Thornton CO - Garage Door Service and Installation Company

Top 3 Major DIY Repair and Maintenance Risks

When the door is opening and closing smoothly, there’s nothing to worry about. To the contrary, when your door is misbehaving, you’ll be tempted to diagnose and repair it. If you’re a DIY enthusiast, here are the risks you may be facing:

• Bodily injuries

Garage doors are designed with safety features that protect you from injuries especially when the door malfunctions. Note that these features become useless immediately you try to fix the door without technical knowledge about the door. Bodily harm ranging from minor injuries such as pinching when fingers, bruises and abrasions. Serious injuries some of which may be fatal can easily occur during a DIY process such as being crushed by the door leading to fractures, concussion and rupturing of the body organ. This may occur due the door coming crushing down or in case a broken torsion spring.

• Property destruction

A faulty door may lead to destruction of property causing a huge loss to you and other garage users. For example, a torsion door spring may break at any time after it has reached its lifespan. Basically a standard torsion spring has a lifespan of about 10,000 cycles. If the spring is adjusted incorrectly or tampered with may break, flying off and hitting the objects inside and near the garage. In some instances, the door may come slumming down crushing bikes, cars or lawn equipments and other objects inside the garage. This may happen when trying to fix the door without the help of a technician.

• Damage to the door system

Well functioning door operating systems guarantees high performance and safety. A standard door should have a lifespan of between 15-30 years. Whether the door will last for those years and beyond or not, depends on how you treat the door. Mostly, the operating systems get messed up during the DIY repair process. This may leave the springs, rollers, cables and opener broken. At times, the systems are damaged beyond repair leading to major parts or total door replacement. It is advisable to call a technician in Thornton CO to diagnose and repair.

Observe Garage Door Safety

Honestly, there’re those instances when you do not need to contact a garage door expert. When performing the simple DIY procedures to fix your door, always remember to exercise safety. Have a look at the tasks below:

• Batteries replacement

The batteries in the garage door transmitter system run out, you simply need to replace them. If you notice that the transmitter is still not functioning, it may need to be reprogrammed. At this point you’ll need the help of a professional to assess the problem and fix it.

• Aligning the photo eye

The photo eye is an important safety feature that needs to be functional all through. Regular inspection of the photo eye is highly recommended. Simply locate the photo eyes present at the bottom of the door tracks and adjust them using your hands hence ensuring that they’re facing each other. Test they’re properly aligned and functioning well. Open the door and place a simple object such as an empty carton under the door. Try to close the door and it goes all the way, it’s time to call a technician in Thornton CO to fix the photo eye.

• Unlocking the door

You’ve pressed the opener’s button and the door won’t just open? Do not panic; check whether the door was manually closed. In this case, locate the right lever and turn it towards the opposite direction to unlock. If the door won’t open, check whether the vacation lock is on. Vacation lock is located on the wall mounted push button. If it’s on, simply put it off and try to open the door. If nothing works, contact a technician immediately to repair the door.

• Replace the monitor light bulb

If the light in the monitor goes off, it means that the bulb needs to be replaced. This bulb is no special as it’s fixed just like other lighting features at home. Therefore, simply pull off the plastic cover, remove the old bulb and fix the new one.

When should you call a garage door technician?

There’re some obvious signs that allows you to know that your garage door needs to be repaired or replaced. Basically they indicate that the door is not functioning as it should and if immediate response is not taken, a simple door problem may become complicated and expensive to repair. The following signs will prompt you to call a professional in Thornton CO:

• Slow door response time

When you press the opener’s remote control, the door should respond accordingly within a second or two. The door should run smoothly without resistance or delays. If you observe any delays or hitches, it is an indication that something is wrong and the door needs to be checked urgently. Well, you can still go on with your daily schedule but ensure that you have contacted a repair technician and booked for a door inspection.

• The door won’t open or close

Failure of the door to close or open after pressing the opener’s remote control buttons, it is an indication that it requires urgent repair. The problem may range from simple issues such as poor connection between the door and the control panel to other complicated issues such as broken opener or door malfunction among others. Before concluding that the door has a problem, ensure that nothing is blocking the door from closing and check the controllers to ascertain that the door is not moving at all. Once you have ruled out everything, contact a professional to diagnose the door problem and repair it.

• Door making unusual noise

Typically, a garage door is a huge heavy mobile object with numerous moving parts. Therefore, noise is expected when the door is opening or closing especially if the door is old. Nonetheless, you need to watch for weird noise in most cases accompanied by excessive straining. Unusual door noise points to problems with springs, rollers or the opener. It is not advisable not to inspect the torsion springs or rollers without technical knowledge as it’s risky. Call a technician to check and fix the cause of the noise.

• High energy bills

A garage door with high performance brings about energy efficiency as the power consumption is low. If you notice a sudden increase in electricity bills, it is important to call a reliable professional in Thornton CO to inspect the door and advice you accordingly. In a nutshell, you may need to replace the old door with newer models that are energy efficient. However, if your door is not too old, you may need to have it insulated. You may spend some amount of money in total door replacement or insulation process but it will save you cash on energy bills.

• Sagging door sections

Garage owners are advised to regularly test the balance of the door. This entails a simple process of disconnecting the opener to allow for opening the door manually. Once the opener is disconnected, open the door halfway and then release it. A well functioning door should not rise of fall once released. If it does, then something is terribly wrong with the torsion springs or other major door parts. Sometimes you may just notice that the door is hanging crookedly or sagging. Do not try to assess or fix the door on your own as it may endanger your life. Contact a repair professional right away for your own safety and that of other garage users.

• Door is off the trucks

On the either side of a typical garage door are tracks through which the door should run. When the door is damaged, it runs off trucks a situation that interferes with the smooth running of the door. In this case, the door may be fixed through a simple repair or replacement of some of the major parts. Call a door expert at Thornton CO for repair and parts replacements for a well functioning door.

How to tune-up the garage door

Garage door tune-up is highly recommended as it improves the door performance. Experts advice that the tune-up procedure should be carried out at least once a year or twice. Basically, a tune-up exercise brings about quieter operations, reliability, advanced safety and security. Tune-up procedure involves basic preventive maintenance steps that take about 10 minutes or so to complete. You may not require the presence of a professional but it’s important to involve one for efficiency and quality. Here are steps to be followed during a tune-up exercise:

• Safety first

When working on your door, ensure that you follow all the safety precautions below;

1. Ensure that the automatic door opener is unplugged. This will prevent the opener from being activated as you work on the door. Remember that any unintended door movements can expose you to risks some of which may be fatal.

2. Clamp locking pliers onto the roller tracks if you are working on the door while open. This keeps the door firmly in place and

   prevents it from falling.

3. Do not tamper with the cables. Note that if you move a cable while the torsion spring is under tension, it will cut like a knife. This is exactly why you need to have a professional handling the tune-up procedure.

4. Remember that adjustments of an overhead torsion spring or an attempt to release its tension may lead to injuries or damage of property. If need be, leave this to a skilled technician from Thornton CO.

5. Wear the protective gear and ensure that you have the right tools.

• Work on the hardware

This involves a general inspection of the hardware which is prone to becoming loose due to frequent door movements. In this case, check whether rollers are worn and need to be replaced. If not, tighten the roller brackets. Similarly, tighten the nuts and bolts that hold the rails to the support brackets.

• Tune-up the springs, chains and seals

If the chains, springs and seals are not well maintained, the door will tend to move with resistance and produce some weird noise. To avoid this, contact a door expert to guide you on the best lubricant to use. Lubricate the opener’s screws using the white lithium grease, preferably the spray-on brands for easy spreading to all parts. Though the tune-up can be done annually, it’s advisable to perform the lubrication regularly as it extends the lifespan of the chain and opener while guaranteeing smoother and quieter operations.

• Test the door’s balance

An unbalanced garage door is highly dangerous as it can easily crush someone or property. Keeping the door well balanced door makes the opener’s work easier hence prolonging its lifespan. To test the door’s balance, pull the opener’s release handle to disengage the opener from the door. Lift the door halfway and release it and watch if it makes farther movement. If it stops halfway, it is a sign that it’s well balanced. If it rises, it means that the torsion spring is under intense tension and need to be released. Contrary, if it falls, the tension is low and need to be increased. Note that increasing or reduction of torsion springs pressure are procedures that should only be carried out by technicians.

• Check the weather seal

A weather seal blocks the rain water from entering into the garage. The seal plays an important role during the winter season as it blocks the water from forming ice under the door. Ice may prevent the door from moving smoothly. Check whether the weather seal is intact. If not, call a technician to replace it with a new one.

  Conclusion For Your Garage Door in Thornton CO

Buying and installing a quality door into your garage is an investment that need to be protected and cared for with passion. The quality of maintenance you give to your door is proportional to its performance and efficiency. Contact us at Thornton CO for quality garage door installation, repair, replacements and maintenance.