With winter fast approaching, you need to winterize your garage door now. By winterizing your garage door, you will protect it from winter elements and you will also help keep your garage from being a frozen ice-box all winter long.
Inspect The Weather Strips Around Your Garage Door
The first thing you need to do is inspect the weather strip around your garage door. Weather strips are not made to last forever; over time they degrade and get worn out, which is why you need to inspect your weather strip before winter really hits. While inspecting it, you should make sure that it is in place. You should also make sure that no areas are worn out or ripped.
If your weather strip is worn out, or if you don't have a weather strip, you need to install a new one. Measure the length and width of your garage door; you'll need this information to purchase a new weather strip. You can purchase a weather strip for your garage door at your local home improvement store. Follow the direction on the package for installing the weather strip. Essentially, you will be placing the weather strip along the outside edge of your garage door.
Clean All Moving Parts & Lubricate Them
Next, you need to carefully clean all moving parts on your garage, including the tracks and springs. Dirt and dust that builds up on these locations can make it more difficult for your garage door to open and close smoothly. You can clean these areas using a cloth and a little soapy water. You can also use regular dish soap or car washing soap to clean your garage door.
After you clean your garage door, you need to go back and lubricate all the moving parts. While cleaning your garage door, there is a big likelihood that you removed some of the oil that helps these parts move smoothly. You'll want to use a lubricant that is specifically designed for garage doors. Avoid lubricants that contain either silicone or petroleum; these types of lubricants do not work well on garage door parts and could actually cause your garage door to stick instead of operating more smoothly.
Install Insulation
In order to keep your garage warmer, you can also install insulation on your garage door itself. This will help keep the cold, frigid air out of your garage this winter and will make it a more tolerable place to be.
If you have a flat garage door or a garage door that doesn't have any panels, you can use foam boards to insulate your garage door. If your garage door is made of wood, or has panels, you should use a rigid insulation such as foam boards. For steel garage doors, you can install any type of insulation you want, although batt insulation tends to be the easiest type of insulation to work with for steel garage doors.
You can purchase foam or batt insulation at your local home improvement store. You'll need enough insulation to cover your entire garage door, so be sure to measure out your garage door. If your garage door is made out of wood, you can attach the insulation using a hammer and nails, or using a staple gun. If you have a steel garage door, you'll need to purchase industrial strength glue to attach the insulation.
Keep your garage from becoming an icebox this winter and keep your garage door in good working order by completing the steps above. It should take you less than an hour to clean and lubricate all moving parts and determine if you need to install a new weather strip or insulation. Installing new weather strips and insulation may take a couple of hours, but it will be worth it when your garage is not freezing this winter. Contact a garage door service if you need help.
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