San Diego doesn't get much rain, but when it comes, it comes all at once. Most of it falls between November and March, and garages that stayed dry all summer suddenly have water under the door.
Fall also brings Santa Ana winds: hot, dry and gusty. Both are hard on garage doors. A short checklist now saves a wet garage and a repair call later.
1. Keeping rain out
Bottom seal
The rubber strip on the bottom of the door dries out and cracks in the sun. Water and leaves get in under it.
Threshold seal
A rubber threshold glued to the floor helps when the driveway slopes toward the garage.
Side and top weatherstrip
The vinyl stop molding on the sides and top seals the gaps around the door.
Drainage
Check that driveway drains and gutters near the garage are clear before the first storm.
Close the door on a sunny afternoon and turn off the garage lights. Any daylight you see around the edges is a gap where rain and dust get in.
2. Santa Ana winds and your garage door
Strong gusts push hard on a closed garage door, especially wide double doors. Doors with weak struts, loose hinges or worn rollers flex and can pop out of the track. An open door in a strong wind puts extra strain on the opener and the springs.
- Keep the door closed on high-wind days.
- Check that hinges and track bolts are tight.
- Wide doors may need a horizontal reinforcing strut across the top section.
- Doors with windows: check that glass and frames are secure.
3. Rust and corrosion
After the first rains, coastal garages in Imperial Beach, Coronado, La Jolla and Oceanside see rust spread quickly on springs, rollers and hinges. Rust makes springs fail earlier and rollers grind.
Before the first storm
- Lubricate hinges, roller bearings and springs.
- Wipe the tracks clean (don't grease them).
- Look for rust on the springs and the bottom brackets.
- Replace a cracked bottom seal.
- Test the auto-reverse with a roll of paper towels under the door.
4. Storm power outages
Winter storms knock out power. Make sure you know how to use the manual release, and that the opener's backup battery is working. See how to open your garage door in a power outage.
5. Next steps
- Do the daylight test and replace worn seals.
- Lubricate and tighten hardware.
- Test the backup battery.
- Book a tune-up if the door is noisy, uneven or more than a few years since its last service.
See our garage door repair and maintenance.
Get your door ready before the rain
We replace weather seals, tune up doors and fix wind damage across San Diego County. Written price before we start.
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