Summer weather took its time leaving the Pacific Northwest this year, but rain and cold are inevitable. That makes now the ideal time to prepare your garage door for the months ahead.
In the greater Portland region, winterizing a garage door isn’t about extreme cold, but instead about wind, an occasional freeze, power outages, and of course, rain, humidity, and related corrosion. A good fall service can prevent many mid-winter failures.
As you think about fall maintenance for your garage door, it’s critical to consider what you can do yourself and what you should leave to the professionals at Overhead Door Company of Portland. In a tough economy, tackling projects on your own is tempting, but safety is a priority.
For do-it-yourselfers, cleaning and clearing debris, changing batteries, and doing a general visual inspection are important maintenance tasks you can safely handle. However, if your door is shaky or noisy, the panels have cracks, or you see significant corrosion, call us. Our trained technicians will inspect every part of your garage door, and we won’t leave until it’s operating at peak performance.
Here’s what our fall maintenance will include:
Inspect and replace the weather seals – In our region, wind-driven rain is part of our typical winter weather. This can lead to damaged weather seals. We’ll look for cracks and gaps in the bottom seal of the door and the side and top weatherstripping. No daylight or water should be seeping in around the perimeter of your garage door. If we find problems, we’ll replace the seals and weatherstripping.- Lubricate the moving parts – Garage door chains and belts, rollers, springs, and hinges will be cleaned and lubricated. After a hot, dry, and dusty summer, the moving components of your garage door could use some TLC. Lubricating these parts keeps them moving freely and helps protect against corrosion.
- Clean and inspect the tracks – The condition of the tracks on your garage door dictates how smoothly your door goes up and down. Leaves, mud, or the slightest bend can cause shaky movement and eventually damage the tracks and other components. Our technicians clean away the debris and inspect for bent sections, loose hardware, corrosion, and misaligned rollers.
- Test the door’s balance – A properly balanced door should not shoot upward or rapidly fall. We disconnect the garage door opener and manually raise the door halfway to see if it stays in place. If it doesn’t, we dive in deeper to determine the cause of the problem, which generally stems from a spring needing adjustment. Springs are an item we tell homeowners not to touch, as they store the bulk of the energy for the d
oor’s movement and can cause serious injury if not serviced properly. (We highly recommend calling us to perform the service) - Inspect cables, springs, and hardware – Broken springs, frayed cables, or heavy corrosion all spell trouble for your garage door. Our team will look for rust or pitting, broken spring coils, loose hinges, cracked rollers, and damaged cables. With decades of experience in spring and cable repairs, we know what to look for and can recommend whether repair or replacement is warranted.
- Test the safety systems – The photo-eye sensors and auto-reverse systems on your garage door operator system are important safety features that prevent your door from coming down on a stationary object. We’ll make sure your door reverses if something is in its path, whether that’s a baseball or the family dog!
- Prepare for a power outage – Winter winds and ice can bring power outages, which can cut the service of your automatic garage door opener. Testing the opener’s backup battery and ensuring the door can open and close manually is always part of our inspection so you’re not left out in the cold.
- Check your garage door opener – We won’t leave until we also make sure your garage door opener is working properly, whether it’s a keypad entry or smart system. From reprogramming to replacement, we’ll keep it operating at peak efficiency.
While fall maintenance and repairs prepare your garage door for winter, don’t neglect garage door care throughout the winter. We recommend you spend a few minutes each month checking the door’s operation, seals, and sensors. If you notice anything off, or if your door starts screeching or wobbling, contact Overhead Door Company of Portland and consider signing up for our maintenance service. We not only do regular garage door maintenance and inspections, but we handle any repairs you may need.