Our garages have fast become one of the most important places in our homes. Just like the basement, the garage has gone from a place where we might store a few things, but otherwise neglect, to becoming a vitally important workshop, TV room, and laundry room. Keeping our garage warm is much more important today than it used to be. If you are looking for ways to save on your energy bill, you may want to consider installing some weather stripping. It should only take you a few minutes and you will not need a hardware store full of tools, either.

First off, you will have to choose the right weather stripping for your particular garage door. The average hardware store has a stunning number of choices, but the two that you want to pick are the bottom door gasket and a flange style stripping that goes around the outside of the door. The flange style stripping is fairly easy to find. It often comes in two varieties one with dual flexible sides and one that has a hard side and a flexible side that looks a lot like wood molding.

Before you attach the stripping to the sides, you need to be very careful and measure out how much space you have. The last thing you want is to nail in all of this weather stripping only to find out you cannot even close your door any longer. Once you have everything measured out, use roofing nails or the nails that came with your kit to fit everything into place. Make sure you test the door several times during this process to ensure that you do not have to do everything over.

Here are some final tips before you finish up. Make a point of checking on your garage door weather stripping in a few days after installation. You want to make sure that nothing is getting in the way of the garage door opening or closing. It is not that weather stripping is so expensive you cannot just replace a piece if you have a problem, but you need to look out for the motor so that you are not putting too much stress on it every time you leave your home. Done correctly, good garage door weather stripping can save you considerable cash on your next heating bill.

A couple of years ago, I bought a house that did not have ample weather stripping around its' garage door. Back then I thought it was not very important and I decided to leave it be. Big mistake, following heavy rainfall in my area I've witnessed my garage overflowing with unwanted moisture, and my garage roof needing repairs as a result.