Check Your Garage Door Cables.

It's a good time of the year to check to condition of your Garage Door Cables. Visually inspect the cables that attach the spring system to the bottom brackets on both sides of the door. If these cables are frayed or worn, they are at risk of breaking, which can create a potentially hazardous situation. Due to the hazards associated with high spring tension, these cables should only be replaced by a professional door systems technician. Hospitals are no fun during the holidays!

How to Do General Maintenance On Your Garage Door

If Life is like a box of chocolates... Your garage door is like a toaster. Every time you make toast on it, crumbs and oils fall to the bottom of the machine and onto the wires as well. The more you use the toaster without cleaning it the more the crumbs pile up. As time passes, these crumbs and the oil react with the metal and cause rusting. To avoid rust and prolong the life of your toaster you need to clean it regularly.

Just like your toaster; your garage door needs regular maintenance. Daily use can wear out the springs, loosen screws, cause misalignments or dents on the tracks, and cause the paint to chip. Here are a few maintenance tips you can do to make sure your garage door works perfectly and lasts for a good many years.

Check the tracks for dents and if there are any, pound them back into place (gently) with a hammer.Realign misaligned tracks both sides should be level with each other and slanting slightly towards the back of your garage. Clean the tracks and remove any debris. You can use a paintbrush to brush away the debris and a mild detergent to remove dirt and grease. Check and tighten any loose nuts, bolts, and fasteners. Use a screwdriver to screw them back into place. Lubricate the tracks, pulleys, and rollers. A lubricant spray specially formulated for garage doors will help to make sure that they operate smoothly.

Check the door’s spring tension by opening and closing it manually. Make sure it does so fully. If it feels too heavy to lift, or if you bring it to a halfway open position and it opens or closes, you may have a problem with the springs. The springs will probably have to be adjusted. This is dangerous and many people get hurt each year trying this.. so.... call a garage door professional to do it for you.

Do a safety reverse test by placing a piece of 2x4 tall side up below the door and see if the door reverses on sensing it. Adjust the force limits if necessary. (not sure how.. call us).
Give your garage door a fresh coat of paint every few years. Chipped off paint will expose the door to the elements so it is necessary to make sure that the paint on your door isn’t cracked or chipping off. If the wear and tear is only on a few small spots, you can do spot painting on those areas. Before you do a complete paint job, check your door’s manual for the correct materials to use on your door.

If you need garage door repairs Precision Garage Door of Seattle provides 24-hour emergency service and our certified technicians know their profession.

Got New Garage Doors? Here's the Most Important Thing to Remember

So, you have beautiful new garage doors. Congratulations!! Now, here the MOST important thing to remember..Do yourself a hug favor and mark your calendar for an annual maintenance, tune-up - 1 year from now.

Go ahead, I'll wait... You see.. that garage door is the largest moving part in your home and it needs a little TLC - just like your car needs oil. Remember, in many cases; your warranty may depend on this detail.

Now relax and enjoy the smooth quite operation of that new door. Your technician will see you in a year for a quick check-up.

Replace your old garage door springs

The springs on your garage door are the most important part of your door. They can also be the most dangerous. Most garage door springs are rated for 10,000 cycles. If you do the math, you probably open and close your garage door about 4-5 times a day. This means your springs will typically last about 5-7 years under normal use. If your door has two springs, replace both, even if one is not broken. Why? Both springs were originally rated for the same number of cycles, when one breaks it puts more pressure on the other and, because they were rated similarly, it is due to break soon. Replacing both springs during your garage door repair will not only prevent any damage caused by the breaking of the second spring, but also keep your door working efficiently.

When replacing your springs look for high cycle rating springs Precision springs are rated at 33,000 + cycles and therefore will last about 3-4 times as long as "standard" springs. It is always a good idea to have your garage door spring system inspected at least once a year by a professional overhead garage door technician.