in keeping the costs down especially in a large scale door sealing project.
Get Help from Professionals and Get Free Estimates Easily
If you are not comfortable with replacing the garage door seal yourself, you may need to consider hiring a garage door professional or perhaps, a home improvement contractor or a handyman to assist you with the replacement and installation of the new weather seal.
It is very important that you hire a contractor that is licensed and bonded so you will not run into problems in the future. Although the cost of labor might be a lot higher for professional garage door repair contractors, you will be able to benefit on the fact that you are paying for a more secure professional work.