Garage Door: Protecting and Everything You Need to Know - By: Larry Harris

A typical garage door in an average household is opened and closed 10-20 times per day,therefore, giving you a lot more advantage than you may realize. Over a year that is a lot of work on the garage door springs and all its other components. Left unmaintained, garage doors will eventually fail causing not only inconvenience, but possibly even damage or harm to your vehicles, your home and even to your family members and yourself.

Painting is the first and most important defense against moisture and sun damage to your door. It does not only make it attractive, it provides protection as well. Every couple of years most wooden garage doors is needed to be painted . Once rotted, wood will be hard to replace and it won’t look good. It may even reach the point where door has to be replaced.

Ensuring all cracks are filled and protected with paint is a good investment in the life of your garage door. The same care should also be put in garage doors made of high-quality steel, aluminum or fiberglass – keep them well-protected from the elements.

Perform routine maintenance steps once a month. Difficulty in opening the garage door is one of the most frequent dilemma that homeowners had face. Putting lubricant and few minor adjustments normally resolves this issue. At least once a year, it is advisable to put penetrating oil to all the rollers and hinges. It is also good to put a light coating of grease on the track as this seems to free up the opening and closing, and it also minimizes track noise. Do check all your bolts for tightness and re-tighten as recommended. Your springs probably needs adjustment if your garage door seems unusually heavy. Make sure your opener has a reversing feature. If a reversing feature is not present, it should be replaced. Holding the bottom of the door as it closes can test the force setting of your garage door opener.

Adjusting is needed on your door if it does not reverse readily or excessive. Test the reversing feature after any adjustment. Aligning the rollers with the track is a fairly simple job that can be performed with just basic tools, wrench, hammer and block of wood. Sagging doors or panels can be improved by adding supports or even replacing just the damaged panel. Electric garage door openers are quite common and are fairly easy for homeowner installation. Be sure that the door is properly adjusted so that it closes completely and the auto safety switch is working properly. The photoeyes located at the bottom of your garage door needs to pay extra attention Your garage door will not function properly,if they are bumped or blocked. The photoeyes created by invisible beam is intended for your safety. Somehow, photoeye alignment is not covered under warranty.
Lastly, and probably the easiest way, is to keep the garage door opening clear of snow, leaves or dirt. They might get stuck in the corners and openings which might affect how they operate. To avoid damage on your door, avoid placing things near the garage door, as it can be pushed into the garage door’s way.

Not only is the garage door one of the most noticeable elements of your cherished home, it is also the largest moving part. Thus,it is necessary to keep it looking good and working properly. If not, you’ll get yourself into many inconveniences later on. Your weekend to-do list should be included garage door maintenance at least a couple of times a year.

Larry Harris is a Garage Door Installation professional with 5 years experience in the Garage Industry. Larry has repaired and installed all types of garage doors. For more information on different services they provide visit http://www.usgaragedoors.com