Garage Door Maintenance
Garage Door Maintenance tips to ensure your
Garage Doors are in Tip-Top
Performance
By: Mark J. Donovan
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Garage door maintenance should be
included in your weekend to-do list at least a couple of times a year. Your
garage doors get a lot more use than you may realize. In an average household a
garage door typically is opened and closed 10-20 times per day. Over a year
that’s a lot of opening and closings. Left un-maintained garage doors will
eventually fail causing not only inconvenience, but possibly even damage or harm
to your vehicles, your home and even to yourself. Consequently it is important
to perform garage door maintenance at least twice a year.
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Garage Door
Maintenance - Torsion Springs and Rollers
There are a number of mechanical
aspects of a garage door that should be checked. Examine the garage door rollers, torsion
springs and metal brackets that attach the garage door to the house. Make sure
they are all securely fastened and that the rollers turn smoothly in the garage
door tracks.
If the rollers are not turning
smoothly examine them to determine if they are broken or just simply need a
lubricant. If they appear damaged replace them. They are typically easy to
remove. If they are just sticking a little, apply some silicon based lubricant
to them.
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Garage Door
Maintenance - Tracks
As part of the garage door maintenance process it is also important to examine the tracks and make sure
the sections that are bolted together are flush with each other. Frequently a
bolt will loosen up that holds the tracks together. If this happens, the tracks
may become slightly skewed from each other, or the loose bolt may protrude in
the track area, causing the door rollers to sometimes catch on them. This can
cause added torque on the garage door opener which may trigger it to reverse
direction. Simply tighten up any loose track bolts and make sure the track
sections are flush. |
It is also a good idea to oil the
garage door tracks with motor oil, e.g. 10W40. Use a rag and simply wipe them down.
Also, while examining the garage door
tracks use a level to make sure they are level. They should be fastened to the
garage door opening such that they are parallel with it. If they are not, adjust
them appropriately so that they are.
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Garage Door
Maintenance - Springs
As part of the garage door
maintenance process you should also examine the springs and make
sure they are fastened solidly to the garage door and garage door frame.
Manually open and close the garage door and see if the door feels extremely
heavy while lifting or requires extra effort to close. If it does, then the
springs need adjusting. The springs should be adjusted such that when the
garage door
is lifted halfway open, it stays halfway open. It should not move on its own
either up or down, without additional pressure being applied to it.
Note: Garage door springs under tension can be quite
dangerous and thus adjusting garage door springs should be left to a
professional.
It is also a good idea to wipe down
the springs with a little motor oil to make sure they do not catch when opening
or closing the garage door.
Check the base of the garage door to
make sure there is no rust or decay, pending if it is a metal or wood garage
door. Also check the weather-stripping to see if it is damaged. If it does not
need replacing, at least wipe it down with a vinyl cleaner to protect it from UV
damage and to keep it flexible and pliable.
With these few garage door maintenance tips, your
garage doors should continue to operate smoothly for months to come.
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