Similar to the rest of the main house doors, garage doors play a very crucial role when it comes to securing garage components.
They also contribute to the overall security of homeowners by restricting access from intruders.
However, ideally, garage doors are made to protect garage items and components from the elements.
Besides buying a quality door and having it installed by an adequately experienced technician, periodic maintenance is another aspect that ensures your door lives up to its intended lifespan.
While most of the maintenance is left to the professionals, some simple tasks can be done as DIY.
This article educates you on what can be done through DIY and what issues professionals best handle.
Residential Garage Doors Installation
DIY Maintenance Tasks
Visual Inspection
One aspect of garage maintenance that may tend to be overlooked by many homeowners is the impact of visual inspections on the proper functioning and longevity of the piece. Areas like balancing, worn-out weatherstripping, dysfunctional safety sensors, and structural damage can never go unnoticed and unattended with regular visual checks. The checks provide for early detection and addressing of issues before they escalate to serious problems.
Weatherstripping Replacement
Worn-out weatherstripping renders garage doors energy-inefficient, making you spend more money on power bills. Fortunately, weatherstripping replacement can be done as DIY through a simple straightforward process. You just need to remove the worn-out piece, install the new one and continue enjoying energy efficiency like never before.
Lubricating Moving Parts
Moving parts lubrication makes up among the simplest DIY maintenance. Inadequately lubricated moving parts can cause wear or tear of critical components like rollers, tracks, and cables, reducing the piece’s lifespan. Furthermore, it can cause malfunctions by hindering seamless movements when opening or closing the door. When lubricating, go for silicone-based, since oil-based lubricants can invite dust issues, which is a major contributor to untimely wear of the piece.
Door Painting
Just like the rest of your exterior, garage door appearance goes a long way in affecting the home’s curb appeal. Since this is a simple task, you can handle it by yourself. All you need is to choose a finish that resonates with your home’s style and personal preference, roll up your sleeves, take a roller brush, and get to work.
Loose Hardware Tightening
Operating a door with loose hardware presents both structural and safety concerns. Besides causing door imbalance and malfunctions during opening or closing, loose hardware endangers homeowners’ lives since the springs may fly out of place and cause physical injuries. If not, rollers can fall out of tracks, making the door fall on you. To combat this scenario, use a wrench to tighten all loose hardware.
Tracks Cleaning
Dust or debris accumulation on tracks hinders the smooth movement of rollers on tracks, causing wear of components, which causes difficulty during opening or closing the door. Use a microfiber piece of cloth to wipe off dust or debris from the tracks.
Professional Maintenance
Spring Replacement
Springs operate in tandem with door cables to achieve balance during garage door closing or opening. Springs replacement is among the most intricate tasks of door maintenance, which is why it should be left to the technicians only. This is because the springs may fly off causing serious physical injuries on people.
Cable Replacement
Due to common wear over time, door cables may fray or snap, calling for replacement. Due to the intricacy of the system and the high tension of door cables, replacement entails the use of specialized skills and tools, which only the technicians know how to operate or navigate.
Structural Repairs
The majority of structural issues for instance, damaged hardware, panels, warped rails, repairs or replacement of motor systems, and safety sensor issues should be left to the professionals alone. This is due to the intricacy and safety concerns associated with the system.
Motor Work
Unless you possess some technical skills in the mechanical or technical realm of engineering, repairing and replacing electrical wiring and motor systems can be dangerous for your safety. This is given the imminent electrocution and possible permanent damage to the system. For these reasons, it is best to let professionals address such tasks.
While simple tasks like lubrication, visual inspections, loose hardware tightening, and weatherstripping replacement can easily be done as DIY, intricate and sensitive tasks like springs and roller replacement, motor work, and majority of structural repairs are better done by professionals, given the safety concerns and imminent permanent damage to the system. However, regular maintenance is the secret to a smooth functioning and long-lasting door.
