Garage Door Maintenance a DIY guide from garage door repair Arvada and North Metro Garage.
What You Need To Know About Your Garage Door.
What You Need To Know About Your Garage Door.
The garage door is the biggest and heaviest moving object in your home (weighing between 150 and 300 pounds on average). Most people never bother to look at any of the parts on the door until the day that it breaks. If you are one of these people I am here to give you some things to think about.
The typical garage door has 28 moving parts. These parts should receive some oil once a year.
Oil is your garage door's best friend. Apply once a year. Do not use wd40 since it evaporates too quickly. 3 in 1 oil is just fine or some sort of light oil from a spray can. You can also buy garage door lubricant from the big box stores or from your local Ace hardware..
For more information on garage doors you can visit my garage door repair Arvada or my garage door repair Thornton website where you can find out about garage doors, openers and part as well as servicing and repairing your door.
Garage Door Hinges
All of the hinges between the garage door panels need to get a little light weight oil so that they do not wear out. There is a pin in the hinge and every time the door opens and closes that hinge makes a little turn and that pin gets a little wear on it. I have seen a few cases where the hinges have never been oiled and the pin becomes sheared, the garage door binds and pops off track and the garage door gets severely damaged and in some cases the customer needs a new garage door replacement.
After you are done putting the oil on the door go through all of the hinges and make sure they are in good shape, no cracks, splits or other excessive visible wear, and the screws and nuts are snug. Sometimes someone will do a self repair and put the wrong hinge in the wrong spot which could really mess up the door. I ran across this yesterday in fact! But, hinges are something that I am going to go into at a later date.
Garage Door Rollers
Your door also has 10 rollers. Most of the time they are steel, sometimes they are plastic, and sometimes they are nylon. These garage door rollers have ball bearings where the shaft meets the roller. If the bearings never get any oil the diameter of the bearings will get smaller and smaller every time the door opens and closes and, eventually the bearings will fall out of the roller and the wheel can pop off. This could give you a stuck door which could be costly. Make sure you check the rollers for excessive wear. They should not wobble too much when you wiggle them and they should spin freely without sounding like an old roller skate wheel. If you spin it and hear a lot of clicking or hear a lot of clicking as the door is opening or closing it is time to have your rollers replaced.
Garage Door Bearings
Along the torsion bar above the door there are 3 brackets. Each of those brackets has a bearing. There is a bearing between the springs in the bracket that attaches to the wall. There is also a bearing in each end bearing bracket above the tracks. All of these need oil. If the bearings go to long without oil the bearing will stop spinning and will start to wear the torsion bar. Worst case that could happen is your torsion bar could shear in half, pop out of the bearing and become crooked or get stuck in the track.
Checking Garage Door Cables
Also check the cables from top to bottom to look for any frays in the cables. Frayed cables can break and cause big problems for your door. Sometimes when you look at the cable it will have a tiger stripe effect. If you see bands that are different colors on the cable (lighter gray and darker gray) then there is a good chance that there is a small fray forming somewhere on the cable. If you are brave and have a good pain tolerance you can run your hand up and down the cable and expect to get poked but you will find the fray! But, most of the time a good hard look and a flashlight are all you need.
Checking Garage Door Balance
To check if your garage door is balanced you need to pull the red string and disengage it from the opener. Lift the door half way up. If it stays the door is balanced. A door that is perfectly balanced will stop and sit almost anywhere you lift it to. If the door falls after you lift it you need to have your garage door balanced by adding tension to the torsion springs. This should only be done by a professional!!!
In Conclusion
You should check your garage door once a year at least with the above check list and perform the proper maintenance. If you find any problems with your door you should have a professional come out and look at it. While there are somethings that you can fix and replace on your own it is always good to get some professional advice. Garage doors can be very dangerous if you do not know what you are doing. Never remove a bottom hinge where the cable attaches and never attempt to adjust or remove the springs.
