Do you have a garage door that's just not working the way it used to? Are you concerned that it's not going to open one day, trapping your vehicle on the wrong side of the door? Although frustrating, having a garage door that is no longer functioning well isn't the end of the world either. You may even be considering tinkering with the door yourself to see if you can get it to work. There are certainly a few things you can check on your own, but other things are best left to a garage door repair professional. A few things to check include:
Dirty sensor: In order to prevent the garage door from coming down onto a person or the rear end of a vehicle, garage doors typically have one or more sensors along the edges. On one side of the garage door, there is a piece that emits an invisible beam of light. On the opposite side of the door, there is either a mirror to reflect this beam back or a sensor that collects this light and sends the information to the garage door opener. When the beam of light is broken, the garage door will refuse to close. If the cleaning of these sensors doesn't help with the situation, you'll need to get a garage door repair professional in to check the alignment.
Damaged spring: A garage door is actually too heavy to be lifted by the tiny motor in your garage door opener. That it is able to do so is the result of one or two strong springs that counter-balance the weight of the door and allow it to be opened with ease. Over time, these springs will stretch out and may even snap. Difficulty with opening the garage door is a good indication that a spring either has snapped already or is about to do so soon. This sort of garage door repair should always be performed by a professional due to the potential dangers involved as a result of high-tension springs.
Rust & corrosion: Your garage door is made out of aluminum and stainless steel parts that are meant to resist corrosion and rust. But resistance doesn't mean that they will be able to permanently avoid corrosion, especially if you are not lubricating the moving parts as per the manufacturer's instructions. Inspect your garage door's track for signs of deterioration and add extra oil or grease as instructed in your user's manual. If you don't have the manual or if you find seriously corroded parts, a garage door repair professional will be able to fix the problem.
Share19 October 2018
How secure your garage door is depends on several elements. How old is the garage door? How well is it maintained? Are there broken windows? Do you have a lock on the door? These are just a few things to check for to find out just how secure your garage door is. Chances are, the items that you store in your garage are of great value, and if they are stolen, they could be hard to replace. This blog is all about increasing garage security. You will learn when to replace the garage door, find out about the different kinds of locks and tips for making the garage as secure as it possibly can be.