In addition to proper installation by a professional, purchasing from trusted manufacturers, and professional inspections, regular maintenance is another critical aspect of ensuring a smooth operation of new garage doors.
While professional maintenance is needed, say twice a year, it can be quite expensive for you, especially considering that you just did the installation.
There are still many ways of maintaining the optimal functionality of new garage doors. You can do these actions by yourself.
Together with the aforementioned factors, effective maintenance can help new garage doors achieve their intended lifespan of between 15 and 20 years. This article gives tips to maintain new garage doors.
Clean and Repaint
Does your garage door work right?
Just like the house sidings, garage doors act as the first line of defense in protecting cars and other items against the elements. For this reason, they might be stained or faded within a few months after installation. This is especially true if you live near busy highways or construction sites where dust and smoke is produced in large volumes. Regular cleaning and repainting garage doors can help restore their original glory and extend their lifespan.
Auto-Reverse System
Automated garage doors operate on reverse systems where the doors go back up when they sense obstacles for instance cars, people and other objects. Operating garage doors with faulty auto-reverse systems is dangerous since accidents are imminent. To ensure this system is in its top-notch operation, place a 2 by 4 wood block below it and activate it. Upon touching the wood, the door should go back up. If it does not retreat, have a professional repair or replace the faulty system.
Tighten Hardware
As the door rises and drops when in use, the screws securing the racks and rails on the garage walls might become a little loose. To bring these to their optimal performance, remove debris from the racks by using a vacuum. Then use a drill to tighten the loose screws and replace the worn or loose caps.
Limit Use
One of the many causes of faulty garage doors is because of misuse and overuse. Overuse comes when you use the door so often, say more than 3 times per day. During its manufacture, the door is designed for use when retrieving and returning your car. It is never meant for use to access the main house. Doing that leads to the wear of the movable sections, which means you will be forced to repair yours more often. To prevent this scenario from happening, limit the use through the door by accessing the house through the right routes.
Lubrication
Rusty moving parts can cause malfunctioning of the door and lead to its untimely wear. During routine inspections, check for rust and apply more lubricants accordingly. As do you this, be sure to wipe off the excess lubricants since they can work against you by attracting dust and dirt.
Professional Maintenance
The most important way of maintaining an optimally functional door is to schedule regular professional maintenance. While a DIY is as equally important, professionals are adept with issues pertaining to doors. They will therefore notice issues that you missed during the DIY and recommend the appropriate action.
Check Balance
An imbalance is a precursor for faulty door springs. It is tested by raising the door midway and letting it be. It should remain in that position if the springs are okay. Observe for any misalignments on both sides Faulty springs should be rectified by professionals only and not through a DIY since a homeowner can sustain severe injuries.
Regular Inspection
As pristine as they may be, new garage doors need routine checks every 3 months. During the checks, you will notice signs of wear and tear, loose hardware, unusual sounds, rust, and imbalance. With these, you can then perform the required maintenance through a DIY and contract the complicated ones to professionals.
Check Weatherstripping
Weatherstripping is meant to keep water and dust off the garage door. What this implies is that the weatherstripping will take a heavy toll from the elements as equally as the door. Operating a garage door with broken weatherstripping leads to the untimely wear of the door. It therefore goes without saying that the repair or replacement of weatherstripping when cleaning or repainting garage doors is recommended.
Through the above-discussed tips, you can ensure that your door remains functional, safe and aesthetically pleasing for years. For any complicated repairs such as spring-replacement and other aspects that you are uncomfortable with, leave them to a professional.
