Meeting Rail

A meeting rail is the horizontal member along the top edge or bottom edge of a door section where it contacts the adjacent section. Raynor defines it as "the top horizontal rail or bottom horizontal rail of any section that meets and joins to form a weatherproof seal." Every sectional door has meeting rails at each inter-section joint.

The joint profile of the meeting rail determines how well two sections seal against each other. Common profiles include the shiplap joint, where one rail overlaps the other with a rabbet that sheds water, and the tongue-and-groove joint, where a tongue on one rail fits into a groove on the mating rail. Both profiles resist air and water infiltration better than a simple butt joint.

On a four-section door, there are three meeting rail joints: between sections 1 and 2, between 2 and 3, and between 3 and 4. Each joint runs the full width of the door.

Meeting rails are also where pinch-resistant profiles matter most. On an older door with a straight butt joint, a finger placed in the gap between sections would be pinched as the sections fold together. Modern meeting rails use a retreating, curved profile that pulls away from the gap as the section rises, reducing finger entrapment risk.

The bottom rail on the lowest section is different from a meeting rail: it seals against the floor via the astragal rather than against another section. The top rail of the top section seals against the header.

Damaged or bent meeting rails cause air gaps that raise heating and cooling costs in attached garages.