Garage Door Maintenance

by | May 24, 2016 | Blog

Your garage door is the likely the largest moving part in your entire home, and it probably goes up and down well over 1,000 times a year – multiple times per day at any hour and in all seasons. To keep your garage door operating smoothly for decades to come, it’s very important that the door get regular preventive care and maintenance. Here are some steps you can take yourself!

Perform These Tests Monthly

  • Visual Inspection. Standing inside the closed garage, look over everything – springs, cables, hardware, rollers. Look for anything that doesn’t seem (or sound) quite right, like loose mountings or worn cable. If you see anything concerning, contact a technician.
  • Door Balance Test. Disconnect any automatic opening system and lift the door manually. It should lift with little resistance and it should stay fully open. If not, there may be a balance issue that needs professional attention.
  • Reversing Mechanism Test. Open the door and place an object (like a piece of wood) on the floor in the center of the door. Use your automated system to close the door. When the door hits the wood, it should automatically reverse and open. If it does not, have it checked.
  • Photo Eye Test. Use your automatic system to close the door. While it is closing, wave a long object (like a broomstick) in front of the photo eye. That should break the beam and cause the door to reverse and open. If it doesn’t, you can try realigning and cleaning the photo eyes. If it still doesn’t work, it’s time for a technician.
  • Monthly Force Setting Test. Use your automatic system to close the door. While it is closing, hold up the bottom of the door with your outstretched hands. The door should easily stop and reverse. If not, immediately remove your hands! Then, call a technician.

Semi-Annual Home Upkeep

  • Lubricate, Lubricate, Lubricate. At least once a year – ideally twice! – give all rollers, hinges, tracks, pulleys, and chains a small amount of spray lubricant. You also should wipe everything clean and remove any rust that you see with steel wool. Additionally, you might consider hitting everything with a solvent, like WD-40. At the very least, though, lubricant will add years to a doors life.

Professional Maintenance

Joining Overhead Door Company’s Maintenance Program will save you time and money. Regular, proper maintenance can avoid large, expensive breakdowns and extend the life and efficiency of your garage door. Membership includes:

  • Discount on labor, service and repair work.
  • Priority scheduling for service and repairs.
  • Increased operational efficiency and reliability of your facility’s doors, docks and related equipment.
  • Reduced probability of your doors, operators and dock equipment malfunctioning.
  • Extended safe and useful life of your doors, operators and dock equipment.
  • Decrease in long-term repair expenses.

Enrollment in the Maintenance Program is FREE. You pay only for the discounted labor used to perform the preventive maintenance work along with any repair parts that are used per your authorization. Please call us or complete our online form to enroll or click here for more details.