Garage Door Maintenance Tips
Annual inspection of your home garage door is very important to prevent premature replacement or opening difficulties. Painting is the first and most important defense against moisture and sun damage to your door. Most wood doors will require to be painted every couple of years. Once rotted wood is hard to repair and may even reach the point where door has to be replaced. Ensuring all cracks are filled and protected with paint is a good investment in the life of your garage door. Reglular inspection will ensure maintance is done in a timely manner. The garage door has many moving components which all contribute to the operation of the door. the most common problem homeowners encounter is difficulty in opening the door. Applying lubricant and making minor adjustments is usually all that is required to resolve this issue. I usually recommend using penetrating oil to all the rollers and hinges at least once a year. I also put a light coating of grease on the track, this seems to free up the opening and closing plus the added benefit of quietening track noise. check all your bolts for tightness and re-tighten as required. If your door seems unusually heavy your springs probably require adjustment. Unless you have had previous experience on adjusting these springs it is recommended that you call in a garage door contractor to perform this chore. He will inspect the rest of the door while there and advise on any other deficiencies. Aligning the rollers with the track is a fairly simple job that can be performed with just basic tools, wrench, hammer and block of wood. Sagging doors or panels can be repaired by adding supports or even replacing just the damaged panel. Electric door openers are quite common and are fairly easy for homeowner installation. Ensure door is properly adjusted so that it closes completely and the auto safety switch is working. The common mistake with installing the safety beam is choosing too low a height, this will allow the posssibility of the beam passing under your vehicle, allowing the door to be accidentally lowered onto your vehicle. This is personal preference but I would not be happy to come out and find a dent across the roof of my new vehicle. So remember that preventive maintenance will allow you many years of problem free use of your garage door.
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