Storm season is almost here—is your garage door prepared for it? We sure hope it is! But if you’re not very confident in how weatherproof it is just yet, Jolly Goat Garage Doors can help. Read on to find out how to protect your garage door from weather in Yukon and keep your garage door sturdy and jolly all year long!
1. Adding or Maintaining Your Garage Door Insulation
Adding insulation to your garage door controls the temperature inside your garage, preventing heat loss amidst cold temperatures and keeping the place cold during warmer days. This helps a bunch with energy efficiency, especially if you have an attached garage. But aside from having lower energy costs, insulation also makes a big difference in the face of harsh weather, as it can keep your space comfortable and at the right temperature no matter what’s going on outside.
If your current garage door isn’t insulated yet, your options are:
- Upgrade to an insulated garage door. This is a long-term solution, as newer doors are built to withstand extreme weather.
- You can also use insulation kits. These attach to the inside of your garage door and provide an extra layer of temperature control without having to replace the whole door.
- Seal the gaps. Even a well-insulated door won’t do much if there are big air leaks around it. That brings us to…
2. Checking Your Garage Door Weatherstripping
Cold air can squeeze in through the tiny gaps around your garage door and even between the individual door panels for specific garage doors. This is especially likely if there are high winds in your area. Weather stripping acts like a barrier against cool air, rain, dust, and even pests, so if it’s dry or cracked, that means it’s not doing its job well enough.
Check these to find out if you need new weatherstripping:
- The sides and top of your garage door. This is where wind, rain, and even snow usually sneak in.
- Between the door panels (depending on the type of garage door you have). In some cases, extra weather stripping between panels can even help noise reduction aside from just insulation.
3. Lubricating Moving Parts
Did you know that garage doors can speak? They groan and squeak—which is their way of telling you that something’s wearing down! With Yukon’s mix of dust, heat, and humidity, those moving parts would benefit greatly from regular maintenance, especially before the winter months arrive. Cold weather could make metal components crack, become brittle, and eventually break, so it’s really important not to overlook these small parts.
Maintain them by doing these:
- Lubricate the hinges, rollers, and springs with high-quality silicone-based lubricant every few months.
- Check the tracks for dirt and debris as these things can make your garage door struggle when you’re trying to operate it.
- Tighten any loose bolts or screws. The wind can shake things loose over time, so you should always give everything a quick check-up.
4. Boarding Up Windows
Your garage door windows are extremely vulnerable to flying debris during windy storms and severe weather. These objects could shatter your windows, leaving your garage exposed to rain and whatever else the storm decides to throw in.
The easiest proactive step you can take to prevent this is to board up those windows with plywood from the outside. Just like you’d board up your home’s windows before a major storm, do the same for your garage.
5. Caulking Around the Garage Door and Windows
Garage doors aren’t the only weak spots in a storm. In fact, any small crack or gap around the frame can let in water, and once moisture finds its way inside, you’re looking at rust, mold, and even structural damage in some cases, especially in cold weather.
A quick bead of waterproof caulk around the edges of your garage door and windows can help a ton (sidenote: don’t caulk under the window). To do this, grab a utility knife and remove any old caulk in those areas. If you have a wooden garage door, you’ll have to prime those spots first to make the caulk stick better. We also recommend using acrylic, silicone, or polyurethane caulk, as these are most well-suited for the outdoors.
For smaller spaces and gaps, you can use a toolable insulating foam sealant. But for joints that are 1/2-inch deep or 1/4-inch and beyond in width, use a pre-caulking filler rope or caulk backing rod (must be 1/8-inch wider than the gap). These will fill in the gaps and make caulking easier later.
6. Sealing Outlets and Switches
Believe it or not, drafts from light switch boxes and electrical outlets can contribute to heat loss in your garage. Adding foam gaskets behind outlet covers can provide an effective seal that keeps hot and cold air out. Alternatively, you can also use foam or caulk on wall-mounted boxes. For ceiling boxes, it’s best to use intumescent fillers, which are fire-resistant. Another simple option is to insert child safety plugs in electrical outlets.
7. Upgrading to a Smart or Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener
Got a bad habit of accidentally leaving the garage door open and letting in outside air? It happens to many homeowners—especially those who are always busy and have a lot on their minds. Consider getting a garage door opener replacement and upgrading to a more modern opener.
These models let you open or close your garage from your phone no matter where you are, and some even have features that let you receive instant alerts if strong winds force it open, letting you remotely shut it once again. There are many options and features out there, and they can all help you protect your garage door from unpleasant weather.
8. Reinforcing the Track Mechanism
On a normal day, your garage door tracks already deal with enough pressure. But during storms and in the face of strong winds, the tracks can be bent and misshapen. You can reinforce this part of your garage by installing a new track—heavy-duty ones that can keep the door stable during bad weather and prevent it from coming off the rails.
9. Garage Door Sweep
Also known as a bottom seal, a door sweep attaches to the bottom of a garage door and keeps out dirt, drafts, dust, debris, and moisture. If yours looks damaged or compromised, it’s quite easy to replace them.
Remove the old seal, clean the bottom of the door, and then use a few drops of dish soap to lubricate the track. The next step is to pull the new sweep (we recommend one made of silicone) onto the track and make sure it’s properly placed.
10. Threshold Seal
You can find a threshold seal attached to the garage floor directly below the garage door. Installing both a door sweep and threshold seal is the ultimate way to seal gaps and protect your garage from drafts, water, snow, and other debris. The main difference between a threshold seal and a door sweep is that a threshold seal is better at blocking larger gaps and spaces.
11. Garage Door Replacement or Repair
The choice between getting a replacement door or simply repairing your existing one depends on how severe your garage door damage is.
If your garage door has visible damage, is old, dented, or flimsy, all the weatherproofing in the world won’t help much. Upgrading to a stronger, storm- and impact-resistant garage door gives you long-term protection throughout the seasons. In addition, a new door means you don’t have to worry about costly repairs, especially if the door has extreme damage that requires many complicated repairs. Might as well get a new garage door if you’re going to spend so much on repairs anyway, right?
However, if your garage door is relatively new and the damage isn’t too extensive, a repair might be enough. As long as you try out some of our previous tips, you can still keep your garage door protected during extreme weather.
And, just so you know, Jolly Goat Garage Doors provides Yukon garage door repair services!
Repair Your Garage Door Before Severe Weather Hits
Do you need professionals to do a maintenance check on your garage door? Our jolly team can work with any material—vinyl, wood, fiberglass, glass, metal garage doors, and more. We’ll work to find operational issues as well as aesthetic ones, and we’ll have everything fixed before you know it.
Feel free to explore our website for more information, or contact us for a free estimate!
