Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

Filling a gap between new garage door and wall

706 views
Skip to first unread message

lovezoo

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 8:49:28 AM1/31/11
to
I have just had a new steel garage door fitted, and it has left a
small (gap 1-2cm high) between the top of the door frame and the
brickwork of the garage itself.

My (no doubt stupid) question is, what should I use to fill the gap?
Cement or a mixture of cement/sand etc?

Please let me know what you think, as its a simple job, but I really
don't know what to use.

Jim K

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 8:53:43 AM1/31/11
to

get installer back to finish the job?
using
squirty expanding foam?

Jim K

lovezoo

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:05:21 AM1/31/11
to

I don't want to use squirty expanding foam, I want a nice smooth
cement finish to paint over.

3 parts sand to 1 part cement? Just cement?

Jim K

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:20:17 AM1/31/11
to

but what will your "nice smooth cement" stick to and for how long?

Jim K

lovezoo

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:23:41 AM1/31/11
to
The top of the doorframe (steel) and the bottom of the brickwork. For
20+ years with any luck.

John Williamson

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:25:54 AM1/31/11
to

You'd be much better off using a strip of wood on the outside screwed to
the frame, sealed with mastic or backed with expanding foam.

About 6:1 soft sand/ cement with a bit of plasticiser in the mix if you
insist on mortar. Neat cement would be far too brittle after it's set,
and the nature of metal garage door frames is to flex slightly every
time the door is operated. Even 6:1 with plasticiser will probably crack
in fairly short order.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

John Williamson

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:31:02 AM1/31/11
to

Not a hope. Weeks at best with regular use. To make it stay longer, you
need to either weld bits of wire along the frame, or put screws in close
together, to give a key. Cement won't stick to what is probably painted,
smooth steel. If it's not painted, the steel won't last that long anyway.

The Natural Philosopher

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:36:04 AM1/31/11
to
expanding foam and the decoration ( mortar or freame sealer) of your
chose at the visual level.

The Natural Philosopher

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:37:44 AM1/31/11
to
Exactly. If its paint you want use foam to fill most of the gap. and
acrylic frame sealer that takes paint, to provide an aestheically sound
surface.

lovezoo

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:44:59 AM1/31/11
to
So just squirt the foam in and level it off below the level of the
frame and then later use acrylic sealer on top?

I have always found expanding foam really messy and difficult to
control, which is why I was not so keen to use it, so any tips
gratefully received.

Dave Liquorice

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:45:59 AM1/31/11
to
On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:23:41 -0800 (PST), lovezoo wrote:

>> but what will your "nice smooth cement" stick to and for how long?
>

> The top of the doorframe (steel) and the bottom of the brickwork.

Not likely to stick to the frame if it just a flat steel surafce, if
it has holes and/or folded grooves it won't fall out but still won't
stick. Should stick to the brick.

> For 20+ years with any luck.

You are expecting the steel frame to last that long?

--
Cheers
Dave.

lovezoo

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 10:04:55 AM1/31/11
to
On Jan 31, 2:45 pm, "Dave Liquorice" <allsortsnotthis...@howhill.com>
wrote:
The garage door is not exposed to the elements, as it is under cover.

Colonel Edmund J. Burke

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 10:30:38 AM1/31/11
to
"lovezoo" <dib...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:08abed28-4ccb-42cd...@a8g2000pri.googlegroups.com...

>I have just had a new steel garage door fitted, and it has left a
> small (gap 1-2cm high) between the top of the door frame and the
> brickwork of the garage itself.

When you say, "I have just had a..... and "it"....?

It? Unfortunately for england, schools just aren't what they used to be.
It has no referent and is illogical, like much of english history.

LOL

Jim K

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 10:31:06 AM1/31/11
to

make your mind up time ;>)

Jim K

John

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 10:43:01 AM1/31/11
to
> The garage door is not exposed to the elements, as it is under cover.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

In that case, plane a piece of wood to fit the gap and secure it with
frame sealant.
You could use a strip of UPVC in the same way.

John

Man at B&Q

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 10:52:33 AM1/31/11
to
On Jan 31, 2:44 pm, lovezoo <dib...@gmail.com> wrote:

Way back up the thread, get the installer back to do the job properly.

MBQ

John

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 11:07:55 AM1/31/11
to
> Way back up the thread, get the installer back to do the job properly.
>
> MBQ

You mean the installer who didn't do it properly before?
IME a bodger will simply bodge it again and probably make any
subsequent work more difficult.

John

Skipweasel

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 12:37:29 PM1/31/11
to
In article <9e3200b6-5b59-46d8-8e82-f3f7739f32f8
@a8g2000pri.googlegroups.com>, jk98...@gmail.com says...
> squirty expanding foam?
>

That, followed up with grooving it sufficiently to take a neat bead of
silicone.

--
Skipweasel - never knowingly understood.

Skipweasel

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 12:39:20 PM1/31/11
to
In article <7a9bb77a-81c2-4c8c-8d8b-
497fea...@m27g2000prj.googlegroups.com>, dib...@gmail.com says...

> I have always found expanding foam really messy and difficult to
> control, which is why I was not so keen to use it, so any tips
> gratefully received.
>

Put plenty of newspaper down. Flatten the end of the delivery pipe and
make sure it reaches well into the slot before you start. Close one side
of the gap if open (masking tape) and then fill as deep into the slot as
you can.

Jim K

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 1:00:55 PM1/31/11
to
On Jan 31, 5:37 pm, Skipweasel <skipwea...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> In article <9e3200b6-5b59-46d8-8e82-f3f7739f32f8
> @a8g2000pri.googlegroups.com>, jk989...@gmail.com says...

>
> > squirty expanding foam?
>
> That, followed up with grooving it sufficiently to take a neat bead of
> silicone.

?? it's 20mm wide gap, if you were siliconeing you could probly do the
whole thing in 3or4 passes (with curing time between)....

tape on outside, spray with water from back and apply foam from back -
gently does it!!!! watch expansion rate
leave to cure
tape off front - paint (spray?) same as frame/door whatever
hack off excess from rear with knife/brute force as necessary

done in an hour shurely?

Jim K

Harry Bloomfield

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 1:23:06 PM1/31/11
to
lovezoo presented the following explanation :

> I don't want to use squirty expanding foam, I want a nice smooth
> cement finish to paint over.
>
> 3 parts sand to 1 part cement? Just cement?

Surely, with the movement and vibration, it will just fall off?

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk


george [dicegeorge]

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 5:34:57 PM1/31/11
to
saw off excess with an old tenon saw.
[g]

The Natural Philosopher

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:57:32 PM1/31/11
to

They certainly are not, since your (lack of) education seems to lead you
to believe that a perfectly correct grammatical construction is not.


And we all know what age YOU are.
> LOL

And what pray, is that supposed to mean?

Apart from being a sign of an age and an IQ of less than thirty?

The Natural Philosopher

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 9:58:51 PM1/31/11
to
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
> lovezoo presented the following explanation :
>> I don't want to use squirty expanding foam, I want a nice smooth
>> cement finish to paint over.
>>
>> 3 parts sand to 1 part cement? Just cement?
>
> Surely, with the movement and vibration, it will just fall off?
>
Correct.

Only way to bond cement to steel is to cast it round something like a
load of screws or nails.

The Wanderer

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 2:58:29 AM2/1/11
to
On Tue, 01 Feb 2011 02:57:32 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> Colonel Edmund J. Burke wrote:

Dear, oh dear! Why is it some people just cannot stop themselves from
feeding the bloody trolls? The KF means I never see the idiot's inane
ramblings unless someone responds. Is it so difficult to ignore, or do I
need to increase the size of my KF substantially?


--
The Wanderer

What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge,
and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.

Skipweasel

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 3:46:28 AM2/1/11
to
In article <ii7sqs$opm$4...@news.albasani.net>, t...@invalid.invalid says...

> > LOL
>
> And what pray, is that supposed to mean?

It means Little Old Lady, doesn't it?

0 new messages