What Could be Causing the Leak in my Garage Door?
Q: What could be causing the leak in my garage door?
A: Garage doors can develop leaks for a variety of reasons and affect homeowners all across Canada. A leaking garage door can become frustrating when you constantly dry out the garage and attempt to find the cause of the leak. Leaks can also lead to unwanted problems inside your garage with mold and mildew that can make it smell.
The costs and methods used to fix a garage door leak will depend on why it is leaking. Let’s take a look at some of the more common causes and how to fix these to stop the door from leaking.
You driveway is not graded away from the house
If your driveway’s grade is higher than the garage’s and is angled towards the house, water will get inside your garage. You’ll want to have the driveway fixed so the grade declines gradually, away from the garage.
Your eaves are full of leaves and debris
If your eaves are full of leaves and debris, they won’t drain correctly and water can overflow onto the ground right near the garage - or even run down the side of your home into the garage from any small openings around the garage door.
The seals around the garage door need replaced
Inspect the plastic/rubber seals around the exterior of your garage door. These can wear out and crack, causing small openings where water can get inside.
The garage door threshold is the wrong size or needs replaced
Inspect the rubber threshold on the bottom of the garage door. Sometimes, these are not the right size or don’t fit evenly to the floor, if your garage floor is uneven. They can also wear out like the seals around the door.
Check for leaks in between garage door panels
If you’ve gone through the previous steps and water is still getting in the garage, it could be coming from in between the door panels. An easy tip to find areas that could be allowing water into the garage is to close the garage door on a bright sunny day. Then go into your garage, with the garage lights off, and see if sunlight is coming in from anywhere around the garage door or in between the door panels. Anywhere you can see sunlight coming in, are areas where water can get into your garage.
Even after making repairs and fixing leaks, if you’re still finding water in your garage, it could be time to replace your garage door with a new one.