Your garage is one of the most important parts of your house. Yet far too often we neglect its maintenance. You spend a lot of time maintaining other aspects of your home, why not your garage door as well? Look at your garage door as a shield. It is the shield that keeps your family and your belongings safe from intruders and the elements. And just like any good knight protecting the realm, you don’t want to wind up with a battered and bruised shield. Instead, it should be shiny and strong. But without consistent annual garage door maintenance, you might end up with a rusty shield!
Annual maintenance ensures your garage door remains in good condition. But what exactly does annual garage door maintenance entail? Above all, proper maintenance means a thorough check up on the condition of your garage door.
Time and the Elements Degrade Your Garage Door
If there is one adage that rings true, it is that nothing lasts forever. The brightest stars burn bright… until they don’t. The strongest shields stay strong… until they weaken. The fact is natural causes will compromise your garage door over time. It is inevitable. Even the best prize fighter fades; so too will your garage door. The thing is, much like the human body ages, your garage will gradually degrade. If you aren’t paying attention, you might not even notice it.
The problem is when this degradation begins to happen, small problems might arise that disrupt your life. Obviously, life disruption is the last thing you want. You must pay attention to the obvious things and the little things that might not be so apparent.
Rust, erosion and other natural occurrences are the most obvious signs of a garage door that’s gotten long in the tooth. Ground erosion happens over many years. As the ground erodes, you may find yourself with an opening forming at the bottom of your garage door. When your garage door was installed, it was installed to certain specifications. Those specifications go out the window when erosion has worn away your pavement. Annual inspections uncover problems with erosion, especially since these processes take a long time.
Metal garage doors are easily susceptible to rust. Rust even impacts the components of your garage door, from nuts and bolts to springs and cables. Oxidization is the enemy.
Financial Benefits and Peace of Mind
As expert garage door repair and installation professionals serving Akron, Canton, and the surrounding areas, we have no problem installing new garage doors. But if we don’t have to, why should we? Installing a new garage door is not exactly the cheapest thing on the planet. According to a 2015 study by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, replacing your garage could run upwards of $2,300.
Your best bet is to ensure you complete an annual inspection so that a trained professional can have a look at your coil springs, brackets, hinges, and bearing plates. These are the garage door components that have a more limited lifespan. And replacing a coil spring is a far simpler and less expensive job than adding an entirely brand new garage door. Ensuring minor repairs are addressed as the years go by will keep your garage from prematurely failing.
Letting your garage door fall into such disrepair that you have to hire a professional to remove it should not be your idea of a good time. You may susceptible to collateral damage from a worn-out garage door. What if your sensor is faulty and next thing you know you scrape your car on the garage door. Faulty components can have a domino effect. Whether you are leaving to go get the kids from school or there is a storm coming your way, a functioning garage door provides real peace of mind.
Maintain Your Shield Throughout the Year
Annual inspections are important, but as an eagle-eyed homeowner, you also need to also pay close attention to what is going on with your house. Garage door maintenance is key. You want to make sure you have confidence in your garage door. Unnecessary risks might cause you to be late for work or miss an appointment. In addition to annual inspections, take your own steps as well.
Set up a maintenance checklist, for example. It would not hurt to do a once-a-quarter run through of your garage door, opener, and associated components. Also have a look at your weatherstripping, which is one of the first things to go as your garage door ages. As the weather kicks up dust and debris, the last thing you want is all of it ending up in your garage. Here is a handy guide on warm weather garage door maintenance should you do it in the summer.
Don’t hesitate to conduct a visual inspection. You an usually conduct a thorough visual inspection from inside the garage. It’s simple! Simply enter the garage, close the door, turn on all the lights and then start at the edges and seams of your garage door. Also have a close look at the bottom of the door. If you see gaps anywhere, you might have a larger problem, such as erosion.
Make sure your visual inspection includes checking the tracks, cables, pulleys, rollers and other mounting hardware. Just be careful to ensure it is a visual inspection. Some of these parts can be dangerous for the DIY-minded.
Sometimes You Just Need a New Garage Door
Still, we understand that things can be missed. Sure you keep up-to-date with your annual inspections and conduct quarterly visual inspections, but it may very well be that your garage door is just ready to kick the bucket. But how would you know?
First, if you’ve got loose cords hanging off your garage door, it may be a sign the pulley system is failing. You may see this coincide with your door not opening fully or right away. A garage door that opens slowly could be a sign of a bad motor on your garage door opener. Perhaps you need a garage door opener replacement guide?
Then there are the obvious problems like major dents, cracks, or warping in the garage door. Not only does this look bad from an aesthetic standpoint, it could be problematic from a safety point of view. That’s where we come in! Is your problem beyond a little annual maintenance? If so, let us help you find the perfect garage door replacement!