Tag Archives: garage door springs
Don’t Wait Until Your Garage Door Doesn’t Work… Maintain It!
For those of you who have moved into a new home or have just installed a new garage door, be sure to take the time to thoroughly read the garage door owner’s manual. It may seem like a chore and take time, but one would be surprised at what they can find in most well written garage door manuals. The manual will contain safety and design information to help you insure that your garage door is safe to use and properly installed, and contain information on how to keep your garage door properly maintained.
For example, many garage door manuals will contain helpful tips for painting them. Most companies will tell you to pain BOTH the inside and outside of the garage door to keep everything even, and to never remove any parts of the garage door when painting. If you want to make sure that your garage door is completely covered in a fresh coat of paint, you need to call in a professional to dismantle it so that you can finish the paint job, and then have the garage door installed again. This usually does not happen, but again, do not try to dismantle any of the parts of [more]
Don’t Overlook The Garage When Getting Your Home Ready To Sell
There’s a lot of talk about curb appeal being the driving force drawing buyers into your home. It makes sense. If the house looks a mess from the outside, what buyer would want to set foot inside?
Well, maybe your house isn’t quite a mess. You have taken the time to fix-up the landscape, power-washed the house, and even painted the mailbox. But did you overlook what can be the biggest eyesore — the garage? It’s the largest architectural element on the house. So it really, in this day and age, is impossible to dismiss the garage door as an important architectural element.
But the garage door is more than an architectural element. It can be a trigger point for buyers. They’re driving down the street in a tract-home neighborhood and suddenly they spot a custom wooden garage door. It’s striking and different and often gives them reason to stop and take a closer look, maybe even come inside.
If you have a house that has a nice garage door, it sets the stage for the fact that everything else in the house is going to have attention to detail and it really does differentiate homes that are on the same street. With [more]
June is Garage Door Safety Month
The International Door Association and the Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association have designated June as Garage Door Safety Month.
Garage door manufacturers, like First United Door Technologies, and garage door dealers throughout the U.S. and other countries are working to increase awareness of the possible hazards of garage doors and automatic opener systems, and the need for periodic inspection and maintenance to keep them safe.
It’s important that the public is aware of garage door safety and that safety checks should be done to insure it’s in proper working order by using these ten garage door safety and security tips.
1. Make sure garage door opener control button is out of the reach of small children.
2. Do not let children play with garage door remote controls.
3. Consult the owner’s manual and learn how to use the garage door’s emergency release feature.
4. Visually inspect the garage door each month. Look at springs, cables, rollers and pulleys for signs of wear. Do not attempt to remove, adjust or repair these parts or anything attached to them. A trained door repairman must make adjustments to these parts, which are under high tension.
5. Test the garage door opener’s reversing mechanism monthly by placing a 2 x 4 board or a [more]
Garage Door Spring Tips
An important component in the mechanical make-up of garage doors is the spring system.
Without springs the doors would not rise and fall. These components should be in good, strong working condition at all times for the doors to function properly. The counterbalance springs do the actual lifting and closing.
When the doors rise the springs unwind. This provides the necessary power to do the lifting. When the door closes, the weight of the door winds the springs back up until the door is entirely shut. At this stage the springs are fully tensed again.
The springs need to be adjusted periodically.
When the typical door weighs about three hundred pounds and involves the co-ordination of pulleys, cables and springs, this is inevitable. It is not difficult to do a cursory check up. With safety glasses on one can pull on the red emergency release cord so that the doors are opened manually. By lifting it halfway and observing if it stays in place or falls, one can determine if it is out of balance. If it falls, then it is not in balance.
There are other assessment suggestions described on the site for testing the poor performance of the doors. When the doors need [more]
A Healthy Garage Door: Get a Check-Up
Your garage door should get a regular check-up to maintain its health!
Watch and Listen to your door. Strange sounds or motions can be signs of trouble. Popping, banging, snapping, grinding, or an oddly moving door generally indicates an UNSAFE door.
Monthly visual inspection. Stand inside the garage with the garage door closed. Look over the garage door springs, cables, rollers, pulleys and mounting hardware, such as hinges, for signs of wear or damage. Look for cable wear or fraying. Is the mounting hardware becoming loose? If something doesn’t look quite right – or doesn’t sound quite right – it could be the symptom of a more serious issue. Have the garage door system inspected by a trained service technician.
Monthly door balance test. If your door is equipped with an automatic opener system: CLOSE the door and disconnect the automatic opener. (Do not disconnect while the door is open.) Once you are able to lift the door manually: Lift the door. It should lift smoothly with little resistance and should remain fully open. If it is difficult to open or does not remain open, the door may be out of balance and should be serviced by a trained service technician.
Monthly reversing mechanism [more]
Going Shopping
Here are some factors to consider when buying a new garage door.
• Budget. Like everything, budget dictates options. Garage doors range in price from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the size, materials and design you choose. Even if you have a small budget you can still get a great looking door that is going to enhance the look of the house.
• Design. Think of the garage as an extension of the home’s theme, not an afterthought. Let the home’s architectural style, the shape and size of the windows and entry doors, and exterior design details influence the design of the garage door.
It’s a good idea to visit dealer showrooms and review manufacturer Web sites to get a sense of the options available. Many companies offer doors pre-designed to match specific architectural styles, which can make the selection process easier.
• Insulation. Doors can be insulated or non-insulated. If the garage is attached to the house you’ll want an insulated door. This will help reduce utility bills – a popular selling point with prospective buyers. If you live in a mild climate or have a detached garage that will only be used to park the car, you can [more]
Safety Comes First!
Maybe you have never given very much thought to the safety functions of your garage door, or just how unsafe a defective garage door can be.
Because as frequently as your garage doors are used it is vital to take into account all of the maintenance and basic safety features, because most people use the garage door at least a couple of times every day and there are numerous moving components that might be loose or fail resulting in property damage or for someone to get hurt.
Stop and think about this, the garage door may be the heaviest working component of the house. Your garage door is actually a motor-driven device that is frequently being opened and lowered over your car or truck as well as your entire family.
Through the years there have been a number of different kinds of garage doors placed in garages but the most frequently used style is most likely the panel garage doors. These types of doors really are standard panels hinged with one another that will be installed on tacks using a spring system to assist with raising the garage door. They can be manually operated but today most of them employ a garage door [more]