Garage Doors:
Worn Weatherstripping, the Trim the Door Rubs and Dented Panels

The bottom seal

The rubber or vinyl strip along the bottom edge of the door squashes against the slab when the door closes. Over time it flattens, cracks, tears at the corners, or pulls out of its track. In a Portland house, the garage door weatherstripping was incomplete, with visible gaps. Russ’s report listed what that lets in: drafts, moisture and pests.

A garage slab that slopes or has settled makes it worse, because the seal can only stretch so far. The garage slab cracks post covers that side of it.

The sides and top

Along the sides and top of the opening, a strip of trim called the stop molding usually carries a flexible flap that presses against the door face. When it’s missing or brittle, there’s a gap you can see daylight through. When it’s nailed on too tight, the door rubs every time it moves.

Rubbing trim showed up as its own finding: damage where the door had worn into the trim or scraped the paint off its own panels. A Vancouver door had a large gap on one side, damaged panels and a loose plastic window insert. That’s the kind of door Russ writes up as a whole.

Dented and damaged panels

Panel damage was split between “minor” (17 houses) and plain “panel damage” (16). In a Troutdale house, the panels had minor damage that didn’t appear to affect the door’s operation. Russ’s recommendation there was to budget for repair or replacement. In a Vancouver house, a damaged panel got a recommendation for a garage door contractor to evaluate.

Most dents come from a car bumper, a basketball or a door closing on something. The bigger concern is a panel bent enough to stress the hinges and change how the door rides in its tracks.

The door into the house

The door between the garage and the living space gets its own weatherstripping finding. A Vancouver report noted inadequate weatherstripping there, which lets drafts and garage air into the house. That door is also part of the garage fire separation, and the garage-to-house fire separation post covers the self-closer and fire rating.

What Russ checks

He operates the overhead door with its opener, tests the auto-reverse and photo-eye sensors, and looks at the panels, hardware he can see, tracks, weatherstripping and trim. He looks at the house door’s seal, closer and rating where visible. He doesn’t adjust or repair the door. Findings get a recommendation for a qualified garage door contractor.

The guide to what to look at in the garage before you make an offer covers the slab, fire separation and electrical. To set up an inspection, you can book online.