What upkeep does a garage door need?
Run and watch the door monthly, check its balance and reversing system a couple of times a year, and lubricate hinges, rollers, springs and pulleys but not the tracks. On older doors, check for safety cables on extension springs and keep wood sealed. Leave springs and cables to a technician.
A few minutes spent on your garage door each season heads off a lot of service calls. These seven habits suit the mix of older and newer garages in Mount Holly.
1. Run the door and pay attention
Once a month, open and close the door while you stand and watch. Notice whether it moves smoothly and evenly. New noises are clues: a squeal often means dry hinges or rollers, a grind can mean a worn roller, and a bang may mean something has broken.
2. Check the balance a couple of times a year
Close the door. Pull the emergency release so the opener is disconnected. Lift the door to the middle of its travel and let go. It should stay where it is. If it falls or rises, the springs are out of adjustment, and the opener is straining every time it runs. Reconnect the opener when you are done.
3. Oil what moves, not what slides
Use a garage door lubricant on the hinges, the roller bearings, the spring coils and, on extension-spring doors, the pulleys. Do not grease the inside of the tracks. Rollers should roll, and grease in the track just catches grit.
4. Look at the extension springs
If your springs run along the tracks, check that a safety cable passes through the center of each one. If not, ask to have safety cables added. Also look for stretched or gapped coils and worn pulleys.
5. Check the reversing system
Put a 2x4 flat on the floor where the door lands and close the door. When the door touches it, it should reverse. Then, as the door is closing, pass a broom handle through the sensor beam near the floor. The door should go back up. If either test fails, do not use the opener until it is fixed.
6. Care for wood and seals
Wood doors need paint or sealant to keep out moisture. Bare wood soaks up water, swells in humid weather and rots at the bottom. Check the bottom seal for cracks and gaps, and before winter make sure water drains away from the threshold so it does not freeze to the seal overnight.
7. Tighten what has loosened
Doors vibrate every time they run. Over months, hinge screws and track bolts work loose. Snug them with a wrench, but leave alone anything attached to the springs or the bottom corner brackets, which are under tension.
What to leave to a technician
Springs, cables, the bottom brackets the cables attach to, and anything that needs the door held open. All of these carry stored spring tension.
If something turns up
Call (609) 905-2430. Expect $130 to $290 for an opener diagnosis with a small fix and $125 to $215 to get a door back on its tracks, per this site's price table.
Need a hand? We handle garage door opener repair and garage door repair in Mount Holly. You might also like Should You Replace Your Garage Door in Mount Holly?.