Garage Door Maintenance Tips Every Homeowner Should Know

Your garage door is a functional part of your home but it should also be an attractive part of your home. If you have a front-load garage, it is especially important to ensure that your garage doors are in great shape because they will generally be the first thing that people see when they arrive to your home. You need to ensure you are making smart choices when it comes to choosing your garage door and maintaining your garage door so you can make a good impression.  Even for side load garages, anyone who parks in your driveway is going to see your garage doors, and you will also need to see them every day when you pull your car in and out.

Fortunately, taking care of your garage doors does not have to be complicated. You can have beautiful, functional garage doors with just a little bit of effort when it comes to door maintenance.

Garage door maintenance can keep your garage doors looking attractive, and can keep your doors functional. Garage door maintenance can also be a safety issue as you want to ensure that the doors work properly and no one gets caught and injured in the doors.

Following some basic garage door maintenance tips is a great idea. For example, some tips to consider include the following:

• Do monthly visual inspections inside and outside of the house. Be sure to check in the garage door springs and on the cables to find out if they are fraying or wearing. Check on the mounting hardware and make sure that the hardware is not loose. You should also watch for signs of damage or wear to hinges, pulleys and rollers.
• Do a door balance test. For garage doors that have an automatic door opening system, you hold consider doing a periodic balance test. You can temporarily disconnect the automatic opener and manually lift the garage door. See if it is able to lift up smoothly and with a minimum level of resistance. You should also see if it remains fully opened after you have lifted it. If the door does not stay up fully after you have manually lifted it or if it does not go up smoothly, then this means that the door is out of balance and you should consider getting a professional to come and service it.
• Check to ensure that the reversing mechanism works. The reversing mechanism stops the door from continuing to close and sends it back up if something is in the way. This ensures no one is trapped or crushed by the door. To do the test, put a large section of wood on the floor in the path of the door. Try to close the door and make sure the door reverses when it hits the wood.

By doing these basic maintenance tests, you can ensure that your door is working well. You should also check the aesthetics of the door and make sure that the paint is not chipped or the wood does not need to be re-stained.

How to Carry out Monthly Garage Door Health Check

Garage Door is one of the most used yet oft ignored doors in the house. It is one of those things that remain invisible until they fail to function properly. When this happens, there is a big opening in the side of the house that is a huge risk to the life and property.

To avoid garage door failures, it is important that the homeowner regularly carry out checks on the garage door and related mechanism. This way any issues in the workings of the garage door could be easily caught and rectified.

Problems arise when homeowners ignore garage door maintenance because things seem to work in the right order and more pressing issues relegate the monthly inspection and maintenance to backburner. The great things about the monthly inspection are that it could be carried out over a weekend. It is usually over in a few hours. The savings in time and money is well worth the few hours spent in the inspection.

One of the first things to do when starting the inspection routine is to notify everyone that you would be busy in the garage. This means that nobody should operate the garage door, either mechanically or electronically through the remote.

The first stage of the inspection is the visual inspection of the door and mechanism. The process should start with you standing in the garage with the door down all the way down. This way, you will be able to see all the hardware of the operating mechanism. Look at everything very carefully. Overtime, the cables and wires operating the doors become loose or frayed. This is a sure sign that these components will fail. Similarly, all pulleys, springs and ties should be inspected to make sure that they are in place and locked into position.

Next part of the inspection is the Balance Test that checks whether the door is properly aligned. The test starts with the door completely close. Disconnect the automatic door opener. Now you should be able to lift the door up. If the door is stuck anywhere or does not remain open, there is something wrong with the alignment of the door.

The third stage of the inspection is about the electronic eye, the sensor that operates the door automatically. Open the door all the way. Click the close button on the transmitter. As the door closes, use a broomstick or a 4x4 to block the sensor. The door should immediately reverse. If not, make sure that the door is close and then clean the sensors with a soft cloth. Repeat the test once again. If the problem persists, make a note of it for the technicians.

One you have noted the problems, it is time for lubrication. Use a silicon based lubricant for the job. Make sure that all the moving parts have a light layer of lubricant. This will make sure that the mechanism remains functional. Contact a qualified firm for servicing the garage door. The list that you made during the inspection should come in handy for identifying and repairing the issues.