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Garage Door
Your home’s automatic garage door is not
only convenient, but likely is its biggest and
heaviest mobile object. One of the key parts
that allows your garage door to operate is a
high-tension spring.
Check the garage door and automatic opener
routinely. Safety is a key consideration of
your automatic garage door, and it must work
properly. Following are basic safety rules:
When operating the door, make sure you can
see it fully, and that there are no obstructions.
Teach children to not play with the door or the
electric controls.
When the door is in motion, don’t stand under
the doorway or walk through it.
Care and maintenance
The following maintenance and safety instructions
will extend your garage door’s life, minimize
service calls, and hopefully, eliminate accidents.
Garage door maintenance
Regularly inspect the garage door and opener
for improper alignment or wear.
Inspect cables, hinges, and rollers quarterly for
signs of wear. If any hinge screws are loose,
tighten them.
Use a light oil or spray lubricant to lubricate all
moving parts every month. Not only will the
lubrication reduce noise but also it will add to
the parts’ lifespan.
Avoid lubricating the chain or screw drive.
Some wooden garage doors stick. Check to
see if yours does. As your home settles, it may
alter the door’s alignment. If the alignment is
uneven, check the hinge screws to ensure they
are tight. If they are, but the misalignment is
still evident, plane or sand the edge of the door
until it no longer sticks. Then paint or varnish
any affected areas to protect them from
moisture and swelling.
Look at the garage door to see if it needs to be
refinished. In climates where heat and humidity
are common, wood exterior doors often must
be refinished regularly.
If your garage door is metal, you may be
tempted to add insulating panels to it. Doing
so isn’t problematic but will change the door’s
weight. You’ll need to have a contractor adjust
the tension of the garage door’s springs.
Lubricate the torsion spring regularly to prevent
it from losing tension and failing. A sign you
need to add lubrication is rust on the spring.
