Garage door frozen to the ground in winter
This is almost always a the bottom seal is iced to the slab. Repair costs $90 to $220 and takes 30 to 60 minutes. Safe to operate: Do not force it.
Check this first — it may cost you nothing
Pour warm — not boiling — water along the bottom edge, or work a flat plastic tool under the seal. Never run the opener to break the ice; that is how seals tear and cables come off drums.
Why this happens
Water pools at the base of the door and freezes overnight, bonding the rubber seal to the concrete. The door is not broken — it is stuck to the floor, and forcing the opener against that bond is what turns a free problem into a paid one.
Meltwater pooled under the seal and refroze, bonding the rubber to the slab. Free the seal with warm water — never drive the opener against the ice.
Less likely, but possible
- A seal already hardened and cracked, which lets more water in to freeze
- A slab that slopes toward the door instead of away
- A failed threshold seal allowing meltwater to pool
What happens if I ignore it?
Forcing it tears the bottom seal, and if the opener wins the fight it can pull a cable off its drum — turning a nuisance into a $140 to $260 repair on a cold morning.
The repair: weather seal
Garage door weather seal replacement costs $90 to $220 installed for a bottom seal, or $150 to $350 for the full perimeter. Seals last five to ten years and fail sooner in high-heat and high-freeze climates.
Read the full weather seal guide →Get a tech dispatched
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