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ClearTech Garage Doors

How to Replace Garage Door Weatherstripping (Sides and Top)

Pry off the old stop moulding, cut new vinyl stop with a rubber flap to length, nail the top piece first and the sides last, and set the flap so it just touches the face of the closed door. It stops drafts, light, and blown snow at the edges of the door.

Works for:
Sectional doors with vinyl or wood stop moulding around the outside of the opening. For the rubber along the bottom of the door, see the bottom seal guide.

Written by the ClearTech Garage Doors team in Winnipeg and checked against manufacturer documentation. Updated .

Garage door opening from inside showing top and side weatherstripping and the stop moulding

Before you start

  • New vinyl stop moulding with an attached flap, for the top and both sides
  • A flat pry bar, a hammer, and a nail set
  • Galvanized finishing nails or exterior screws
  • A tape measure and a fine-tooth saw or snips
  • Exterior caulk and a caulking gun

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Check what you have. Stand inside with the door closed. Daylight at the sides or the top means the flap is stiff, torn, or set too far from the door. Press the flap: if it's brittle or cracks, replace it rather than trying to adjust it.

  2. Step 2: Measure the width of the opening along the top, and each side from the floor to the underside of the top piece. Buy stop a little longer than each.

  3. Step 3: Pry off the old stop, starting with the top piece. Work the bar in from the door side and go slowly so the jamb doesn't splinter. Pull every nail left behind.

  4. Step 4: Clean the jamb and press on the wood at the bottom of each side, where the snow sits. Soft or rotten wood needs fixing before new stop goes on.

  5. Step 5: Cut the top piece to the width of the opening. With the door closed, hold it so the flap just touches the face of the door and bends slightly, then nail it every 20 to 45 cm (8 to 18 in). Leave the nails proud until the whole piece is set.

  6. Step 6: Cut each side piece to fit tight under the top piece and down to the floor. Set the flap the same way, touching the door with a slight bend, and nail it.

    Pressing the flap hard against the door stops air for a week, then the flap folds over or the door drags on it. A light touch is right.

  7. Step 7: Set the nails, run a bead of exterior caulk along the outside edge where the stop meets the siding, and check from inside with the door closed. No daylight at the edges, and the door still runs freely.

  8. Step 8: Run the door with the opener. If it reverses or struggles, the flap is set too tight.

Need this fixed?

Weather Seal Replacement

Garage door weather seal replacement in Winnipeg: bottom seals, side and top weatherstripping, and threshold seals that keep out drafts, snow, meltwater, and mice. Cold-rated rubber that stays flexible through a prairie winter.

More about Weather Seal Replacement
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Still stuck? Here is what it usually is.

  • The side jambs are rotten at the bottom. The stop has nothing to hold to, and the track brackets may be screwed into the same wood. Our weather seal replacement includes checking that.
  • The gaps are between the door sections, not at the edges. The joint seal is built into the panels, and a crushed or sprung joint is a panel replacement job.
  • The door sits crooked in the opening, so one side seals and the other doesn't. That's a track, cable, or balance problem. Start with the balance test.
  • The door is uninsulated and the garage is heated. New weatherstripping helps, but the panels still lose most of the heat. Ask about an insulated door.

We look at the whole door, not just the part that failed, and tell you plainly what it needs.

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Common Questions

Can I replace just the rubber flap and keep the moulding?

Sometimes. Some stop moulding has a replaceable flap that slides out of a channel. Most residential vinyl stop has the flap moulded on, so it comes off as one piece and goes on as one piece.

Will this keep mice out?

It closes one route. Mice mostly come in at the bottom corners, where a chewed or flattened bottom seal meets a side flap that has gone stiff. Fresh stop plus an intact bottom seal takes away the easy way in.

What about the gap between the door sections?

Those joints seal against each other when the door is closed, and there's no strip to replace. If you see light at a joint, a section is bent or the hinges on that joint have worn. That's a panel or hinge job rather than weatherstripping.

Sources

This guide was checked against the following manufacturer and industry documents.

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