Uneven Garage Door/Floor Question

[tioga0630]

As regulars on this group know (!), I've moved in with mom and as a Sandwich Generation kid (formerly known as Baby Boomer) have like a trillion home improvement projects on my hands.

Last summer, I put up that rubber-flanged vinyl molding around a garage door completely bare. The fact the door is completely bare wouldn't have been such a problem if the garage wasn't in her/our basement! (She was paying electric bills of $400+ a month here in the mountains.)

Anyway, while this molding helped somewhat, a much greater source of wind--yes, wind--is the fact that the poured concrete "garage" (read "cellar") floor is out of level. I've been using throw rugs to chink up the place where the floor drops.

Aside from replacing the entire door--which should have been replaced years ago--but now can't be because she has other more urgent home repair issues--and won't sell the d*@m house--even though we were just through one wicked ice storm-- I say aside from replacing the entire door, can anyone come up with ideas of how to handle this unevenness in a cosmetically acceptable way?

We look like unfortunate Bosnians, with crappy carpets inside and out. (TIA, yeah, I know!)

[Pop]

[e-mail] wrote: ...

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I would think a piece of wood or suitable material fastened to the bottom of the door to complete the closure, and wide/thick enough to accept the normal door seal material, would work, would it not? I've noticed my own garage doors were cut on the bottom section to align well with the floor slope - so I don't know why you couldn't sandwich the door with something that would conform to the concrete. Make all your templates etc. with the door down all the way - you don't want to change the door position, just fasten something to it to fill in the gaps and to accept a door bottom seal. You should probably use treated wood unless you opt for aluminum, so it might add enogh weight to the door to require a tension adjustment.

Pop

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Cut a strip of plywood or a 1 x 4 the length of the door. Lay it on the ground next to the door (level) and using a compass or dividers to follow the contour, scribe the bottom of the wood. Now use a jig saw to follow the line. Attach this to the bottom panel of the door for a near perfect fit. You can put some 3/4" insullting strip on the bottom for a better seal.

[tioga0630]

Edwin and Pop always come through Thanks! I'm amazed I didn't think of *something* like what you suggested myself. I'd attached a furring strip to the absolute bottom of the door where it makes contact with the floor; and it didn't work. You guys give do-able responses to beginners; that's awfully kind.

[Philip Lewis]

If I wanted to do an "insulative" plug, i'd do something like this:

1: put a 4' wide tarp centered along the line of the door. 2: on top of that, put a single long sheet of "clear" food wrap centered on where the door hits the floor. (have ready another piece of food wrap the same length.) 3: Get a can of expanding foam, put a nice fat strip of it down the line with where the door would hit, then quickly put the second piece of clear wrap on top... a "foam" sandwich if you will. 4: close door. The door should displace the foam along it's length. The foam sticks to *everything* (except the clear wrap in my experience) which is the purpose of the tarp, etc. Protect anyplace you think it will ooze. 5: once the foam cures, you should be able to open the door, remove the clear wrap, and cut away anything that "stuck out" leaving you with a perfect gasket for the bottom of the door. 6: Paint the gasket with a primer and UV protective paint to match the rest of the door.

The gasket should be light and easy to attach to the door with caulk or adhesive... even hook and loop (velcro) strips if you want to be able to remove it.

I havn't done this, but i have played with foam and clear wrap (making props for theatre) and it should work. It should not add any significant weight to the door like wood might.