When a storm rolls through and brings a lot of rain, your house may be susceptible to water damage or flooding. The most vulnerable places that can experience water damage during heavy rain are your garage door and the inside of your garage.
Your garage door is the main protective barrier that keeps the items inside of your garage safe from the outdoor elements. If your garage door succumbs to water damage, it can impact the door’s integrity and potentially affect the belongings you store in the garage.
Learn how to prevent rain damage on your garage door and the effects heavy rain can have on your residential door.
Lasting Effects Heavy Rain Can Have on Your Garage Door
It’s crucial to protect your garage door from heavy rain to prevent any long-term issues. Too much rain is responsible for a few lasting problems that garage doors can take on after an intense rainstorm.
Many homes have wooden residential garage doors, and this type of door is the most likely to receive rain damage. Like other wooden items or furniture, wet wood can drastically change shape or size because of water exposure. Some of the main effects water can have on a wooden garage door and other materials are:
- Warping: Heavy rain can warp your garage door and impact its functionality. Your garage door may not open or close properly because of its size or shape change after water damage. This warping can cause damage to your garage and be potentially dangerous.
- Absorbing: A lot of rain can soak into your garage door and make it extremely heavy. The weight difference is exponentially greater than when the garage door was first installed. The extra weight puts more stress on your garage door opener and the other features of your garage. It can also make manual operation difficult or even hazardous.
- Freezing: Heavy rainfall can pool up in the rubber seals and other parts of your garage door. When the temperatures drop below freezing, the leftover water sitting on your door will freeze. This effect can freeze your garage door shut and impact the operation of your garage door opener. You don’t want to wait until the ice melts to use your garage door.
- Rusting: Heavy rain can cover all areas of your garage door and garage door opener system and cause the metal pieces to rust. This damage can affect the garage door panels and lead to a faulty garage door opener.
Even if one panel on your garage door is impacted by heavy rain and changes shape or size, the whole garage door won’t function properly. The part of your garage door that is at high risk for rainwater damage is the bottom panel because it makes contact with the wet ground.
The risks of heavy rain on your garage door may cost you repairs. Homeowners can’t avoid extreme weather or rainy days, but you can take steps to protect your garage door from water damage and improve its longevity.
How to Protect Your Garage Door From Rain
If you don’t take the necessary steps to prepare your garage door for heavy rain and flooding, your door may experience damages, or the inside of your garage may flood.
Take the best care of your garage door so it can last longer and protect the inside of your garage. Follow these helpful tips to prevent heavy rain damage on your garage door:
1. Install New Weatherstripping
You can protect your garage door and the items inside your garage by replacing the weatherstripping on your garage door. People use weatherstripping on many outside entry points to prevent rain, snow and other outdoor elements from making their way inside. The strip will make a secure seal on the bottom and sides of your garage door and prevent heavy rain from leaking inside.
If you have a newer garage door, check to make sure the weatherstripping is intact with no tears or rips.
2. Test Your Garage Door’s Function
If a storm is coming your way and you know you’ll get a few inches of rain, check to make sure your garage door is working properly. If you try to close your garage door before a big storm and the door is not working, the inside of your garage and all of your belongings can become soaked.
Start by testing its ability to open and close. Clean off the sensors and move any objects that might get in the way of the garage door closing. If something is off, you know to contact a technician to diagnose the problem and get your garage door back up and running.
3. Look at the Quality of Your Garage Door
Check to make sure there aren’t any cracks or holes in your garage door that could let in water from a storm. The place you should pay extra attention to is the bottom of your garage door. If the panel has a crack or is warped and doesn’t align with the ground, rainwater can get inside your garage.
4. Add a Trench Drain
If the water flows toward your garage door, a bad rainstorm can quickly overwhelm your garage door with water. Installing a trench drain can help draw rainwater away from your garage and decrease the chance of it flooding or taking on too much water.
5. Clean Your Gutters
If you have rain gutters above your garage, check to see if you need to clean them out. You want water to flow away from your garage instead of falling down right on top of the garage door. If you don’t have gutters above your garage door, consider installing them to protect it.
6. Check the Water Path From Your Garage Door
When it rains outside, does the water flow away from or toward your garage door? If it runs toward the garage, make sure you have either weatherstripping installed on the bottom or a trench drain to divert the water.
What to Do if Your Garage Door Does Get Damaged or Flooded
If your garage door is experiencing flooding or water damage, here are the main actions to take:
- Clean up the water immediately to stop further damage.
- Start working on repairing the damage or contact a garage door service technician right away.
- Consider replacing your garage door if the damage is extreme.
Contact Best Overhead Door for Garage Door Service and Installation
When you need garage door service, you need help from the team at Best Overhead Door. We provide excellent maintenance, replacements and repairs and information on the best garage doors for residents in Washington and Oregon. If your garage door has water damage from a bad rainstorm or you want routine maintenance on your door, contact the experts at Best Overhead Door to schedule service.