April showers bring May flowers. Or maybe a little more rain in May here on the island, but be sure that summer is on its way eventually! It has been a long winter and a wet spring but before you know it, you will be outdoors spending time with family and friends hiking, swimming and enjoying some delicious barbecued food! Our home base is in Nanaimo, British Columbia, and we wouldn’t want to call anywhere else in the world home- but we wouldn’t mind a few more days of summer! In order to maximize every warm day that we are blessed with, it is a great idea to get all the work around your home done before the sun starts to really shine.
When it comes to garage doors, we recommend getting your door serviced in the spring so you can enjoy the entire summer without worrying about when a tension spring or roller might decide to give out! When was the last time your garage door was given any form of regular maintenance? If you have to think about it for longer than a few seconds, it might be a good idea to give our team a call!
Here are the 7 areas on or around your door that may require some spring maintenance this year.
Garage Door Hardware
The motion of your garage door going up and down may seem like a simple and harmless movement, but what happens to all the hardware holding and supporting your door when that movement occurs thousands of times? Let’s say that there are two people in your home that go both in and out of the garage in a single day. Over a seven-year period, your garage door will have gone through about 10,000 cycles. All of the shaking and vibration caused by the operation of your garage door can easily loosen and damage some of the bolts and roller brackets that are crucial to a functioning garage door. If the Alpha Doors Team is able to tighten or replace these hardware pieces before they malfunction, you could save thousands of dollars in repairs and a giant summer headache.
Balance Issues
The untrained eye may not notice if a garage door is slightly off balance. When we are completing regular maintenance for our clients, we always check to see if the door is off balance. A door that is unbalanced likely has a spring issue, which can be extremely dangerous to replace if you are not trained on the mechanics and inner workings of a garage door spring system. If your door is unbalanced and nothing is done to remedy the issue, the lifespan of your door could drastically decrease as the entire system has to work harder every time it is set in motion.
Rollers
The rollers on your garage door are one of the most vital components of the entire system. Whether they are constructed from nylon or steel, they should be inspected at least once a year and fully replaced every 5-7 years. If your garage door is used often by your family, your rollers may have become worn, chipped or warped due to wear and tear, or fluctuations in temperatures. If caught early, our team can quickly swap out your rollers…if left unchecked, a garage door accident awaits.
Weather Stripping
This is a simple fix that homeowners often forget about. Our maintenance visits always include a weather strip inspection as they are far more important than most people realize! Yes, they keep the elements out of your garage which helps keep the interior clean and dry but they also keep the temperature more stable. If the temperature is constantly fluctuating in your garage, everytime you open the door to your home, your air conditioner will have to work that much harder to keep your living space cool. What does that mean for you? Higher energy bills!
Weather stripping also plays an important role in keeping pests out of your garage. If the stripping has become brittle or cracked, small pests can make their way into your garage and maybe even your home!
Lubrication
There are several parts of your garage door that need to be lubricated, which is a service that we offer during our garage door maintenance trips. If your garage door is left unlubricated or is lubricated with the wrong products, massive damages can occur. Some of the components that require lubrication are the moving parts such as the chain- best leave this task to our team to avoid injury unless you are educated on the dangers of garage doors.
Auto-Reverse and Photo-Eyes
The auto-reverse feature and the photo-eyes are extremely important to the function of your garage and the safety of those interacting with the door. Regular maintenance should include the testing of these functions to ensure that the door is stopping or reversing when an object is in the way. This is especially important if there are often young children or pets around your home.
Cables
The high-tension cables of your garage door do a lot of the hard work involved in the lifting and lowering of your extremely heavy garage door. These cables are full of tension, which can be very dangerous to an untrained individual. During maintenance, our team will check your cables for broken strands and any damage that they have sustained when interacting with the roller brackets.
There you have it, the 7 areas that need the most attention this spring when considering garage door maintenance. Have any further questions?
Feel free to give our team a call at any time at 250-758-7456 or click HERE