I've been asked to replace garage door lower gasket, for a friend. Wooden garage door. Looks like the existing rubber is held on with about 50 roofing nails.
Any hints or ideas to get the job done? I suspect pulling the nails will be a LOT of work. Hammering upwards is a LOT of work also.
I'm going to bring two or three versions of hammer, and a pair of country western fence pliers (you know the one with the dog that died?).
Pulling the nails doesn't seem like that much work. Maybe I am not picturing your situation correctly. Just open the door so you can easily see the nails and not have to hammer "up". Usually can get to at least a 45 degree angle if not closer to horizontal. (The door can almost always go horizontal, but the jam will be in the way.)
Can you rent or borrow a pneumatic roofing nail gun?
Fred
CY: There are about 50 of them, I did a quick estimate.
Maybe I am not
CY: Opening the door so I can see them, puts all the nails between 5 adn 6 feet from the ground. Since the nails are on the bottom edge of the door, any option is nailing UP. Except to roll the garage door all the way up. At which point the nails can be nailed like a wall, but they will all be 7 feet from the ground.
Usually can get to
CY: And that will be about 7 feet off the ground.
I do know a guy who has a nail gun. Wonder if it's worth the bother. And that still means holding the nail gun 5 to 7 feet off the ground.
Now, that is interesting idea. I didn't glance at the rollers, to see how they are secured. Most likely ancient slotted screws.
You got me thinking.... wonder if that's practical?
If you remove the rollers from the bottom panel, you should be able to flip the bottom panel up.
Obviously the rest of the door should be secured to keep it from moving.
Do you have access to a scaffold?
Or even a step ladder???
It's not rocket science
Your friend's nailgun can't shoot UP?
Use pan-head screws and a power screwdriver. We all know you have no problem screwing up - - - -
Lift the door and secure it in place with vice grips, bar clamp, or similar.
If you have difficulty reaching the bottom of the door, use a small step stool, or rig up a simple scaffold with a board and some blocks to set it on.
It should be fairly easy (though monotonous) to remove the roofing nails with a hammer and a small prybar (flat bar, not a wrecking style crowbar).
I'm pretty sure I've seen replacement garage door gaskets in the local home centers.
You could use something like blue painters tape to temporarily hold the gasket in place on the bottom of the door while you nail it on.
If you have difficulty nailing overhead, buy or rent an air powered roofing nailer. You can easily drive hundreds of nails overhead with a pneumatic nailer. Alternatively, you could use screws and a cordless drill to attach the gasket.
Good luck!
Anthony Watson
Have you ever put in 50 nails, at face level? That's pretty tiring work for an old guy who doesn't do it very often.
Have you put in 50 nails, at face level? That's pretty tiring for an old guy who doesn't do that kind of work.
My big concerns, one is if the nails are rusted in place. Might end up doing a lot of work to get them out, or just pound em in flush.
I doubt the screws have wide enough heads.
50 nails out and 50 in, at face level is going to be a LOT of work.Plans are to start at one end, and then pull (tension) the weatherstrip a bit, and put in one nail every foot or so. Go back and put in the remaining nails, later. When the weatherstrip is properly in place.
HerHusband is on the right track. You don't need/want to tension anything other than getting it to lay flat. If you have a helper have them hold one end up to allow you to nail one end in place and then just keep smoothing it down as you go from one end to the other nailing it in place.
Rusted or not, the nails will not be as difficult to remove as you think. They are, after all, embedded in wood which means there's no rust bond between the wood and the nails. Unless the door is made of iron wood
Well, that's reassuring. Hope the job goes well, as you predict. I'll write back, and let you all know.
I've been asked to replace garage door lower gasket, for a friend. Wooden garage door. Looks like the existing rubber is held on with about 50 roofing nails.
Any hints or ideas to get the job done? I suspect pulling the nails will be a LOT of work. Hammering upwards is a LOT of work also.
I'm going to bring two or three versions of hammer, and a pair of country western fence pliers (you know the one with the dog that died?).
A palm nailer, I had one still in the box in garage for years. I finally got to use it when nailing on some cement hardiboard. The damn thing really works! I can drive nails like a Mexican with it.
Most roofing nails are galvanized, short, and have fairly smooth shanks. Roofers routinely have to pull them by the hundreds when replacing a roof (granted, they're usually just driven into 1/2" plywood). I'm betting they'll come out rather easily.
It's not absolutely critical the nails come out. Pry them out as far as you can. If the head breaks off or the nail just won't come out, yank the weather stripping off, then cut off what you can and hammer the remaining nail into the bottom of the door. The old nails will be covered by the new weatherstripping anyway.
You can get screws with wide heads, or simply use washers under the screws.
I don't think it will be as bad as it sounds. If you use tape or something to hold the weather strip up, you'll have one hand to hold the nail and a second to swing the hammer. Roofing nails have big heads and are usually short so they drive quickly. It may take a few nails before you get the hang of swinging at that angle, but you'll find a rhythm that works rather quickly.
Of course, an air nailer would make that job super quick and easy.
I would find the middle of the weatherstripping and start in the center of the door. Secure it in the middle then lay it out towards each end of the door. You shouldn't need to put tension on it, other than enough to keep it straight. Hopefully you'll end up with a bit extra on each end that you can trim off when you're finished. If the weatherstripping is a bit short on each end, you might be able to stretch it slightly to reach both ends.
If you start at one end, you may end up too short at the other end, or overstretch it unnecessarily.
Good luck,
Anthony Watson
I can relate, things are a lot harder to do in my 50's than they were when I was in my 30's.
Just give yourself plenty of time and take lots of breaks. Divide a big job into a series of smaller jobs and anything is possible. Snacks and refreshments help too. :)
Anthony Watson
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