Many homeowners choose to forego routine inspections and maintenance for their garage doors because they can function many years without noticeable problems. This lack of maintenance can lead to inconveniences, like being stranded inside or outside of your garage — and can lead to costly emergency repairs or frequent technician visits. As the primary entrance for most homes, the garage door is estimated to operate over 1,800 times per year for average homes.
To ensure your garage door is always in top-notch condition, garage door professionals recommend having a garage door tune-up at least once per year. Having regular garage door maintenance can improve safety conditions, reduce repair costs and increase the life expectancy of the garage door opener and garage door parts and hardware.
Best Overhead Door Preventative Maintenance
When you trust the trained professionals at Best Overhead Door, LLC for your annual routine maintenance, you’re guaranteed affordable and comprehensive services that will keep your garage door in safe operational condition. For our customers, we offer a special annual garage tune-up rate of only $79 — which is much less expensive than having emergency repair services performed. When our technician visits your home, they’ll perform the following checks:
- Look over the spring system and assess signs of excessive wear or rust.
- See if the springs have relaxed over time and need to be re-tensioned.
- Tighten nuts and lags or other hardware.
- Remove excess debris buildup from the photo eye sensors and tracks.
- Align the tracks, ensuring they’re straight and tight.
- Apply grease or lubricant to moving parts.
- Inspect cables, drums, shafts, bottom fixture, bearing plate and spring anchor attachment.
- Perform a 25 Point safety inspection on the door and 21 point safety inspection on the opener.
After performing a check on all systems and hardware, our technician will put your garage door through an additional cycle, noting any obvious signs of needed repair. Also, during these checks, your maintenance professional will make any necessary repair recommendations to ensure the safety and proper operation of your garage door.
Homeowner Garage Door Maintenance
When you’re between annual maintenance checks, you should be paying attention to your garage door’s daily operations and noting any unusual garage door behavior or noises. As a homeowner, you should note the following:
- Debris buildup: With access to the outside, your garage door tracks and photo-eye sensors can accumulate excess dirt and debris buildup, which can impact proper garage door functions.
- Parts maintenance: As the door moves, parts can become loose or lose lubrication. As needed, make sure to tighten or replace any loose or missing parts and keep the chain and springs well-lubricated to prevent rust buildup.
- Unusual noises: Note if your garage door begins making loud noises aside from the normal operating sounds, such as rattling, grinding or shaking.
6 Benefits of Regular Garage Door Maintenance
You receive numerous benefits when you schedule regular garage door maintenance. Here are the top six benefits:
- Prevents significant repairs: Routine door maintenance can help you avoid major repairs. Service technicians can detect minor problems and provide a repair solution before they become significant. Addressing these problems early saves you money in the long run.
- Maximizes your door’s life span: A garage door can last a minimum of 15 years with proper maintenance. Maintaining your door ensures you get the maximum amount of years from it before you must replace it. When you repair the minor issues, you keep it in good condition.
- Ensures everyone’s safety: Broken garage doors can cause injuries if they become stuck or fall. Routine inspections can detect any problems that would cause your door to break before it happens.
- Enhances security: Most homeowners use their garage as the main entrance to their home because it’s more convenient. But, if your door malfunctions, it can serve as an entry point for intruders. You can enhance your garage and home security by maintaining your door’s functionality.
- Keeps your system updated: Technology is constantly evolving and improving. You can incorporate these new features into your system to prevent intruders and system breakdowns.
- Increase your home’s value: When you have a well-maintained garage door, it increases your property’s curb appeal and value. You can preserve your door’s aesthetics by addressing scratches, dents, fading paint and other issues as soon as possible.
How Often Should You Service Your Garage Door?
As long as your garage door is functioning correctly and you haven’t noticed any issues, an annual maintenance visit is all you need. However, once you notice any problems, you should schedule repair services. Some signs that your door needs repairs include the following:
- Your door won’t open or close: When your door won’t open or close or only does it halfway, it may have a part that needs replacing.
- Your door is making unusual noises: If your garage door makes loud, odd noises, it needs repairs.
- Your door is off-balance: A sagging garage door or one that closes unevenly can indicate that it’s off-balance. You can test your door’s balance by turning the opener off and manually opening or closing the door halfway. If the door continues moving up or down after you let go, it’s off-balance and a professional needs to inspect it.
- Your door has a slow response time: It should only take a few seconds for your door to open or close. If your door appears to be straining or taking longer than usual to open or close, contact a professional to diagnose and solve the issue.
- Your door comes off its tracks: The rollers allow your door to open and close smoothly. If they come off the tracks, it will be dangerous and difficult for you to operate your door. If your garage door is off track, do not operate it and call a service technician immediately, as the door may pose a safety risk.
Call Best Overhead Door for Your Annual Tune-Up and Other Repair Needs
To keep your garage door in proper working condition, call the experts at Best Overhead Door to perform your routine garage door maintenance. We have nearly 30 years of garage door installation, repair and maintenance experience and guarantee all of our customers throughout Portland, OR, and Vancouver a hassle-free, reliable, affordable and friendly experience. To schedule our annual maintenance services, fill out our online form or call us at (503) 620-1205 to set an appointment with one of our team members.
In addition to annual maintenance, Best Overhead Door can repair or replace your garage door. We can service all parts of your garage door, including the springs, cables and the opener. When you entrust us with maintaining the condition of your door, you can be confident that we will keep your door in excellent condition and ensure everything functions properly.
To schedule our annual maintenance or other repair services, fill out our online form or call us at (503) 620-1205 to set an appointment with one of our team members.
Related Posts
Do Garage Doors Need to Be Inspected?
How to Tell If Your Garage Door Springs Are Broken
How To Tell If Your Garage Door Hinges Wear Out