Importance of Garage Door Repair and Maintenance

Garage doors are used a number of times every day throughout the year in all homes. If you want your beautiful garage door to operate smoothly for the years to come, it is vital to invest time in performing routine maintenance and repairs.

Your garage door opener requires special attention when it comes to maintenance and repair. This is because it could directly impact your personal safety. There might be a situation where you get stuck inside the garage in case the door is unexpectedly jammed. In such emergency situations, it would be tough to figure out and hunt for a reliable repair service.

Signs of repair

If you pay close attention and keep certain things in mind, you will know if your garage door needs any kind of repair work. This way, you will be able to avoid all kinds of stressful and risky situations related to a stuck or broken garage door.

1. Listen and look

One of the most obvious and vital preventive steps is to make an observation while your garage door is being operated. Check if it is moving in a smooth fashion or if it is slightly jerky in certain places. Is it operating silently or is it making scraping or grinding noises? Are both sides looking symmetrical? They will indicate you to any impending repairs.

2. Testing the door balance

If a garage door lacks proper balance, it will take more work to open it and the door opener might break down sooner than expected. Once the opener is disconnected (by pulling release handle), pull up the door nearly halfway up. In case it does not stay put, it indicates that the springs (counterweight system) are incorrectly balanced. It is a good idea to leave the adjustment of the door spring to a professional.

3. Lubrication of moving parts

When you keep the various parts of the garage door greased up, it will add several years of smooth operation to the system. What’s more? It takes only about ten minutes in a year to do this! Your repair service will likely make use of white lithium to grease the screw or chain of the opener. This is followed by the spraying of a lubricant for coating the door’s overhead springs.

4. Inspecting and replacing rollers

It is important to inspect the garage door rollers (whether nylon or steel) at least two times in a year. They need to be replaced after about seven years. Early replacement might be required if the garage door is used more frequently in a day.

Replace worn out, cracked or chipped rollers immediately. The repair professionals will remove and reinstall the roller brackets which aren’t directly linked to the door’s cable system.

5. Cable inspection

Never think about tinkering with high-tension cables that lift up your door as they have sufficient amount of force to injure or kill someone. Check the condition of these cables with the help of a professional. Look for any broken strands or damages in the roller bracket.

Hire a professional garage door repair service to help keep your garage door in good condition throughout the year.

Insulation Options for your Garage Door

Insulating your garage door is important if you want to save energy and also, protect your garage. In fact, if your garage door shares a wall with your house, then the need for good insulation is much higher. However, there are many different options in terms of garage door insulation, which means you will have to do some research before you actually make a decision.

You can always buy a completely new garage door with built-in insulation, but that might work out to be much more expensive. If you already have a garage door in place, then it is cheaper and wiser to insulate it separately. All you need to do is buy the necessary insulating material kits and install the insulation yourself.

Luckily, the market has quite a bit to offer in terms of insulation kits for garage doors. They are available in various price ranges, but, the good ones tend to be more expensive. Nevertheless, good insulation kits can still save you money by cutting down on the utility expenses. Some of these insulation kits even come with the necessary tools to help with the installation, once again, saving effort, time, and money for you.

Here are some of the most common insulation kits you could consider.

Reflective foil

Reflective foils are installed as insulation by applying them as a lining for the garage door. These reflective foil kits come in multiple options which include single foil insulation and double foil insulation. With the former, you get a layer of aluminum foil which is pressed between two layers of polyethylene foam, while the latter comes with two polyethylene layers pressed between two aluminum foil layers.

Panels

Panel kits are sold with 8 pre-cut panels that are shaped to fit within the garage door frame’s channels. These panels can be either bought as foam panels or fiberglass panels. The fiberglass variety provides greater insulation and also, mold and water resistance.

The foam panels are composed of polystyrene and they enjoy a laminated plastic surface that offers plenty of resistance. The insulation provided is a little higher than what you would get from fiberglass panels and they work very well for steel garage doors. 

However, panel kits are not as effective as reflective foil. Nevertheless, they do look better when installed. Reflective foil insulation can look very unpleasant.

Considerations to be made

Choosing a type of insulation isn’t just limited to the materials. You also need to factor in other conditions. For instance, the weight of the insulation is an important factor to be considered. Will it affect the operational efficiency of your garage door?

You might have to adjust the garage door springs in order to make it handle the extra weight better.

Similarly, you will also have to consider the insulating material’s R-value. R-value here refers to the measurement used in determining the heat resistance of the insulating material. A higher R-value indicates better insulation. Double foil insulation has the highest R-value among these above mentioned options.

Finally, you will have to look at fireproofing. Your insulation must be fireproof. Fortunately, most of the

Choosing the Right Garage Door

It is true that you don’t need to go garage door shopping very often and therefore some amount of upfront homework helps in making the right decision. Garage doors have evolved from the basic old slab styles in the last couple of years and hardboard or wood constructions have led to the availability of an unlimited number of design options.

Research

Before you make any decision regarding your garage door, spend some time getting information about their various important features. The complexity and size of these doors has an impact on their safety and functionality. Besides this, the other issues that need attention include insulation and installation.

Garage doors also have a huge impact on the overall aesthetic appeal of your home. In a lot of ways, they do create that “first impression” on the people who come to visit your home or pass through your neighborhood.

Therefore, gaining knowledge about the different garage door types and their features could enable you to make the best buying decision. Apart from aesthetics, homeowners also need to consider vital technical aspects before deciding on a particular garage door. These include the materials used for making the garage door and its construction. Garage doors made out of different materials have their own pros and cons and vary in terms of pricing. Some of them are discussed below:

Steel and metal garage doors

Garage doors made out of steel and various other metals have the advantage of being durable and require far less maintenance. There garage doors being made out of aluminum as well as copper. But majority of the metal garage doors are still made using steel.

The least expensive and simplest steel doors comprise a steel panel or one single sheet which makes the door. Such doors might not be very sturdy. Other garage steel doors use a back and front panel for a greater amount of rigidity. These doors also offer insulation and can be fitted in between the door skins.

You will be able to paint almost all steel garage doors using latex paint so that it matches your house color.

Wooden garage doors

Garage doors can be made out of a solid piece of wood or from a mix of other materials combined with wood (e.g. steel) and the wood can be the face of a steel-back garage door.

You cannot miss the beauty and richness of this beautiful material, especially all the stained varieties. However, woodengarage doors naturally require the maximum amount of maintenance. Also, these doors are more expensive to install as compared to garage doors made with other materials.

Often, buyers come across references to the number of construction layers when shopping for garage doors. For instance, a four-layer garage door may comprise a combination overlay covering the front panel made of steel. Also, the back of the door is constructed using one more steel panel. There is an insulation core in between the two panels.

Consider the type of garage door you would like to install keeping in mind both durability and aesthetics of the material used.

Picking the Right Garage Door Opener

People hardly pay attention to their garage door openers, till something actually goes wrong and they need to be repaired or replaced. It is important to select the right garage door opener, whether for the purpose of new installation or replacement. This minimizes the chances of frequent repairs in the future.

Here are some tips on the things to consider before picking a garage door opener.

 

Selecting the Brand and Design

First and foremost, you need to take a decision about the brand and the style of opener that you want to buy. You also need to think about whether you want to purchase your garage door opener from a home supplies store or online. There will be a wide variety of styles, brand and power ratings displayed in a store and you can pick one that suits your budget and your requirements best.

If you are planning to purchase your garage door opener online, make sure that you go through customer reviews in order to get an idea about the different models under consideration. You can easily make a comparison between the specifications, dimensions, price, weight, warranty and features based on such reviews.

There are basically three types of garage door openers that you can pick from. These are:

• Chain Drive
• Belt Drive
• Screw Drive

All of them have their own unique advantages and suit different kinds of garage doors. There are some things that you should consider before deciding on the style of opener you wish to buy, such as the garage door’s width and height and the building material and insulation of the garage door.

Belt drive openers make minimal sound when opening a garage door and are perfect for garages that are close to living spaces. Chain drive openers are suitable for almost all kinds of garage doors and are used for lifting extremely heavy doors. Screw drive openers are built for single-piece doors which tilt. They are quieter as compared to chain drive openers and quite durable when used as opening systems for garages.

Horse Power

Another factor to consider while choosing a garage door opener is the amount of horse power that is needed to raise the door. For instance, if you need an opener for lifting a 22’ width door, you will require a minimum of ½ horsepower.

Heavy and oversized doors require a minimum of ¾ horsepower.  It is also important to consider the opener speed. An average garage door opener can raise the door about 7inches/ second. However, certain models might be able to lift the garage door at twice the speed.

There are various other factors which also require your attention when looking to buy a garage door opener. If you require a good amount of light in the garage, hunt for models which make use of 100 watt bulbs (or comparable LED bulbs).

It is a good idea to do some research and consult a technician before picking the right garage door opener.