Your garage door is your home’s largest moving part, which means you need to stay on top of regular maintenance to prevent any mechanical issues from arising. After all, when you consider how frequently you raise and lower your garage door, it would be a massive inconvenience to have a garage door that suddenly becomes inoperable due to your neglecting to maintain it.
With this in mind, here are some important maintenance tips for residential garage doors in Rancho Cordova, CA:
- Keep the hardware tight: You can expect your garage door to go up and down a thousand times a year or more. Consider how much movement and vibration that involves, and how that could affect the operation of the door. You should make sure all of the hardware components, including bolts and roller brackets, are kept snug at all times so the movement can be as smooth as possible.
- Maintain a proper balance: A failure to keep the garage door properly balanced will result in the opener having to work harder, which will in turn cause it to wear out faster over time. After you’ve disconnected the opener (which can be done by pulling the release handle), manually move the door up about halfway. If it does not stay put, the counterweight system will be improperly balanced. Just make sure that any spring adjustments are performed by professionals, as this can be a very dangerous (and potentially deadly) task if not performed properly.
- Act quickly when you notice weird noises: Every now and then, observe your garage door as it goes up and down. If it seems to be jerky or making weird noises that had not previously occurred, we encourage you to contact a professional to come out and perform an inspection.
- Lubricate all moving parts: Any part of the garage door system that moves, including the chain or screw and the rollers and springs, should be lubricated at least once a year to make sure the entire system works as smoothly as possible. This process only takes about 10 minutes to complete, but the amount of benefit it has for your garage door system cannot be understated.
- Replace weather-stripping: Over time you can expect the rubber weather seal on the bottom of the garage door to become brittle and cracked. Replacing the weather-stripping is important for all garages, but especially attached garages, as damaged weather-stripping could result in drafts coming into your home. You can find weather-stripping at any hardware or home improvement store that you can cut down to the appropriate size and then connect to the bottom of the door.
- Keep tracks clear: Make sure all the tracks are clear of debris. You can also check it with a level if you think this is necessary.
For more tips and information about how you can keep your garage doors in good condition for many more years to come, we encourage you to contact Action Door Service. We specialize in residential garage doors in Rancho Cordova, CA, and would be happy to answer your questions!