Garage Door Perimeter Weatherstrip: before you call

The vinyl strip around the door used to be soft and white. Now it is grey and hard, cracked every few inches, and a piece near the corner snaps off in your fingers. It no longer bends toward the door at all.

Worth answering before the call

Is the seal cracked, torn, loose, or missing in places? Is the wood around the opening soft or rotten near the floor? Is anything stored against the jambs, or a car parked close to the opening?

Will a new seal make the room above my garage warmer?

It can help. Drafts around the garage door cool the garage, and the garage cools the floor above it and the wall it shares with the house. Closing the perimeter cuts those drafts, though how much warmer the garage runs depends on the door's own seal, the ceiling insulation and how the space is heated, not the perimeter alone. A technician can talk through those as separate steps if the room stays cold.

How can I tell the side and top seal needs replacing?

Close the door, turn off the garage lights and look along the edges for daylight. Then press the fin with a thumb: it should be soft and spring back. Hardness, cracks, pieces missing, a strip hanging loose, snow or leaves inside along the edge, or a fin that has folded under and torn are all signs. A rubbing squeal as the door moves is another.