Top Reasons Why It’s Important To Repair Your Garage Door
Garage doors are simple devices with very basic functions. They serve the purpose of letting you park your car indoors instead of being stuck outside in your driveway.
While the basic process of a garage door is to move up and down, there are a lot of mechanics at play. Take for example the amount of time it takes to open the garage door, or the electrical circuit responsible for opening and closing when you press your remote.
Imagine a scenario where your garage door is stuck and your car is stuck outside? Or worse, a scenario with your garage door broken with your car inside!
Seems like a difficult situation doesn’t it? So in order to put your mind at ease, here are a few warning signs of a faulty garage door:
Prevent Door Decay
This is mostly pertinent to wooden garage doors. White Wooden garage doors protect your car and home from the elements as good as a metal door, they are organic and can be affected by the elements. After years of service, there is a high possibility that your wooden door must have been weakened by the constant change in weather. Wood is organic and can rot if not taken care of. They can also be weakened by wood-eating termites.
If you have started to notice cracks and holes developing on your garage door, you will have to consider that your wooden garage door has been damaged internally. While it may not be visible on the outside, the wood must have started to weaken and become soft. Rain and cold/humid weather can lead to the wood rotting inside.
Sure the outer paint job may make it seem sturdy, but the internal wood would have become mushy due water seepage or a termite infestation. While you think it makes no difference, the garage door will begin to sag. A sagging door will be less responsive to your door controls and will scrape the floor, causing damage.
Wooden doors that have been weakened through the effects of weather and humidity can even become infested via the growth of mold. Mold can spread onto your door and other parts of your garage if you aren’t careful. They give out ugly dark patches on your doors and walls and will bring up a foul stench.
If you have a wooden door with all these complications, you will have to call in the professionals to come and replace your door. In terms of a termite infestation, it is paramount that you call an exterminator before the bugs eat through the wood in the rest of your home.
Wear and Tear on Faulty Springs
While your garage door is susceptible to decay, the springs that help suspend it in the air and this allows it to function smoothly. The two springs found on the top of your door work in tandem to ensure that the weight of the door can be lifted with ease. But due to regular usage and wear and tear, your springs might wither due to the amount of tension on it.
A more worrying concern is when only one spring is damaged and the other has to hold the whole load of the door. The situation of only one spring getting damaged stems from constantly raising your garage door halfway instead of full. It may seem like a time saver to just drive in with the door open only halfway, but it ruins your door in the long run.
A broken spring is a cause for concern as you won’t be able to operate your door. The springs are responsible for holding up the weight of the door, similar to the suspension on your vehicle.
With the springs broken, no matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to open the door. You will have to call in a professional to fix the springs on your garage door. Trying to fix it on your own will lead to failure and worse loss of life or limb. Finding the parts to replace may be easy, but you could mess it up by getting the wrong measured spring.
Excessive Whirring or Noise
This is a no-brainer, whenever you hear strange noises or some whirring which you don’t usually hear from your garage door, it’s best you have it inspected. Whirring and loud noise may be a product of constant wear and tear and some maintenance or repair must be put in order.
Many times it would be the simple case of the mechanisms not having enough lubricant or grease. Lubricants allow metal parts to move and function smoothly without causing friction. When there is a lack of lubricant, the metal parts will grind on to each other, causing damage. This stress is what causes loud noises from your garage door.
Whenever you see or hear issues in your garage door, it’s advised that you call in an expert before having it replaced. This is due to several issues which plague your garage door. It can be easily fixed with a set of handy tools which you keep in your home.
Upgrade Your Door
If you’re a homeowner who resides in a very aged household, you will probably still have a garage door that needs to be opened by a key or has a fixed code you need to input. Not to mention the exterior damage caused when your kid’s toys bump into it or when your vehicles accidentally bump into the door.
Aesthetically, your home will look less than perfect with all the visible damage on your garage door. Another reason as to why you should consider replacing your garage door.
Old garage doors, use outdated technology, which makes it very hard to repair. Furthermore, when your old garage door breaks down, it’s very difficult to find the right parts to replace/repair it.
Doors which require you to physically get out of your car and unlock the door with a key or code, have now been phased out. Now every modern home consists of automatic garage doors which can be activated via a handy remote.
Things To Do Before Fixing Your Garage Door
Cables
First things first, you need to inspect the cables that run alongside your garage door. If you spot any worn strips hanging on the side of the door or see visibly frayed cables, call in a professional to inspect your door. Frayed or loose cables can lead to your garage door breaking, this could entail into injuries, loss of life or limb and extensive property damages.
Hinges
Inspect the hinges and see if they are broken or dented. If they are, they must be replaced immediately. Faulty hinges on any door can be a dangerous thing. They ensure smooth functionality and hold the door in place. Broken or dented hinges drastically affect the movement of the door. Not to mention a broken or dented hinge can put a lot of stress on the door, which could lead to cracks and patches on the nearby walls. Hinges need to be replaced immediately, before it comes loose, leaving you with a redundant garage door.
Rollers
The rollers are an integral part used for the functionality of your garage door. In order to observe any fault in your rollers, inspect your rollers whether they move smoothly and are quiet or are noise and seem strained. If noisy and strained, your best bet is that your rollers either require lubrication or need to be replaced. As explained above, it is ill-advised to try to fix your garage door on your own, this is a task best left to the garage door professionals.
Now, if you aren’t adept at observing the various parts of your garage door for damage don’t worry. Instead of looking at various parts, you can instead observe telling signs of damage to your garage door.
6 Signs Why Your Garage Door Requires Repair
Slow Response Time
As stated above, there could be issues with your garage door remote or the control panel that accepts and executes commands from the said remote. You can suspect this off your garage door if there is a delayed response as to when you push a button on your garage door remote. Usually, your garage door should kick into action in one or two seconds after you push a button on your remote. Not only that, the door should open or close with a seamless transition without any hitches or delays. If you have observed long delays in action from your garage door, it is best you bring in a professional to examine your door.
The Garage Door Doesn’t Respond
This goes without saying, if your garage door does not respond to the control buttons when hit, it needs repairing. There are various causes as to why your garage door won’t open or close. The main causes stem from poor connectivity between the door and the control panel/control remote. One way to see if it is a connectivity issue is to test your garage door and see if anything is blocking the door from completely closing. Next, check your controllers to see whether there is an issue with your door or just the control panel/controller. You would be simply paying for a full door replacement when all that has a problem is the remote control.
Sagging Garage Door Sections
Once a month it is paramount that you check the balance of your garage door. This involves disconnecting the opener from the door and operating it manually. The way to do this is to bring the door about midway and leave it in stasis. After that, you need to observe the garage door and sees whether it stays still or does it fall without reason.
If the garage door does rise or fall then there are issues with the tension spring or other parts of your garage door. Do not try to repair the tension spring or any other components as it might cause you harm or damage to property. You should not attempt to repair the garage door on your own if you do not have any prior experience.
The Door Makes A Lot Of Noise
If your garage door is one among the older models, you could take for granted that it does make a lot of noise. However, this could provide excessive creaking and sounds that may cause a lot of strain on the components. This is due to several issues on the opener bracker, spring or the opener itself.
The Door Is Off The Tracks
Most garage doors all run on a track system. A garage door is always operated within tracks that are placed on both sides of the door. There are many times your garage door will come off its tracks and that will cause problems. This usually stems from a poorly maintained door or a damaged door. You will need to call a repairman to inspect the door and see whether it can still be lined on to its track.
Increasing Energy Bills
If you seem to be dealing with large electricity bills and don’t know where your expenses are rising from. It could be your garage door. Old models of garage doors expend a lot of energy. But you won’t have to worry, because newer models of garage doors are very energy efficient, essentially reducing your electricity bills.
Whenever you can, you should consider replacing your old garage door with a modern model. Not only does it reduce your energy costs in the long run, it runs on better technology that would make its use of operation easier.
Maintaining Your Home
Now that you have some clarity as to fixing your garage door, you need to consider getting the professionals for all your future repairs. But calling a professional for all your repairs and maintenance will burn a hole in your pocket. But to give you a ballpark picture of how much you would be spending on maintenance and repair of all your appliances for a year. You should choose to use this home maintenance calculator to determine the cost of home maintenance as compared to a home warranty plan. This calculator will help you gauge how much you would be spending on repairing your appliances for a full year.
Now that you see the amount of money you would be spending on maintaining on all your appliances, you probably would have realized that going it on your own is quite expensive. Neither should you try to fix your appliances on your own or else you could further damage your appliances. That will lead to even further expenses and worse replacements.
So what should you do? How can you save money as well as maintain your appliances? Well, you should invest in a home warranty! A home warranty service will keep your mind at ease as most of your appliances will be covered via deductibles. The way a home warranty works is that you the homeowner will pay a small amount of money up front to a home warranty company.
The home warranty company will then provide maintenance/repair/replacement for most of your appliances for that given year. Whenever your appliances break down is faulty, you can contact the home warranty service and they will send in a contractor to inspect and repair your appliance.
Now how do you find the best home warranty company for you? You might have to comb through various companies and their prices and features individually. To make your research easier, you can head on to HomeWarrantyReviews.com and find the service best for you. Featuring the top home warranty companies in the United States, you as a homeowner are spoiled for choice.
HomeWarrantyReviews.com has reviews by actual consumers of the home warranty service, giving you utmost clarity on your home warranty company. All companies listed on HomeWarrantyReviews.com have a rating timeline. This rating timeline educates you as to how the home warranty company has been faring in the past five years in the eyes of the public. Once you’re convinced with the home warranty company of your choosing, you can go ahead and ask for a quotation and then begin negotiations with the home warranty company.
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