How to Prep for Weather Stripping on a Garage Door

You can apply weather stripping materials to form a seal around your garage door. If you have a garage with heat or a garage with basic insulation, applying weather stripping around your garage door can not only keep the temperature in the garage stable, but it can also protect the door from the elements.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Ladder (optional)
• Pry bar, or hammer
• Scraper, or putty knife
• Sandpaper

1. Get rid of any existing weather stripping. Use a pry bar or hammer to completely remove the old or worn out weather stripping.

2. Pull out remaining nails or staples. Although you can apply weather stripping over existing debris from the previous weather stripping, it's best to start with a clean slate on the area around the garage door.

3. Use a scraper or putty knife to scrape any adhesive material around your garage door. Your garage door frame may also have pieces of wood or a layer of old paint that need scraping.

4. Sand any areas that you may not have been able to scrape cleanly in Step 3. Using sandpaper, lightly sand down wood that may have splintered and areas that appear rough or uneven.

5. Put on a glove and go over the area you're going to be placing your new weather stripping. This allows you to make sure the area is clean and that there are no remaining nails, staples or debris.

Tips & Warnings

• If you need to use a ladder to reach the highest point of your garage door, make sure you have someone to hold the ladder or have it properly positioned to prevent injury.