Garage Door Maintenance Marietta GA: A DIY Inspection Guide for Owners of Automatic Garage Doors
They’ve installed your new automatic garage doors and you’re alone. Inside the garage, you pushed UP on the wall button attached to one of the partitions. Grinning, you watched the doors obediently rise on the tracks until they were perpendicular to the roof of the garage.
As they rested in that position, you walked outside and got into your car. You pushed DOWN on the remote attached to the visor. Gleefully, your eyes followed the downward trend of the doors until, flush with the driveway, they stopped.
Satisfied they know the difference between up and down, you left the car and strode into your house. You wanted to read the manufacturer’s suggestions about how to keep your doors working as they should, and how to spot possible problems in advance.
The suggestions were:
Lubrication
To keep the doors moving on the tracks smoothly, twice a year spray a small amount of lubricant on the tracks, hinges, and rollers.
Monthly equipment inspection
While inside your garage close the doors. Look to see if any mounting hardware is loose, or if you see any cables that are fraying or showing wear. Also, check the pulleys, springs in the garage door, rollers and cables, for signs of wear. If something looks worn call a repairman. Worn equipment can lead to serious problems.
Test monthly to make sure your doors reverse directions
With the garage door open, push DOWN on the wall button. While the door is closing, let it hit your outstretched hands; if the door doesn’t immediately go up, pull your hands away. This means there’s too much force closing the door and you should call a repairman.
Check door balance monthly
Disconnect the automatic system that opens the door and lift the door by hand. If you can’t easily lift it, or the door won’t stay open all the way, the door may be out of balance. Call a repairman because an unbalanced door can lead to other problems.
Monthly test the photo eye
An automatic garage door comes with a photo eye on each end of the door. They are added safety precautions to help someone, or something, from being caught under a garage door.
To test it, open the door all the way and then push the CLOSE button. While the door closes, swing a baseball bat, or a broom, in front of the photo eye. When you do this, the door should reverse directions. If the door doesn’t change directions, let it close and clean the photo eye with a soft cloth. Then, if necessary, adjust the photo eyes to the proper angle.
Then, open the door and retest the photo eye. If the door still doesn’t reverse directions, call a an expert in garage door maintenance, Marietta GA.
If the garage door lock won’t lock…
This problem is usually caused by the shocks and jars the lock takes, which knocks the lock bar out of adjustment. In most cases, simply loosen the screws on the lock, take it out, and realign the lock bar. Then put the lock back in and tighten the screws. If this doesn’t work, you may have to call a locksmith.
Automatic garage doors are convenient and will give you good service if you take care of them. Many of the monthly inspections may help prevent serious injuries to children or pets; to inspect them is a good habit to cultivate.