Is Your Garage and Garage Door Ready For Winter?
As the leaves begin to fall and the winter months approach, it’s important to winterize the garage door against another harsh Midwestern winter. The residential garage door is most often the largest and frequently traveled entrance of a home. The following tips will help improve your heating bills, energy loss, and keep your garage door and opener in reliable working condition all winter long.
Inspect Garage Door Seals
Begin the winterizing process by inspecting the bottom seal, also referred to as the astragal, of the garage door and the all-weather seals around the side and top of the garage door. While the garage door is shut, inspect the bottom from the inside. If light or cool air comes through beneath the seal, it may be a result of a rip or tear along the seal. Raise the garage door a few feet and check seals from the outside of the garage. If any noticeable rips or tears exist, replace your seals! You’ll be money ahead.
On most new garage doors, replacing the bottom seal is done by simply sliding the astragal off and replacing it with a new one. (Double wide doors are more challenging) Bottom seals can be found at any home improvement store or through an Overhead Door dealer. It is best to take a sample of your bottom seal with you as there are a number of different styles. Older wood garage door astragals are nailed on. To replace, carefully pull out the nails and replace the astragal with a new seal and nails.
If your door is in need of a new all-weather seal, remove the old seal, measure and cut a new seal, and replace the seal and carefully nail back on. For a demonstration and more detailed instructions on how to replace weather seal watch a demonstration video here.
Don’t want the hassle of replacing seals yourself? Give Overhead Door a call and we’ll schedule Same Day Service. We can replace your weather seals and do basic door and opener maintenance at the same time. Not a bad idea if it has been a while since you have had your door serviced.
Insulate the Garage Door
A huge amount of heat escapes through the garage door if it is not insulated properly. Is your garage door insulated? If not, it’s time to consider a new energy efficient garage door like our Thermacore Series. Online tutorial videos suggest ways to insulate the door with glued pieces of insulation. Avoid this ineffective insulation method and consider replacing the garage door. Overhead Door of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City wants to help you save energy costs. We would love the opportunity in assisting you upgrade your door and opener system.
Check and Replace Batteries
Imagine being stuck in the driveway during sub zero weather because of a dead remote or keypad battery with a car full of small children and groceries. The final step to preparing your garage door for winter is to check and replace the batteries in all remotes and the keypad. New batteries are sold online and at many dealers. If you own an Overhead Door brand garage door opener system, simply bring your remotes to our showroom and we will replace them FOR FREE! FREE BATTERIES FOR LIFE!
Energy Saving Tips
• Avoid leaving the garage door open for any length of time. Any type of cold air infiltration will affect your homes heating efficiency. Our goal is to minimize winter air from hitting the inside walls of your house.
• Shut the garage door prior to entering the house. Drafts can flood the home with cold air causing the heat to kick on and work harder to warm the home.
• Insulate garage walls. Interior attached garage walls especially need insulation. If you are not experienced installing insulation, it may be a good idea to hire a professional.
• Inspect and replace worn or torn weather seals on the walk in door between the house and garage.
Getting your residential garage door winterized as soon as possible this fall will ensure the garage is ready for the elements when the first freeze hits the Midwest.
To contact Overhead Door for more information about garage door maintenance and winterizing, click here or call 319-363-9976 (Cedar Rapids), 319-338-9747 (Iowa City) or toll-free 800-393-9976, Monday thru Friday, 8am to 5pm.