Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
2/1/19 3:44 p.m.

My office is in the shop. The shop has heat/air (sort of. Tied into the house hvac, but its a basement shop).

The shop is 3/4 below grade as a basement, with two 8x10 doors. Standard insulated garage doors.

In the summer, hot air comes in around the doors. Winter, cold air. Heavy rains and the shop gets zome water in from under the doors.

Theres gotta be a good way to seal them up. 

Im open to suggestions. Pictures in the next post of what I'm working with.

Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
2/1/19 3:49 p.m.

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
2/1/19 3:51 p.m.

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

When you figure it out let me know. Our 16' and 8' door both face directly west so this time of year they get one hell of a beating. It's not uncommon to have little snow piles from the cracks. We've tried teh largest seals they make. Still gets pushed off of them when the winds get up over 25-30mph. At 50+ they're screwed.

We were told about 4 years ago that we could get hurricane rated rails/doors/seals but they weren't sure how well they'd hold up with the cold. 

rustybugkiller
rustybugkiller HalfDork
2/2/19 12:12 a.m.

My house garage door I installed a heavy rubber seal that glues to the cement floor. That seal in combination with a new garage door bottom seal helps keep water and blowing snow out. You must have a level ground and that is why I haven’t installed it in the shop.

https://www.amazon.com/Sensible-Solutions-3020-20-Foot-Threshold/dp/B00008YGQS

I forget what brand I used but similar to above.

edit: whatever I used to glue that strip to the cement only lasted a couple months. When I mentioned this to a carpenter friend of mine he gave my a can of some floor cement and it’s stayed in place (about 3 years so far).

Apexcarver
Apexcarver UltimaDork
2/2/19 5:01 a.m.

Thanks, been thinking about something like that for my shop, I have to squeegee the floor after every heavy rain from wind blown. 

STM317
STM317 SuperDork
2/2/19 7:41 a.m.

Maybe Green Hinges? They get great reviews.

You might be able to do something similar by just adjusting your tracks closer to the door jamb, but that kind of depends on the brackets and fasteners used on the tracks.

Ian F
Ian F MegaDork
2/2/19 7:54 a.m.

In reply to STM317 :

Those hinges looks like they'll help, but I see they don't replace the top and bottom ones, so you may still end up with a gap there.  Still... might be worth a shot.

But in reality, the nature of an overhead door makes them very difficult to seal. I work with them in pharma clean rooms and "sealing" is done through air-locks and careful pressurization design in the HVAC system.  And this is with fabric hi-speed roll-up doors that cost more than a good luxury car.   Getting a good seal is why I plan to use swing doors for my shop build. I won't need large item access often enough to need a overhead door.

Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
2/5/19 2:24 p.m.

So, replacing the bottom door seal got me 80% of the way there with this. 

Due to the unevenness of the floor, and the transition from concrete apron to vct tile, i need a threshold. One that will give a nice lip for rainwater, and protect the edge of the tile. Taking up the rest of the gaps wouldn't piss me off either.

The rubber glue down strip looks decent, but fragile. Anything else i should look at? I previously used an extruded aluminium threshold with a rubber seal built in, but it did not survive driving over it for the last 3 years. And it didn't survive removal to be able to be reused. So, threshold.

Also, at the corner of the door on all 4 corners, theres a gap along the floor. Any ways of plugging it up?

84FSP
84FSP UltraDork
10/24/21 11:40 a.m.

I added foam core to the standard aluminum door and it made a huge improvement for an hr or two and a few bucks at depo.  Don't judge my mess of a garage.
 

Toyman01 + Sized and
Toyman01 + Sized and GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
10/24/21 12:26 p.m.

In reply to 84FSP :

Mess? You can see the floor and get two cars in it. Mess is not the word you are looking for. 

I use this stuff around the perimeter of both doors at home and all 3 doors at the office. It helps a good bit the drafts. 

 

84FSP
84FSP UltraDork
10/24/21 12:37 p.m.

Hmm will check that out.  Was also thinking of adding a floor edge cushion to seal better.  My new build home had no insulation in the garage which is under the master bedroom and made it an ice box.  Insulation and dry wall changed floor temp like 30deg in winter with help from the door insulation.

Aaron_King
Aaron_King GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
10/25/21 9:55 a.m.

I installed a set of the Green Hinges this summer and so far I am impressed.  They closed up all of the gap on the edge of the door, its quite dark in there now with the door shut.

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