What are the garage door tips that helps to avoid breakdowns and repeated repairs ?

Started by SunnylisaL • 5 replies • 1618 views

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SunnylisaL (New York)
Posts: 4

Posted:

A broken garage door is a threat to the safety of your house, and it is important to get it repaired by professional garage door repairperson as soon as possible. To avoid sudden garage door breakdowns, it is important to perform regular maintenance.

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

Use a marine rated type lubricant on the rails. It is better than WD40. It is water resistant and can quiet the door opening. It is extremely slick and should be applied every so often.

Former HOA President

PitA1
Posts: 222

Posted:

read and follow the instructions in the door's manual

if you don't have one, get one from the manufacturer

the safety / maintenance instructions are FREE

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

Lubricate hinges, springs, and rollers at least annually. At the same time, inspect the rollers for excessive play (wobble) and replace as needed. Nylon rollers are quieter than the metal ones. Inspect hinges for any broken metal and also to make sure bolts are tight. Inspect any cables for fraying or wear. If you have a hip roof rather than a gable over the garage door, install gutters to cut down on the water splashing against the door. If you do this, about the only thing liable to catch you by surprise is spring failure. Metal fatigue will happen after some number of cycles, and is not really detectable until the spring breaks.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

PitA1
Posts: 222

Posted:

#1 requirement:

be CERTAIN the springs actually balance the weight of the door

for a manual door: open door to mid-travel, let go, door should stay put

for auto-opener: release manual catch, open door to mid-travel, let go, door should stay put

excessive strain WILL be caused by an unbalanced door assembly

ps. many 'door companies' merely make repairs with what they happen to have on the truck

it will work apparently fine for ???? months/years until something breaks (usually the drive gear on the opener or the overtaxed spring)

to PROPERLY replace a door spring the actual weight of the door with any accessories MUST be obtained (usually with a common bath scale)

then you will / should have a choice of springs offered (not as to weight capacity) from 5,000 cycles up to 50,000 cycles at increasing prices

in my own home I opted for 25,000 cycles at 3X the price ($75 vs $25 each) ~ the trade off was the 3 day wait for delivery of the actual springs ~ (my door weighs 137.5# including the accessory hurricane braces)

YEP, NOTHING IS AS SIMPLE AS WE WOULD LIKE

see: http://ddmgaragedoors.com/springs/garage-door-springs.php

SunnylisaL (New York)
Posts: 4

Posted:

Garage door maintenance tips for homeowners:

* The first phase of garage door maintenance is garage door inspection. Take a close look at all the components including tracks, rollers, cables, panels, opener, springs, and electrical connections.
* Look for signs of rust, dust accumulation or general wear and tear of any of garage door part. Clean the dust and lubricate the garage door parts with garage door specific lubricators. This should exclude garage door tracks as the lubricator accumulates dust and avoids smooth movement of garage door. Using sand paper, remove the extreme dust accumulation on garage door parts.
* Clean garage door tracks and make sure that the sections are in alignment.
* Make sure that your garage door has good insulation. Do not handle any problems with garage door springs and cables on your own.
* If things are more serious and you are unable to handle them, hire a professional repair company.

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