Get to know Weather Seals: the Science and Styles

Despite the protection garage doors provide, debris, pests, and weather can easily slip through the cracks where the door meets the frame. Action Industries can help you prevent these harmful infiltrators from breaching garage doors and other entry points with our range of Weather Seals. Made in the United to ensure high quality, our Weather Seals seal the openings in the venerable top, bottom, and sides of an entry point. Curious how our many styles of seals can block up to 99% of airflow and stop pests in their tracks? Read on to learn the science of the energy-efficient, money-saving power of Action’s Weather Seals!

Why is Infiltration an Issue?

The gaps in entry points when a door closes may be small, but they should not be ignored. Air infiltration affects most entry points, especially overhead doors and loading docks. Pedestrian doors and conveyors can also have problem areas. Heated or cold air that leaks into a building can cause unnecessary utility bills, and uncomfortable conditions for workers. Pests that enter through the openings can be a nuisance at best and damage products at worst, while debris like dirt and leaves can ruin products and clutter your space.

Where Should Weather Seals Be Installed On Entry Points?

You should install Weather Seals around an entry point’s top, sides, and bottom for maximum protection. If you have a Top Seal, Bottom Seal, Side Seals, and Jamb Seals installed you should be fully insulated.

What Types of Seals are Used to Protect Entry Points?

Weather seals come in different materials, with each having its own upsides and downsides. The main types of Weather Seals include Brush Seals, Vinyl Seals, EPDM Seals, Thermoplastic Rubber Seals, Thermoplastic Elastomer Seals, and Thermoplastic Vulcanizates Seals.

The best kind of seal for an entry point depends on the style and brand of the door, the environment, and the intended use. Doors in environments with extreme weather conditions will benefit from weatherproofing EDPM Seals that can withstand extreme weather without warping, while doors around high-traffic areas could utilize a Zebra Brush Seal’s unique stripe pattern to increase visibility and workplace safety. Whether the seal is for a commercial or residential entry point will also play a role.

Brush Weather Seals

The densely packed polypropylene bristles of Brush Seals are wrapped around a metal rod or polypropylene spine, which prevents them from being yanked out. These dense filaments spread out when engaged with a surface, allowing them to seal regardless of potential grooves or dents. This is essential for stopping air infiltration.

The Brush Seal's high flexible strength is due to the semi-crystalline, synthetic resin polypropylene used in the brush. Polypropylene is known for its lightweight, toughness, water resistance, flexibility, and resistance to heat. The plastic is a gaseous compound created through the thermal cracking of butane, propane, ethane, and the naphtha fraction of petroleum. It is a “lower olefins,” which is a class of hydrocarbons whose molecules consist of a pair of carbon atoms linked by a double bond.

Polypropylene is commonly molded into plastic products with heavy-duty uses. When thin sections of molded polypropylene are flexed repeatedly, a molecular structure is formed that can withstand additional flexing. This is a great benefit that allows the polypropylene filaments to resist pressure and seal up tight spaces.

Action’s Brush Seals come in a variety of styles and colors to fit both residential and commercial needs. To stopping rodents from chewing through your seal with Xcluder to commercial and residential garage door seal kits, see our listing here!

Vinyl Weather Seals

Vinyl Seals are known for their durability against extreme temperatures and time. Vinyl (polyvinyl chloride) is a type of plastic commonly known as PVC that is both durable and weather-proof. It’s a flexible material, so it won’t crack or warp after installation. PVC is made from the polymerization of the vinyl chloride monomer. This creates chains out of the monomers called polymers, which are then processed into plastics like PVC. Vinyl is well-known for how cost-effective and versatile it is, while being a strong material resistant to moisture. It’s one of the most used thermoplastic materials in the world.

When Should You Install Vinyl Seals?

Vinyl Seals are often used for residential entry points and can be used for the sides or tops of both residential and commercial doors. This attractive seal comes in a variety of colors to suit many doors and buildings where looks is an important factor.

EPDM Weather Seals

In contrast to vinyl, EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) is a type of synthetic rubber that holds up in the outdoors and severe temperatures. It has a single-bond molecular structure, which is a lot more difficult for UV rays and ozone to break apart than double-bond rubbers. It’s the most waterproof rubber, and the material does well in extremes from -50 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. The rubber is also low maintenance and holds its shape over time.

As mentioned earlier, PVC is a thermoplastic, while EPDM is a thermoset. Once EPDM cures, it can’t be reprocessed back into the product. Thermoplastic scrap can be reground and reprocessed, minimizing scrap material, which provides cost advantages over thermoset materials. For this reason, TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) was developed as a thermoplastic material that is like EPDM.

When Should You Install EPDM Seals?

EPDM Seals are commonly installed in commercial environments due to EPDM’s ability to not shrink or expand in changing temperatures or crack and freeze in the cold. However, EPDM only comes in black, white, and grey so it doesn’t have the aesthetic appeal of vinyl.

What Seals are Best for an Entry Point's Bottom?

In addition to the aforementioned seals, TPEs, and TPVs are great Weather Seal choices for the bottom of your entry point.

Thermoplastic Rubber

Thermoplastic Rubber (TPR) serves as a middle ground between vinyl and EPDM. TPR is an injection molding resin consisting of multiple chemicals, including plastic and rubber. As a result of its unique structure, TPR materials have certain physical characteristics from both rubbers and plastics, such as being elastic and standing up to extreme temperatures in northern climates. Action Industries utilizes Thermoplastic Rubber in its Reverse Angle Track PLT line of side seals, which come in black, brown, grey, and white. The seal does not require an aluminum or plastic retainer and has a straightforward clip-on installation. PLT seals can be ordered by the foot or in 100-foot rolls.

When Should You Install TPE Seals?

The TPE Seal is a great choice for being sustainable, cost-saving, and high-performing like EPDM. It has the best qualities of plastic and rubber, but less options to choose from.

Thermoplastic Elastomers

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are a mix of polymers (usually a plastic and a rubber), made of both thermoplastic and elastomeric materials. Therefore, they have the benefits of both rubbery and plastic materials. In contrast to other materials, they can have a broader physical range and longer lifespan. The material stays stable when exposed to a wide temperature range and non-polar materials. Like the high-performing EPDM, TPE can endure extreme temperatures from -30 to 200 degrees. TPEs are a relatively green material that takes less energy to produce and can be sustainably made from reprocessed materials. This makes TPEs cost-efficient as well.

Action’s Clopay TPE Bottom Astragals are made up of T-ends with a hard 90 durometer while the middle is a softer 70 durometer. Combined, the materials offer extreme temperature endurance with easy installation. The soft middle part performs best in cold temperatures and won’t stiffen in freezing climates while the seal’s ribbing ensures that it won’t freeze to the bottom of pavement. It also retains its shape, similar to EPDM.

The Clopay Compatible seal’s rigid T-ends offer an easy and optimal installation. The hard material of the T-ends provides less friction and less resistance, which makes the seal easy to string. Action Industries is one of the only companies manufacturing this optimized product, learn more here!

Thermoplastic Vulcanizates

Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV) are part of the TPE family and the closest to EPDM rubber in terms of elastomeric properties. It combines the qualities of vulcanized rubber with the processing of thermoplastics. TPV is made of cured EPDM rubber particles encapsulated in a polypropylene (PP) matrix. Some of its best features are long-term durability and stability, can be processed on standard thermoplastics processing equipment, is lower weight, fully recyclable, and is a candidate for coextrusion.

When Should You Install TPV Seals?

TPV seals can perform in extreme temperatures like EPDM at 30% less weight. However, it does have less seal options to choose from.

Now that you know the different types of Weather Seals, find out which seal is best for your specific commercial needs here! At Action Industries we have every part for every door, see our full catalog here!