Replacing Garage Door Trim To Last For Years

Replacing Garage Door Trim

Garage door openings use trim that helps seal out rain and snow. The trim also acts as a stop for the garage door, much like a window channel. Old wooden garage door trim often rots over time requiring replacement. When replacing garage door trim, choose a molded vinyl trim that lasts for years. This garage door trim is a solid PVC with a vinyl flap that seals against the face of the garage door. Replacing garage door trim with vinyl trim eliminates the need for painting and offers a better seal than standard wood trim.

Tools and Material Needed

Tape measure

Small flat pry bar

Hammer

Garage door vinyl trim

Hacksaw

Trim nails

Silicon caulk

Caulk gun

Replacing Garage Door Trim

Measure the width of your garage door opening with a tape measure. Next, measure the height of the door opening. When purchasing replacement garage door trim, it is necessary to buy two pieces for the height and one for the door width.

Open the garage door. Pry off the existing door trim with a small flat pry bar and hammer. It is often less difficult to pry the trim from the side that meets the garage door.

Close the garage door. Measure and mark the opening jamb and header 1/2-inch from the face of the garage door. Make marks every 12 to 16 inches. Open the garage door, and use a straightedge to draw a line on the jambs and headers at your 1/2-inch marks.

Measure the top of the opening with the tape measure, and cut a piece of vinyl garage door trim to the measurement with a hacksaw.

Place the piece of garage door trim on the garage floor with the face of the trim pointing toward you. Tap trim nails at each end of the trim and the center of the trim with a hammer. Tap the nails into the trim just enough to start them without protruding through the backside of the trim.

Position the garage door vinyl trim onto the header of the door opening with the vinyl flap pointing toward the garage door. Align the solid part of the trim with the trace line for the 1/2-inch mark. Drive the trim nails through the trim and into the opening header. Drive several more trim nails along the length of the vinyl trim, spacing them 6-inches from each other.

Measure the side jambs and cut pieces of vinyl garage door trim to the measurements just as you did the header piece of trim. Attach the side jamb trim to the opening jambs, with the vinyl flap pointing toward the garage door and the solid vinyl aligning with the 1/2-inch line.

Run a bead of silicone caulk around the perimeter of the garage door opening where the trim meets the door opening with a caulk gun.

Tips

Always install the top piece of trim first. This helps prevent the vinyl flap on the side pieces from getting trapped between the trim and garage door.