6 Key Ways Your Garage Door is Begging for Maintenance

When’s the last time that you maintained your garage door? Has it been a while?

An efficient garage door is critical, not just to leaving home in a timely manner, but to safety. An unmaintained door is dangerous for many reasons, like possibly collapsing on you or someone you love. There are six key ways your garage door is telling you it needs maintenance; are you listening to it?

It’s important to know what an efficient garage door looks like to understand the characteristics of one. This includes basic and energy efficiency. There are some aspects of energy efficiency that may be out of your control for basic maintenance, like the material that the door is made of, but there are plenty of aspects within your control, like if there’s an air leak.

You know that your garage door is working efficiently if:

• It opens and closes in a matter of seconds
• It sits all the way on both tracks
• It has a U-factor (the measurement of heat transferred through the door) around or less than .35
• It has an R-value (material conductivity) of at least 12
• It does not have air leaks

It should be easy to spot when a garage door stops working efficiently now that we know what makes up an efficient door, right? It may be difficult to spot the changes in your door on a day-to-day basis, so it’s important to evaluate annually to know the second the door starts to act funny.

Alternatively, there are a number of factors to look for in a non-functioning door. About every two years, you’ll start to notice some of these issues arise. Pay close attention to these changes in your door to know when it’s time to maintain. If you properly maintain your garage door, it should last you up to 30 years, versus 15, so the time invested in maintenance is well worth it!

You know it’s time to maintain your door if:

• It is slow to respond: If your garage door is taking longer than a few seconds to open, inspect the door springs and lubricate the tracks, rollers and hinges with professional garage door lubricant.
• It sags: A saggy door is a gateway for pests and air leakage, both unwanted issues. You can test your door for sagging by manually opening the door halfway; if it raises or lowers on its own, the door is out of balance and needs repair.
• It makes a lot of noise: A noisy door is screaming for a tune up. There are a few different sounds to listen for, to know what kind of tune up it needs. If it grates or rumbles, it’s time to have your springs inspected; if it pops, it’s unable to open smoothly and may need lubrication; if it rustles, the hinges, railings and/or torsion spring needs maintenance.
• It’s fallen off the tracks: This is a serious issue! If your garage door has fallen off the tracks, stop using the door and have it repaired immediately. Whether the tracks have misaligned or there is damage to the rollers or track, you’ll want to get it fixed immediately or risk injury/death.
• It won’t open or close: There are a number of reasons why your garage door won’t open or close, so you may need to call a professional to uncover this mystery. If your garage door won’t open or close, it could be a faulty garage door opener, faulty springs, a faulty connection between the door and control panel, worn or broken cables or a stripped gear in the opener.
• Higher energy bill than usual: Like all doors and windows, the seal on your garage door could be attributing to air leakage in your home, raising your bills. When you check the seals on your windows and doors, don’t forget to include your garage door.

There are some projects that you could definitely do yourself, but there are other projects that require a professional touch. How do you know which projects you need to call Precision to do and which projects you can just do yourself? If it’s a small project that doesn’t require messing with the springs, tracks, openers, cables, rollers, or any other parts of the door that are under extreme tension.

Garage Door Projects You can DIY:

• Tighten hardware (hinges, bolts & nuts)
• Lubrication (know it’s time when hear scraping metal)
• Change remote batteries
• Clean sensor lens
• Replace weather seal

Garage doors are beautiful, unique doors that require a lot of maintenance compared to other doors, but are well worth the upkeep. Keeping your garage door efficient will keep your family safe, save you time and save you money. For the maintenance projects you can’t DIY, call Precision.