Twice a year, you should inspect your garage door to make sure it is working properly. Neglect can put tremendous pressure on the door’s opening mechanisms, which is especially common with garage doors with automatic openers.
It takes just two hours a year to keep your garage door in good condition. Setting aside an hour for inspection every six months can save you a ton of money in expensive repair bills. If you don’t know how to inspect your garage, here is a comprehensive list of necessary garage door checks.
1. Use your eyes and ears
Open your garage door, then watch and listen to it. The biggest giveaway that your garage door opener is problematic is stuttered movement. If it opens in jerky bursts, it indicates a problem with the springs, cables, or pulleys in the opening system.
A fully operational garage door will also open and close quietly. If you hear grating or scraping, that tells you that there’s a problem with the tracks, or that the garage door is too close to the sides or top.
2. Check the rollers
Rollers wear out after five to seven years, but you need to check them for cracks and chips at least twice a year. Any roller that’s worn or damaged can and should be replaced immediately.
3. Lubricate
To prolong the life of all the moving parts in your garage door system, you need to lubricate them at least twice a year. Use spray lubricant like white lithium grease. Spray the rollers and hinges, and don’t forget to oil the pulleys and bearings as well.
Opener chains should be lubricated too. However, don’t spray oil onto a belt-drive opener.
4. Check the tracks
The tracks on either side of the door should be free of all rust and debris. Clear the tracks and make sure that they’re aligned with the vertical part of the wall (plumb). If not, there are two things you can do. You can adjust the tracks to be perfectly vertical if it requires a small tweak or hire a professional garage door service to take care of any significant misalignments.
5. Tighten loose hardware
Your garage door opens and closes hundreds of times each year. There are bound to be a few screws loose here and there, so you need to have a socket wrench handy. The brackets supporting the tracks and the anchors holding the door opener to the frame are the most likely to suffer from the garage door’s incessant vibrations. Check for any loose bolts and tighten them.
Know When You Need the Professionals
The biggest mistake you can make is turning a professional’s job into a DIY project. Most of the maintenance work you’ll do on your garage may not require professional attention, but don’t tackle anything you don’t have the tools or expertise to deal with.
If you require a San Diego garage door service, look no further than Door Dorks, the premier garage door service for all repair, replacement, installation, and maintenance needs.
