How a Garage Door Weather Seal Can Insulate Your Garage Door & Reduce Your Energy Bills

With energy prices being as high as they are, it’s more important than ever that you do all you can to weatherproof your home, including your garage! If you want to discover how a garage door weather seal can reduce your energy bills, keep reading…

The context

Did you know that you could be losing 20-30% of your heating through your garage door if your garage is attached to the house? That’s a pretty shocking statistic when you consider the rising energy costs that just keep on climbing.

A garage weather door seal is a proven way to help keep your energy costs down and here, we explain why. We’ll also take you through some things to consider when buying a garage door seal, as well as share some other tips and tricks on how to improve your garage heating and insulation.

What are the benefits of a garage door seal?

Garage door weather seals are specifically manufactured to keep water, leaves, dirt, drafts, and unwanted visitors (vermin and insects) out. As a result, this keeps your garage warm, dry, clean, tidy, and hygienic. 

They also help to protect the garage door from wear and tear, prolonging its lifespan. 

Another huge benefit of installing a garage door seal is to help reduce your energy bills by making your energy consumption more efficient.

Can a garage door weather seal help reduce energy costs?

Yes, a threshold seal on your garage door is one of the most effective ways to help insulate your garage better and improve garage heating. 

By forming a tight seal between the bottom of the garage door and the floor, a threshold seal will keep drafts out and help your garage retain more heat. It acts as a barrier against water and moisture too, reducing the risk of things like condensation and mold.

This is particularly important if the space has been converted into a home office or an additional living area. However, improving your garage insulation by reducing drafts also has a positive effect on the rest of your home, making your overall energy consumption more cost-savvy and eco-friendly. 

So, you can stop wasting money by letting heat escape from your garage door and become more sustainable by installing a GaraDry garage door weather seal. It will also help when cooling your home during the warmer months by preventing air leakage from the garage.

A note on U-values

You may be wondering, is it really necessary to insulate your garage? Our answer is an emphatic ‘yes’. 

The reason is because of something called U-values. 

U-values measure the thermal transmittance of heat through matter. They are typically displayed in a range from 0.1 (very little heat loss) to 1.0 or higher (high heat loss). 

Depending on how your garage has been constructed, it’s likely that the walls, roof and any windows will have high U-values (that is, they let a considerable amount of heat escape!). 

To provide you with some context, consider the following (approximate) examples of building materials and their U-values: 

• Cavity wall (brick/cavity/block) - 1.6.
• Timber frame (brick/cavity wood) - 0.46.
• Uninsulated roof - 2.3.
• Single glazed window - 5.6.
• Double-glazed window - 2.8.

As you can see, if your garage features any of those elements, it could be losing considerable amounts of heat. 

So, it makes sense to do all you can to weatherproof your garage and prevent heat loss - particularly if you’re going to be spending a lot of time in it, e.g. you use it as a home office/workshop.

Things to consider when buying a garage door seal

Garage doors come in a whole host of different types and sizes, which is why you can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to buying a garage door weather seal. It’s also essential to make sure you’re looking out for the right materials and product quality. 

Here are some important to think about when shopping around:

The weather conditions where you live

One of the most important things to consider is where you live and the weather in that area. 

Buy Now - Garage Door Weather Threshold Seal Kits

If you live in a warm, dry place, for example, you’ll most likely be all good with a ½” seal or ¾” seal. However, if you live somewhere that often gets deep snow or heavy rainfall, we would recommend a higher water barrier or purpose-built flood barrier like the Garadam 2” seal.

The quality of the threshold door seal

Sometimes, in life, you really do get what you pay for, and this is one of those situations. If you choose to buy a cheap, low-quality garage door weather seal to save cash, you’ll only spend more money in the long run. 

Cheaper door seals are made from lower-quality materials that aren’t as resilient against damage, which means you’ll have to replace them sooner, and they won’t perform effectively. Typically, you’ll find that cheap garage door seals are manufactured from rubber, which will degrade, crack and crumble once it’s been exposed to the elements. 

Plus, low-quality seals often don’t provide a watertight fit, meaning moisture and cold air can get in and heat can easily escape—not good news for your energy costs.

Here at GaraDry, our garage door weather seals are manufactured from high-grade PVC.

PVC, which stands for polyvinyl chloride, is renowned for its hardness, durability and longevity. What’s more, it’s also highly-resistant to the elements, and can withstand significant loads and forces. 

In short, if you want a long-lasting garage door weather seal, it’s got to be a GaraDry!

Getting a secure fit

Our garage door seal kits are available in a range of different sizes to fit virtually any type or size of garage door. 

This is because it’s crucial to get a snug fit if your threshold seal is going to do its job of preventing water and cold air from getting in and preventing the warm air in your home from getting out.

Part of achieving a secure fit is using the correct tools. Our GaraDry adhesive (colored black for a seamless finish) is designed for easy use with a skeleton sealant caulk gun to make sure your door seal is securely in place. 

Foam side block inserts are a great way to double down on weather-proofing your garage by plugging any gaps—particularly common if you have an older, sectional garage door with ‘open tracks’.