Want to Extend the Life of your Garage Door? - Lubricate!

Your garage doors are something you rarely think about... until something goes wrong. One simple, inexpensive and easy step to extend the life of your doors is lubrication. Yes, just like your car needs lubrication so do the moving parts of your garage doors. Some aerosol silicone type spray on the moving parts should do the trick. Not only will regular sprays reduce wear and tear, but it can make everything a little quieter, as well. Pay attention to the tracks, rollers, hinges, etc.

Note: Do Not use oils like WD40 these will create problems in the long run.

While you’re at it, give everything a quick once over to check for wear, making sure nothing is loose, no cables are frayed, etc. If there are any concerns, call your garage door professional for help.

Why should I use a professional garage door installer?

I believe that installing a garage door is not a do-it-yourself job. While installation might look simple and straight forward, a garage door is the largest moving object in your home and proper installation is highly technical. Connecting and "winding" the torsion springs can be particularly dangerous and proper installation is critical to the performance of your door. In addition, incorrect installation can void some warranties. A professional garage door technician should be able to install a door in a few hours and both haul away and recycle your old door. Don't mess with DIY installation - get a professional.

7 Questions to Ask: When Hiring Your Garage Door Company

You have a wide range of choices when it comes to purchasing or repairing a garage door. Choices range from huge home supply stores to the local handyman. Consider the following when selecting your company:

1. Selection: Do they have a wide selection of products to fit your needs?
2. Experience: Are they specialists? Is Garage door installation and repair is all they do?
3. Professionalism: Who will do the work? Are they trained/certified? Are they employees or subcontractors?
4. Flexibility: Do they offer 24/7 emergency service and by appointments to meet your schedule.
5. Warranty: What warranties are available? Do they stand behind their work?
6. Reputation: What is their BBB Rating? What do others say about them?
7. Quality: What is the quality of products and Service?

 While these may seem like "obvious" questions - far too few people ask them or even compare garage door companies. You may be surprised at how much companies vary on these basic questions.

3 Things You Should Not Try to Fix on Your Garage Door

Unless you’re a trained garage door service technician, please do NOT attempt to fix any of the following problems. Being able to identify the problem however may end up saving you money by being able to communicate the problem in advance to a service technician.


• Broken Spring – Most springs now contain safety measures in the event one of them breaks. Because of this, it may not be easy to identify the problem. If you notice a broken spring, it’s always best to have it replaced by a qualified technician. The springs are under a tremendous amount of pressure and can seriously injure anyone not familiar with the replacement process.

• The Door Isn’t Properly Balanced – First, disconnect the door from the garage door opener (This is typically a red handle on a rope that hangs down from the opener). The door may start to move up at this point, so it is a good idea to stay clear of the door until you see how the door reacts. Then partially open the door by hand. A properly balanced door should be relatively easy to open, and should stay in place when released. If you find it extremely difficult to open the door, or it falls when released, you should call a service technician to have it properly balanced.

• Roller Off Track – Depending on condition of the door track, this may require that entire sections of the door be removed. Not only is this dangerous for someone who isn’t properly trained, but an untrained person may also do irreversible damage to the door trying to attempt this.

In trying economic times, people often attempt to fix things that they would have otherwise paid someone to fix. If garage doors are maintained properly, they should provide home owners with years of trouble-free operation. Although it’s tempting to fix problems yourself when they arise, consider calling a qualified garage door service company, you’ll be glad you spent the money in the long run.

Why does my garage door reverse or open back up instead of closing?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions garage door companies get - and, in most cases does not require a service technician to troubleshoot or repair.

When a garage door reverses it is, most likely, the result of your safety eyes being out of alignment, or something may be blocking the path of the garage door. The safety sensors need a clear line of sight between each other in order for the opener to close completely. These small units are usually black, and attached at the base of the tracks on either side of your door opening. Each should have a small LED light that remains lit when both sensors are properly aligned. If bumped out of place, one or both lights will be blinking. The sensors can easily be adjusted by hand so that they are pointing at each other again. It’s also fairly common for the lenses on the safety eyes to become obscured by dirt or other debris, as well. Just make sure the "eyes" can see each other for smooth operations.

If this simple adjustment does not solve the problem... contact your local service professional.