Garage Door Repairs and Maintenance

Garage doors lead pretty simple lives. Up, down, up, down, over and over until they suddenly don't work the way they should. Fortunately, that simple life usually makes for relatively simple repairs. Sometimes, though, even reliable old garage doors bite the dust.

If you are having trouble with your garage door, here are some tips on what to do.

Quick Garage Door Fixes

When your garage door starts acting up, more often than not it is telling you it's time to do a bit of maintenance. So, before hitting the panic button, try these simple repairs. First, examine the rollers and tracks. If you can't remember the last time you cleaned them (and they look the part!), give them a good brushing and then add some lubricant. Next, perform these simple garage door maintenance tasks.

If none of this fixes your problems, or if you would rather just let someone else fuss with the problem, take a look at how to find the best garage door installers and repairmen.

Silencing a Noisy Garage Door

Noisy garage doors cause all kinds problems, especially for anyone who has to sleep above or next to the garage. Fortunately, most noisy garage door problems can be fixed with a combination of routine maintenance and the replacement of a few parts.

Frozen Garage Door?

It is precisely on those coldest days of the year when you most need and appreciate the convenience of opening and closing your garage door quickly. Sadly, those also happen to be the kinds of days when cold and moisture combine to make this difficult. Garage doors can and do freeze to the garage floor. Sometimes it is a minor icy connection between the two that can be broken when you hit the opener button.

Other times, however, the door refuses to budge. When this happens to you, stop hoping that if you hit that button enough times, a miracle will happen. About the only thing that is going to happen is that you cause a much bigger problem with the garage door opener (including, but not limited to, stripped gears, broken coils and burned out motor).

Instead, take a few moments that break the connection. Use a heat gun or hair dryer to melt the ice. Standard de-icing products will also work. And, if you are careful not to damage the door or the seal on the bottom of the door, use a flat shovel or similar tool to chip away at the ice.

Once you get the door open, clear any water, ice or snow from the spot on the garage floor where the door rests when closed. That way, you should be able to plan on getting the door open next time you need it.

Replacing Broken Glass

Regardless of the cause of broken glass in your garage, this is one problem you want to fix as soon as possible. Broken glass is a safety issue, a security problem, and an invitation to every bird and hornet in the neighborhood to make your garage their next home.

It's not difficult to replace a pane of glass. Learn how with these instructions.

Keep It Safe

Garage doors are much safer these days than they used to be. That is especially true of garage doors equipped with garage door openers. Older garage door openers did not have the kinds of safety features that would stop them from closing on a child or pet wandering in or out of the garage while the door closed. That made for many tragic stories.

But the improvements in safety haven't eliminated safety concerns when it comes to garage doors. Everyone needs to understand how to stay safe in the garage.

Garage Door Opener Problems

Have you ever noticed just how much you use, and rely on, your garage door opener? Sure, we spend the big bucks for attractive front doors to our homes, but for many of us, the actual coming and going takes place through the garage. And that means we depend on the garage door opening and closing at the press of a button.

So, when the garage door opener decides to take a day off, it can leave you stuck outside, probably during a rain or snow storm. Though they may seem complicated, there really are several things most homeowners can do to diagnose and repair opener failures.

Replacing a Garage Door

There are really only a couple of reasons why you would consider replacing your garage door. Either it has stopped working properly, or you are sick of the way it looks. Most often, it is some combination of those two factors.

Unfortunately, shopping for a new garage door isn't a particularly easy process. Most of us rarely perform this type of shopping, and there really aren't a lot of consumer publications offering solid information on the best choices.

It helps to break things down into bite-sized pieces. Your first thought might be along the lines of "What is a new garage door going to cost me?" A good place to look for answers to that question is with these frequently asked questions about the costs of a new garage door.

From there, you ought to consider the different materials that garage doors are constructed from. Once you understand something about materials, you then need to make sure you choose the style of garage door that best complements your house.

Concerned about doing the right thing for the environment? Then take a look at Choosing a Green Garage Door.

Finally, once you've narrowed down the type of garage door you want to grace the front of your garage, you will want to get the best deal on a garage door replacement. And part of that process will probably require that you find a good garage door installer.

Original Article Here: Garage Door Repairs and Maintenance

Related Article Here: 3 Quick Tips for Garage Door Repair & Maintenance in Issaquah

Let the professional handle you garage door repair concerns. Griffin Garage Door Repair is just one call away from you!

Garage Door Issues as the Temperature Drops

Although Georgia usually enjoys warm temperatures all year round, during the winter the temperature can drop significantly enough to cause issues, especially at night and in the early morning. While it’s rare in warmer climates, it’s not unheard of, and happens more often than you might expect. If you’ve noticed a problem with your garage door during the colder weather, read on to see if you can diagnose and manage the process yourself. We’ve also included tips that may affect your friends and relatives in colder climates, so you can know what to look for if you’re going on vacation or out of town.  

 

1. Your Door Behaves Unusually 

Colder weather can make your garage door behave in a more finicky fashion. Your remote control might start only working occasionally. Your door might become more difficult to close or open, or get stuck on the track in the middle of operating. Cold weather can even cause interference with the sensors on your garage door, causing your door to reverse before hitting the ground. Any time your garage door acts unusually, it’s important not to ignore the problem and hope it will go away. Most problems with your garage door can’t be resolved on their own without assistance. Unusual behavior from your door can have a variety of causes, which is why it’s important to have the door inspected by a trained professional.  

2. The Metal Contracts 

Usually in Griffin, like most of Georgia, the temperature does not drop low enough to cause this problem. However, on the occasional extra cold night, especially with older doors, the metal on the tracks of the doors can contract due to the cold. This causes a tighter fit for the garage door while moving in the tracks, which can stress the motor of the garage door opener mechanism as it tries to compensate. This can cause your garage door to halt in the middle of moving up and down, or appear to be sticking as it moves. This can wear out your tracks over time, warping them out of shape. The extra work for your motor can also wear that component down.  

The metal contracting can also be a source of breakage for the other parts of your garage door mechanism. Because the metal becomes more prone to damage, colder weather can be a source of stress on your garage door opener mechanism.  

3. The Door Stickson the Tracks 

The door sticking to the tracks only in colder weather is usually a sign that the grease that normally lubricates the tracks to make for an easy glide has become thick due to lower temperatures. This can cause the lubricant to clump up and thicken. Don’t apply grease to your door tracks yourself, as it is often unnecessary, and too much can fall prey to this problem. Sometimes it can get so bad that the tracks themselves need to be replaced. Luckily, this doesn’t happen often, but it’s still something to watch out for.  

4. Ice Causes the Door to Stick to the Floor

This is an extremely uncommon problem in our region, but in areas with snow and ice, this can be a potential threat. The ice gathers around the base of the door when it’s closed and then freezes the door in place on the floor. Usually, the homeowner doesn’t discover that this has happened until the next morning when they try to open the garage door, which can of course be a major headache. If you have family or additional housing in an area with a colder climate, you can prevent this issue by keeping the snow shoveled away from the bottom of your garage door, and also by using a cooking spray to mist the door before the ice begins.  

5. Troublewiththe Garage Door Springs 

The springs that control the movement of your door are under a great deal of tension to perform their jobs. In colder weather, metal becomes more prone to damage, especially under this kind of tension. Older springs that have been through this process many times are especially susceptible to breakage. Unfortunately, if you’re not paying attention, the first sign you may notice of your garage door springs going bad is when the door slams shut. This can be a scary and even dangerous situation. Usually, however, there are warning signs that the springs are going bad if you know how to look for them. These signs include your door making more noise when you lift and lower it, and the door shaking, wobbling, or displaying other odd behavior when you open it.  

6. The Door Becomes Very Noisy

While excess noise can be a sign of a problem with the springs, this annoying problem can also be caused by a variety of sources that may occur in colder weather. This can include problems with the cables, lack of sufficient lubrication on the moving parts of the machine to assist with the weight of the door, and potentially even the motor working too hard due to poor alignment or other problems. While these issues can crop up at any time of the year, they are most likely to be caused by weather and temperature fluctuations. Because both plastic and metal get more brittle in the winter, the vibrations from the door’s mechanism can also cause stress cracks in the parts that make up the door opener mechanism, which can lead to moisture getting in and rusting.  

Be sure to avoid making any major adjustments or repair attempts to your garage door yourself, especially if you have no prior experience with garage door repair. While it might seem tempting to try and save money by purchasing the parts and doing the work yourself, that is a very dangerous and potentially costly prospect. In particular, spring repair and replacements are jobs that should be left to the professionals, because all of the tension they are under can make them dangerous for the untrained person. You won’t regret making a service call to a company like Griffin Garage Door Repair when you avoid any kind of mistakes or hazards in repairing your door.