Tips to extend your garage door life
A high quality, properly installed garage door can serve you for a long time, if it is maintained well. Regular use, heavy weight-lifting and exposure to harsh weather elements cause wear and tear to your garage door and impact its performance and lifespan.
No one wants to deal with a busted or a stuck garage door on a regular basis. It has the potential to ruin your entire day, in terms of your office work, personal schedule and not to mention your mood. If you want your garage door to keep working smoothly without major glitches every other day, and without spending hundreds of dollars in repairs that can be easily avoided, it is important you make garage door inspection and maintenance an integral part of your garage care.
Here are some tips that can help extend the life of your garage door.
- Pay attention to unusual sounds
Your garage door can produce all kinds of abnormal sounds, such as high-pitched squeaking, grinding, scraping or rattling sounds. This is often a sign that something is wrong and needs immediate attention. These sounds are mostly attributed to loosened nuts and bolts, worn out rollers, damaged hinges or poorly lubricated parts. Tightening loose parts and greasing the moving parts can take care of these sounds.
But if the sound is coming because of damaged tracks, unbalanced door, snapped torsion springs or loose chain, its always best to call a professional and get things inspected.
- Regularly inspect springs, cable and tracks
Constant usage of your door has a direct impact on springs and cables that work collaboratively to lift and bear the load of a massively heavy door. If the top section of your door looks misaligned or crooked, safety cables appear hanging or some portion looks frayed, the door is making jerky movements while in operation, you see a visible gap in the torsion springs, there are good chances these parts need replacement. Keep an eye on these signs for timely repairs. This will go a long way in keeping your garage door and its components running smoothly for a long time to come.
It is advisable that you don’t attempt to repair or replace these criticalcomponents on your own. It can be extremely dangerous as safe garage door repairs and replacement need thorough know-how. It’s a job best left to a professional repair company with trained and licensed technicians.
- Wiping and lubricate the moving parts
It is important to grease all moving components of your garage door on a regular basis. Parts like screws, nuts, hinges, torsion springs, tracks and bearing plates require periodic lubrication to minimize friction and avoid damage. It also prevents the door to make those squeaky, grinding and scraping sounds. A professional will know all the critical lubricating areas, what parts to stay away from and what lubricating product to use.
Other important steps that improve the performance and longevity of your garage door:
- Clean and care for the weatherstripping
- Regularly test the safety sensors
- Don’t allow dust, dirt and debris to accumulate in front of your garage door
- Test for the door balance by disconnecting from the garage door opener and manually operating the door.
Keeping an observant eye and ears on frayed parts, unusual sounds, rough operation and shaky movements will go a long way in increasing the number of years in your garage door. Always call a professional for fixes, repair and part replacements
Call Premier Overhead Co. at (254)848-6088 for highly professional and reliable garage door repair in Killeen, Texas and surrounding cities. Our licensed technicians will inspect the issue and offer perfect solutions that will keep your garage door in top shape for years.