Garage Door Maintenance

Your garage door is a major component of the outside of your home. Depending on the layout of your home, your garage door can be one or two thirds of the exterior of your home. You want to keep it looking good. You also want to make sure your garage door opener is in good working order. Seeing as your garage door is used daily, multiple times per day - you will want to make sure it is in proper working order. Here are some quick tips you can use to stay on top of any maintenance issues.

Visual and Sound Check

This is the easiest tip to undertake. All you have to do is be observant of your door each time it is in use. Since you look at your garage door go up or down daily, you will easily be able to notice if the door starts operating unusually. If your door usually goes up and down smoothly, but now operates with a jerking or stuttering motion - this is cause for concern. If the door goes up, but does not look symmetrical (one side is higher than the other), then you know there is an issue. Likewise, if you hear grinding, scraping or rubbing noises when you operate your door, this is indicative of an issue you should look into.

Inspect and Replace Rollers

Garage door rollers are either steel or nylon. Rollers have a lifespan of approximately seven years. After that time, the rollers should be replaced altogether. It is a good idea to inspect your rollers once or twice per year (if you use your garage door a lot, this inspection should be increased). If your rollers are worn, cracked or chipped, then they should be replaced. You can do this by removing roller brackets that are not directly attached to the cable system, and then reinstalling them. If you are uncomfortable with this, you should call a professional technician to handle this for you.

Lubricate any moving parts

Just like your bicycle chain needs to stay properly lubricated, the same applies to your garage door. The moving parts need to stay greased up to ensure the door continues to operate smoothly. For your garage door springs, you should purchase a silicon based spray lubricant. Your garage door manufacturer should have a list of products they recommend. For your doors chain and screws you can use white lithium grease which can be purchased for a few dollars at your local hardware store.

Periodically tighten the nuts and bolts

Because your garage door is in use so much (generally around 1000 times per year), the constant motion and vibrations can cause the hardware to loosen. Take a look near your roller brackets and tighten any nuts and bolts that have loosened. Also take a look at the support brackets, there are bolts that hold the rails, and they should also be tightened.

Replace worn out weather stripping

The bottom of your garage door has a dense rubber weather strip. When this strip starts to go, you will notice it becoming brittle and cracked. You can buy new weather stripping at home improvement stores. Depending on your type of door, the installation can be as quick as sliding the new stripping into the grooves. If you have a wood door you may have to use roofing nails to attach the new weather strip. As always, if you are uncomfortable with the process please call a professional to come out and help you.

Check the balance

Your door should be balanced in order for it to work correctly, and to make sure that undue strain is not being placed on other areas of your garage door system. To check the balance, disconnect the door from the automatic opener. Once this is done, lift the door. The door should lift easily and run smoothly on the tracks. Now close the door. The door should not slam down, and should start to shut with minimal use of force. If this is not the case, call a technician to come out and have a look.

By following these easy steps once or twice per year, you greatly help in the maintenance and upkeep of your garage door. When maintained correctly, you can get years of service out of your garage door opener. If you are in Kennesaw, GA and have questions or concerns about your garage door, please call the experts at Kennesaw Garage Door Repair. Their local technicians are happy to share their expertise with you.