Threshold & Bottom Rubber · Tucson
Garage Door Threshold and Bottom Rubber Replacement in Tucson, AZ
A new garage door threshold seal and a new bottom rubber, done together to make a tighter seal between the door and the concrete floor.
Two different parts doing two different jobs
People tend to use bottom seal and threshold as though they mean the same thing. They do not, and the difference decides what you actually need.
The bottom rubber is fixed to the door. It sits in a retainer along the bottom edge and travels up and down with the door every time it runs. It is the part that wears out, because it is the part doing the flexing and taking the contact.
The threshold is fixed to the floor. It is a raised strip bonded to the concrete across the width of the opening, and it does not move at all. The door closes down onto it. On its own each one closes part of the gap. Together they close it properly, which is why both were done here.
What the job involved
The old bottom seal came off first, then the retainer was cleaned out and inspected. If the retainer is corroded or distorted, new rubber will not seat properly in it and you end up back where you started. New rubber was then fitted across the entire width of the door.
The threshold was measured, trimmed to the opening, positioned and secured to the concrete with an exterior grade adhesive. Positioning is the fussy part: it has to line up with where the door actually lands.
Tools and materials: tape measure, utility knife, rubber cutting shears, cordless drill and driver, screwdrivers, scraper, cleaning supplies, caulking gun, exterior grade adhesive, replacement bottom rubber and the threshold seal. Most of these take an hour and a half to two and a half hours, depending on door width, the condition of the retainer and how much surface preparation the concrete needs.
What a threshold will and will not do
What it will do: cut down the rainwater, dust, dirt, leaves and insects coming in under the door, and reduce how much hot Tucson air comes in with them. It earns its keep when the concrete is slightly uneven, or when water tends to run toward the garage during a monsoon storm.
What it will not do: fix a drainage problem. If the slab slopes toward the garage, or the driveway sends real volume at the opening in a storm, a threshold will reduce what gets through but it will not hold it back. That is a concrete and drainage job rather than a door seal job, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you the wrong thing.
If you are getting water or dust under your door, call us and we will tell you honestly which of the two you are dealing with. It is also worth looking at on a maintenance visit, before the next monsoon rather than during it.
Job details
Area
Tucson, AZ
Replaced
Bottom rubber, full width
Installed
Heavy duty floor threshold
Secured with
Exterior grade adhesive
Also done
Retainer cleaned and inspected
Completion time
1.5 to 2.5 hours
Same-day service across Tucson
Got a door doing something similar?
Tell us what it is doing and we will give you a straight answer, not a sales pitch.
