Winter & Your Garage Door

If you are like most individuals, you don’t think about your garage door until it stops working. This occurrence is never fun during any time of the year in Denver, but it’s especially worse if you get caught with a broken door during the snow flurries and cold winds of winter. Fortunately, you can be proactive by making sure that it is prepared for the season. We recommend that you follow these five top tips to ensure that your garage door is running smoothly and stays reliable.

Listen and Look For Problems

The first step of preventative maintenance is simply listening to your door when it opens and closes. Do you hear any grinding or similar noises that you know should not be present? Observe the door when it moves to make sure that the whole mechanism is moving in a fluid motion. You should not see any jerking or jolting and the running parts on each side should be symmetrical. Also, look at your door. If you notice any broken parts on your garage door, like rusty bolts, repair or replace them. If you notice any loose parts, such as roller brackets or bolts, tighten them with a socket wrench.

Garage Door Balance

It’s important to have your garage door balanced. If this isn’t the case, your garage door opener will be subjected to more stress and have to work harder when opening and closing your door. Unfortunately, this can reduce the lifespan of your opener. To check this and ensure that your garage door opener continues to work flawlessly, manually pull on the release handle, which is commonly identified as a red cord. Move the door up about halfway and see if it stays in place. If this doesn’t work, it could indicate improper balance and would initiate more stress on your garage door opener. If this is the case, contact us to help remedy the problem.

Weather Stripping Replacement

Exposure to the constant changes of weather and outside elements can cause the weather stripping on the bottom of your door to become cracked and brittle. If you inspect your door and this is the case, the weather stripping should be replaced.  If you are unsure which seal strip is suitable for your garage door, or need help with this fix, contact us so that we can help provide a solution.

Checking the Cables

The cables that lift and close a door are under high tension and should not be serviced by you. Your job is to check the cables and look for any problems such as broken strands or damage around the roller bracket that’s located near the bottom of the garage door. If you see any problems, give our company a call as these cables can be dangerous to work with.

Lubrication on Moving Components

When specific parts on your garage door are kept lubricated, it adds to the overall lifespan and use of your door. This job is fairly quick. You only need to spread the appropriate lubricant on certain moving parts. If you’re unfamiliar with the areas that need to be sprayed or the type of lubricant to use, we can help you with this type of maintenance.

Following these tips will help ensure that you don’t get stuck in the middle of winter with a garage door that won’t open or properly close. We are always happy to help you solve problems with your garage door that require professional assistance!