0

I would like to replace the weather seal at the bottom of my garage door. The issue is that the bottom bracket of the door is a "wrap" around bracket (see picture). In order to slide the old seal off, I have to remove the bracket. I have watched several tutorial videos online and none of the doors seems to have this type of bracket. I figured that if open the door all the way, there's less tension on the cable connected to the bracket and that it is probably okay to do so, however, on the packaging of the replacement seal it says "at no time should you remove bottom roller carrier". The roller carrier is part of the bracket. Is it safe to remove the bracket when the door is all the way open so I can slide off the old weather seal and slide in the new one?

enter image description here

Improve this question
2
  • Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. The rollers are aligned to pull the door away from the gasket as it rises; can you access it when the door is all the way up? And, you should probably take our tour so you'll know how best to participate here.
    – Daniel Griscom
    Sep 7, 2019 at 23:08
  • Hi and thank you! I'm trying to replace the weather seal that's at the bottom of the door. On the picture, the old seal is not shown because it has been worn off on this side of the door.
    – Jeremy L.
    Sep 7, 2019 at 23:13

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

You're right about the tension being at a minimum when the door is up. There is tension to hold the door in that horizontal position and that tension can be considerable. What the manufacturer is also worried about is if you remove the bottom roller carriers the door will come crashing down, and they can weigh anywhere from 200 to 800 pounds. You need to support the door in the "up" position, a few "c" clamps and a few small pieces of 1x2's clamped in the roller channels so the door can't move. Do not rely on the garage door opener to hold the door in the "up" position. Then proceed to remove the bolts from the bottom brackets. You should then be able to pry the bracket away from the bottom of the door without actually removing it but freeing up the bottom track so you can install the new seal. Good luck.

Improve this answer
4
  • No. The manufacturer is also worried about the remaining spring tension when the door is all the way up. I am concerned that this answer does not deal with that, dismisses it as trivial, and not only can it bite you good and plenty, but you won't be able to reassemble the bottom plate while fighting the spring. The spring tension must come off, and that is not trivial nor a particularly safe procedure.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Sep 8, 2019 at 16:42
  • @Harper With all due respect I've done this at least a half a dozen times and beg to differ on the amount of tension when the door is up. I have not said to remove the brackets, only remove the bolts and pry it down enough to slip in the seal.
    – JACK
    Sep 8, 2019 at 20:16
  • 1
    I did not see Harper's comment before just now. I changed the weather seal this morning. I did exactly what JACK recommended in the comment above, i.e. pry the bracket down enough to slip in the seal. That being said, the tension was still pretty strong so I'll echo Harper's concerns. I wished my garage door had the type of bracket that most doors seem to have.
    – Jeremy L.
    Sep 9, 2019 at 4:03
  • @Jeremy L. As always, Harper makes great points. I'm use to doing all this stuff myself, 55 years worth, instead of writing out directions. Sorry if I underestimated your concern about the tension. Glad you accomplished your mission.
    – JACK
    Sep 9, 2019 at 12:04
0

Absolutely not. You are right, those pieces are under tension even when the door is up. The tension may be at "minimum" but it is still considerable. You will not be able to remove them without risk of personal injury - either from the residual spring force, or the now-undersprung door violently dropping!

Also it will be infeasible to reattach the plate while fighting the spring force. From a ladder.

The dropping can be managed by putting a vice grip on the track (I for one prefer also putting a bolt through a hole in the track, there are usually plenty)... but dealing with the spring force requires you unwind the spring force entirely using winding bars. This is garage door maintenance 203, and a good way for a novice to get hurt. You can google how to do this, but if you do, make certain that the cables are properly wound on their drums as you re-wind the spring force.

Do not under any circumswtance tamper with how the pulleys or springs attach to the shaft - you don't need to do that, it won't help, and it will be very difficult to get the door set right again if you do.

Regardless, I expect that the people who designed this weatherstripping are well aware of the hazards of messing with springs, and designed the weatherstripping to be removable without doing so. I expect if you remove the fasteners you can see, the ends will slide out of the brackets.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.