GARAGE DOOR MAINTENANCE: 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO DO (DIY)

Garage doors manufactured today are meant to last a lifetime, as long as you invest the time to keep them properly maintained. Much like your car, your garage door requires a periodic inspection and tune-up.

With proper care and garage door maintenance, it’s easy to keep your garage door in optimal condition. Be advised, however, that some repairs should only be done by a qualified door technician.

Here are our top garage door maintenance tips:

1. TEST THE REVERSE FEATURE

While your garage door opener is technically a different set of equipment, it still impacts the overall functionality of your garage door and is important to its overall maintenance.

A reversing feature is a component of your garage door opener that is absolutely necessary. The opener should be replaced if this functionality is not available. Federal law requires any garage door opener manufactured after 1/1/1993 to have advanced safety features, and this is one of them.

To make sure your opener is compliant with these regulations, you need to test that the safety reverse systems are in order. There are two types – mechanical and photoelectric.

To test the mechanical safety reverse system place an object on the floor of the door’s opening, the door should reverse direction as soon as it hits the object.

For the photoelectric safety reverse system, stick two boxes on the vertical tracks, about 4 inches off the ground. Stick your foot in front of the photoelectric system, and see if the door opens.

Another way to test the Reverse Feature (from DASMA):

First, test the balance of the door. If the door is properly balanced, then proceed.

With the door fully open, place a 1-1/2” thick piece of wood (a 2” X 4” laid flat) on the floor in the center of the door.

Push the transmitter or wall button to close the door. The door must reverse when it strikes the obstruction. (Note that the bottom part of “one-piece doors” must be rigid so that the door will not close, but will reverse when it contacts the obstruction)

If the door does not reverse, have it repaired or replaced by a qualified technician.

2. VISUALLY INSPECTING YOUR GARAGE DOOR

Check out your garage door springs, rollers, pulleys, cables and all hardware for signs of wear.

*The springs hold a great deal of tension and only professionals should adjust them. The torsion springs (the springs above the door) should only be adjusted by a professional. Do not attempt to repair or adjust torsion springs yourself.

As a precaution in case the spring breaks, the restraining cable should be installed on the extension spring (the spring along the side of the door).

3. CLEANING AND LUBRICATING YOUR GARAGE DOOR

An important part of garage door maintenance is making sure the tracks, on which the door moves, are clear of debris, and screwed in tightly.

To ensure that your garage door tracks function well you will need to clean the track, removing oil, dirt, and grease.

Next, apply a small amount of lubricant to the heads of the rollers and the pivot points on the hinges. This will allow all moving parts to glide more easily in the track. You may use any lightweight oil, 30w or lighter. Make sure that you don’t miss areas like the locking hardware, and torsion spring (if present.)

After wiping excess oil, you may tighten any hinges, struts, handles, locks, and brackets that may need it.

This whole process of garage door lubrication maintenance should be done yearly. For best results, consult your owner’s manual.

4. ASSESSING THE GARAGE DOOR BALANCE

Periodically testing the balance of your garage door is another important component to your routine maintenance. Here’s how:

Ensure the door is closed completely

Engage the release mechanism so you can control the door by hand

The door should then lift with little resistance. You should be able to keep it open 3-4 feet above the ground.

5. INSPECTING THE WEATHER SEALS ON YOUR GARAGE DOOR

It is also important to make sure the opening of your garage door has proper weather stripping. This will help to keep debris and cold air from permeating your garage.

Look closely at the weather seals on the top, bottom, and sides, checking for any rips or tears. You should also assess the flexibility of each strip because as the strips stiffen, they lose effectiveness.

Since buying a garage door is such an investment, it makes sense to take the time and effort to keep your garage door in optimal condition. If you’d like to know more about the factors that will impact your garage door’s longevity, read up about how to protect your garage door from salt damage.

Original Article Here: GARAGE DOOR MAINTENANCE: 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO DO (DIY)

Related Article Here: Maintain a Garage Door and Opener

If you are having difficulty in doing the maintenance, you call for a professional help. Lilburn Garage Door Repair is always ready to help you anytime!

Article source here: GARAGE DOOR MAINTENANCE: 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO DO (DIY)

Automatic Garage Door Openers

If you’ve ever used a manual garage door, you probably understand the benefits of an automatic garage door. Many people don’t buy homes that have a manual door and quite frankly, manual doors are rarely used now-a-days. I suppose this would depend also on where you live and the type of home you live in. At Lilburn Garage Door Repair in Lilburn, Georgia, most of the homes we service have an automatic door opener. A manual door means that you will have to get out of your car to open and close the door. There are safety issues with both types of doors but as it relates to a manual door, you should pay close attention to make sure it doesn’t close on you. There is also the security factor, if you need to get out of your car late at night to open and close your garage door, you risk being attacked by someone lurking in the dark. This isn’t said to scare anyone, it is simply to tell you of the risks associated with using a manual garage door. 

An automatic garage door opener prevents these things. You are safely in your car as you open and close your garage door. You don’t have to worry getting out during bad weather to open and close the garage door. If you have several things that you need to take in and out of the car, having an automatic garage door means you can easily get in and out without continuing to manually open and close your garage door. Here is some additional information about automatic garage door openers that most of our local homeowners find very helpful. 

How Automatic Garage Door Opener are Installed 

When an automatic garage door opener is installed, it is pretty straight forward and simple. This is, if you are a professional garage door technician. If you are attempting to handle this job on your own, we would strongly suggest that you consider the difficulty in doing this on your own. What takes our experienced service technicians a short amount of time to do, would likely take an inexperienced person a rather long time to do. Due to the size of most garage doors and their weight, it can make it a little bit of a challenge to install the opener. You might end up hurting yourself or someone else during the installation process. Rather than taking such unnecessary chances, rely on the services of a reputable garage door service to handle the installation of your automatic garage door opener. 

Automatic Garage Door Opener Maintenance 

You, like most homeowners, assume that you just have the thing installed and let it do its thing. This is slightly true, however; it does require a little more maintenance than a manual garage door opener. The way you take care of your garage door opener will vary depending on the manufacturer. There are some that experience weather damage if they are not resistant to weather. Water damage is what usually occurs. What can occur is that the non-water chemicals can cause your metal doors to corrode. You can prevent this by wiping down your opener. Water and some soap is all you’ll need. The way that you handle the care of your automatic garage door opener for a wooden door will be different from any other type. Keep this in mind and consult with a professional garage door technician about the maintenance of your automatic garage door opener. Some will suggest that to keep your garage door opener in tip-top condition, allow them to perform the maintenance for you on a regular basis. This will ensure that your garage door opener will remain in good condition. When a garage door professional is attending to your automatic garage door opener, they will make sure that it is properly lubricated, to keep the doors functioning smoothly. They will make sure your springs and other components of your garage door are in good condition. If you live a busy lifestyle and are prone to overlook such things, it might be in your best interest to allow a garage door repair service technician to handle your garage door maintenance, which includes your automatic garage door. 

Automatic Garage Door Opener Remote Access 

Automatic garage door openers offer the convenience of remotely opening and closing the door. Just be careful that you do not open too soon if you don’t want someone sneaking in without your knowledge. There is also a wall-mounted remote on the inside that you can simply press when entering or exiting your home. Stay in your garage to make sure the door closes completely. In some instances, when there is a problem with your automatic door opener, the door will go down but turn around and go right back up. If you go in the house too soon, your garage door might be wide open. This would put your household in jeopardy. Moving in and out garage from the comfort of your car is what is most appealing to most motorists who have an automatic garage door opener. It isn’t a bad idea to leave one in the car and keep one on you.  

There is no doubt about it, having an automatic garage door opener is truly a level of convenience that most of us don’t even know how we lived without. However, there are some people who still have a manual door may certainly have their own reasons for preferring that style over an automatic. Perhaps, if you are more interested in an automatic door opener, you should know that it is possible to change your manual opener over to an automatic garage door opener. Just ask the experts. They will be able to address any of your concerns and quickly get to work on installing one for you. If you’re reluctant because of safety concerns, make sure they point out the useful safety features that come with an automatic garage door opener. 

Article source here: Automatic Garage Door Openers

Garage Door Opens or Closes on its own

No, it’s not something from the horror movies; garage doors really can open and close on their own! It might sound comical but wait until it happens to you! You might be inside the house making a sandwich for lunch. You hear the garage door start to open. You “know” it’s your spouse or partner; after all, who else has a garage door opener like yours? You finish making your sandwich; should you make your partner one, too? No one comes in. What’s keeping them? You go to the garage and look inside. The garage door is open but no car is inside. What gives?

You are not crazy!

Nope; you are not nutso! Your garage door really did open. Only, it wasn’t your partner. It was a little known fluke that affects garage doors here in Lilburn, GA and elsewhere, too. Our full service professionals here at Lilburn Garage Door Repair know the secret; it’s a neighbor that’s using your garage door frequency quite by accident. Don’t panic; this unusual activity is easily remedied – we’ll show you how.

Sharing is nice; unless it’s your garage door frequency!

Each garage door opener unit has its own frequency so that it can respond to your remote. The main unit and the remote communicate via this frequency so that when you tap the open or close button on your remote, it actually happens. Now, if someone else has the same frequency as yours, their opener and remote will respond accordingly. This means that their remote can open your garage, and vice-versa! These remote anomalies only happen on older pre 1993 models. If yours is newer, it uses a different system of rolling frequencies that change all the time. The older openers have static codes and far fewer frequencies so if someone changes their code, they can accidentally program it to match yours. So what’s the solution? Just contact your neighbor and decide between the two of you which one is to alter their opener code in order to be different. How can you tell which neighbor it is? Easy; who is coming home or leaving when your garage door mysteriously starts acting like your house is haunted!

But my opener unit is a newer model!!!

Don’t panic; there’s hope! If your garage door opener unit is post 1993 and you are experiencing unusual opening and closing activity, there are things you can do to diagnose the problem and stop it. Start by checking the battery in your remote. People often think that either the batter is good or it’s not. Not true; your battery may be partially drained and thus give off a random signal that in turn triggers unusual garage door activity. That’s right; the culprit could be your own remote! This weird garage door activity could also be caused by a neighbor’s remote if the battery is low. To make sure that your battery is good; test it. Use a home tester if you have one. If not, they are inexpensive and easy to buy both locally or online. You can even pick up a good used one at a garage sale if you want. Many local stores offer free battery testing so that’s one smart way to find out if yours are fully powered or not. While you are at it, check your remote for battery leakage, as well. Sometimes batteries leak their acid and it can get on the terminals and affect the signal sent. If yours are leaking clean them using a cotton swab dipped in vinegar or lemon juice. This offers gentle cleaning that can remove the battery acid and along with the new battery, can give your opener unit a strong, valid signal.

Next possible culprit; electrical short

You might also have an electrical short in one of your remotes or in your wall button. A short like this can cause your garage door to open again after fully closing. Imagine backing out of your driveway and watching your garage door close and then open back up as you drive off! Here’s an easy way to see if the short is in your transmitter. Take out the battery from your remote and operate the garage door using the wall button instead. If it works, that’s great, it was your remote. If it doesn’t the short is located in the circuit board, the wall button wiring or the button itself or in the wired keypad. The usual method of finding where your short is located is to try each part and do a kind of process of elimination for each one. You can do this yourself if you know how. If you don’t, you can either refer to your owner’s manual or if you don’t have one, you can find the PDF form of it online by using the keywords “owner’s manual” along with (brand and model number) in the search bar of your favorite search engine. There are also many online videos that show how to check for this. Don’t worry; it only sounds complicated but once you’ve done it, the next time will be a breeze.

It’s up to you

Like anything else, do it yourself jobs can either be a fun past time or a real chore! How much is your time worth? If working with your hands and doing fixer types of tasks are agreeable, by all means go ahead and do them. At least check your remote’s battery yourself or find that clueless neighbor with the same remote frequency. If those tasks do not get the results you want and your garage door still opens or closes on its own, it may be time to call in the pros. A licensed, bonded and insured garage door repair shop is good to have as a contact in your smart phone. You never know when you will need or want to use their assistance. An experienced technician will be able to pinpoint the problem quickly and fix it for you, usually the same day. Consider it!

Article source here: Garage Door Opens or Closes on its own