There's an automotive design feature that came out in the '90s, called "window indexing" or "automatic window drop." It was applied to German cars with frameless doors; I remember seeing it in a BMW. The idea is that once you close the door, the window automatically scooches up a few millimeters, tightening its seal within a channel in the roof. When you open the door, the window automatically drops out of the channel.
Intriguingly, a similar idea, with a much less hi-tech execution, has been applied to garage doors by a company called ThermoTraks. Garage doors are typically the leakiest part of the house, leaving gaps around the edges that air can flow through.
ThermoTraks has designed a system to counter this. It consists of a sealing kit that goes around the full perimeter of your garage door, and a special door track, which is the BMW-like part.
At first glance, the tracks look like they've been damaged in shipment:
In fact, the company has purposefuly kinked the rails at the points where the wheels rest in the track in the door-closed position. This forces the door outwards, mushing its edges into the flexible seals for a draft-free experience.
It's a smart, low-tech way to prevent heat from escaping your house through the garage.
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Comments
As it opens and closes won't the wheels pass over these bumps several times before reaching the closed or open position? Seems like that would wear down the contact point between door and building over time.
Applause for using word “scooches”.