On Tue, 8 Dec 2009 16:33:43 -0800 (PST), Mike
wrote:

On Dec 8, 6:55Â*pm, "hr(bob) "
wrote:
On Dec 8, 5:04Â*pm, wrote:



On Tue, 8 Dec 2009 08:48:39 -0800 (PST), Mike
wrote:

On Dec 8, 11:34Â*am, Smitty Two wrote:
In article
,

Â*Mike wrote:
Hi all. Â*My garage door is old (maybe 30 years) and probably needs to
be replaced - but not right now. Â*In the short term, I'm seeking a
little advice from the good folks here. Â*When the door is closed, the
middle of the door makes good contact with the floor, but I can see
daylight on both ends. Â*I bought another rubber strip for the bottom
of the door, cut it into pieces and nailed a few pieces to both ends,
but that didn't really have the desired effect - I can still see
daylight under the ends when the door is closed. Â*Here is what I'm
pondering - what if I remove the rubber Â* Â* Â*strip(s) currently on the
door, get some paint stirrers and staple them to the bottom of the
door (3 stacked on the very end, then 2 next to the 3, then 1) to fill
in the space. Â*Then re-attach the rubber strip. Â*The idea being to
fill the gaps with the paint stirrers. Â*A friend suggested maybe just
nailing the paint stirrers to the inside (back) of the door at the
bottom rather than attaching them to the bottom to block the opening,
so that is also a possibility.

Any of you folks had to deal with such a situation? Â*How did you fix
it (short of replacing the door)?

Mike

Assuming the garage floor is flat there, and the door is bowed, I'd set
the door at a convenient height, clamp on a straight edge, and true up
the bottom of the door with a saw.

If the floor is flat, lay a 2X3 on the floor and scribe a line that
follows the line of door bottom, then cut the lumber to follow the
curve, Glue and screw it to the bottom of the door, and the rubber
seal to it.

I'd also not post from google. That way I'd see your OP and any
follow-ups. As it is, I won't.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I do think the floor is flat. Â*I'd probably make matters worse if I
tried to shave some off the bottom, but I hadn't considered that
angle. Â*Will give it some thought. Â*I have father-in-law coming in
town in a couple weeks and he could help me do that. Â*Thanks for the
suggestion!

Mike

P.S. Â*I always (and only) use google for posting/reading usenet. Â*I
like it. Â*I can post from anywhere w/o needing a news reader. I used
Outlook Express years ago, but find this easier. Â*You must've seen the
OP else you couldn't have replied, right?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

It's hard to believe that both sides of the door are higher, every
case I have seen where this has occurred is where the weight of the
walls on the side of the floor depress the sides of the floor and the
middle is higher. Â*If the center of the door is sagging, then a couple
of wire ropes from the sides of the bottom panel to the top center of
the same panel will return the panel to square.

What you say is true - the middle of the door touches the floor
leaving both sides of the door about a 1/2 inch off the floor. Is the
floor straight? I can't say with certainty, but either the floor is
sagging near the edges of the door, or the door is getting warped.
I'm just looking for a short-term fix to keep the rodents out for
now.

As for the poster who suggested this -

"If the floor is flat, lay a 2X3 on the floor and scribe a line that
follows the line of door bottom, then cut the lumber to follow the
curve, Glue and screw it to the bottom of the door, and the rubber
seal to it.

What would be the best way to scribe the line? Perhaps clamp the 2x3
alongside the partially open door, trace the shape of the bottom of
the door and then cut? I like this idea. Sounds more like something
I could do (unlike planing off the bottom of the door).

Thanks again, everyone!

Mike

That is correct. The reason the door is "bowed" is because it is only
supported on the ends, and the weight of the main styles, and the rest
of the door, pushes down in the center.
In warm weather, soaking the door and then closing it onto a center
support with the spring tension off will TEND to straighten the door,
but it won't last. On the doors at a garage where I once worked we put
2X6 steel angle on the bottom of the door to keep it from bending - it
has a pretty powerfull electric door opener on it so the weight was
not a huge issue (over 100 lbs though!!!!!)