Garage doors are the largest moving part of a home. It is used many times every day, irrespective of time, reason, and season. To ensure that the door opens and closes smoothly, take preventive measures. Proper maintenance is the key to a healthy garage door that remains active for years to come.
Preventive Measures For Garage Doors
Here are some effective ways on how to take proper care of your garage door.
- Listen and look – The key preventive way to be taken is to observe the door in action. Do it every time you use the same, if possible. Notice, whether the door is moving swiftly or having jerky movements at places. Does the door open and close silently? If not, is it making scraping or grinding noises? Do both sides of the doors including pulleys, cables, and springs look symmetrical?
- Tighten up the door hardware – On average, the garage door moves up and down at least a thousand times per year. That is a lot of movement involving vibration. This can loosen the hardware of the door. Check and tighten the roller brackets as well as the rolls with the socket wrench. And if you can’t handle it, call a professional.
- Check the balance – As a part of garage door maintenance, repairs, check if the door of the garage is balanced properly. If not, the opener has to work hard. As a result, it won’t stay in good condition over time. Disconnect the opener. Pull the red cord, i.e., the release handle. Manually move the door up to the midway. If it fails to stay put, it indicates that the springs of counterweight systems are not properly balanced. Spring adjustment can be best done by professional mechanics.
- Check and change the rollers – Irrespective of the material, the rollers must be checked at least twice a year. You should replace the same once at an interval of seven years. You may need to opt for frequent changes if the door is being used many times per day. Avoid waiting for cracked, chipped and worn rollers to be replaced.
- Change the weather-stripping – Replace cracked or brittle rubber weather seal strip placed on the bottom of the door. This should be done as soon as possible. Weather-stripping can be found at the home improvement and hardware stores. Cut the size properly and insert them into the right grooves with the flange.
- Lubrication of the moving parts is important – You must keep every part of the garage door lubricated. They should be greased up. This will add many years of flawless operation to your door. Surprisingly, it takes only 10 minutes a year. White lithium grease is the best to be used on the opener’s screw and chain. Also, use a spray lubricant to layer the overhead springs.
- Take care of the cables – You shouldn’t tinker with high-tension cables lifting the door. These cables have sufficient force to maim and even kill. However, you can also check their existing condition so you understand when to hire a professional. Also, check for damages and broken strands near the roller bracket near the bottom.
As it comes to maintaining the garage door, listen to any abnormal sound. Lubricate the moving parts. Change weather-stripping. Check the balance; check and change the rollers. Take care of the cables.