How to prevent any problems with automatic garage doors.
- Automating your existing garage door or buying a new automated garage door is a great investment. You can automate an up and over, roller or a sectional garage door. On those long, dark days of winter, there’s nothing like driving up to a garage and seeing the door automatically open at a press of a button. As with all garage doors in the UK though, electric garage doors are vulnerable to extremes of weather. It’s important to keep an eye open for any maintenance opportunities.
- There’s nothing more frustrating than when remote control garage door fails. Not only will the door itself need fixing, the parking of the car becomes an immediate problem as well. As an owner, you can make things a lot easier by spotting problems along the way before they become a major hindrance.
Here are some tips on how to maintain your automatic garage door:
Regular cable checks:
Steel cables are a vital component of electric garage doors, and can easily become worn or frayed with use. These should be checked regularly and thoroughly for rust, fraying and other types of damage. It comes as a surprise to most garage door owners that the ideal time to replace a steel cable is at the first sign of wear. This is because a broken cable can cause a lot of damage to the door. You should check with the installer if in doubt.
Cables should always be replaced by a professional, as the tension in the cables and springs of automatic doors can present a danger during repairs.
Different springs require different approaches:
The various types of doors on the market will have different types of springs, but all of these need checking. Rust is the main problem encountered with door springs, and regular lubrication can take care of this, but another problem is gumming. This comes from over-lubrication in a dusty environment. Springs may need cleaning and re-lubricating in this case.
Another spring problem is lack of tension for some doors. A door balance check should be undertaken a few times a year. If the door stays halfway open by itself, its balance is fine. Any sag, however, can indicate a spring problem.
Some doors have internal springs; meaning less maintenance is required. However, you should check with installers about when these springs will need to be serviced. We can provide this information at Arridge Garage Doors Ltd.
The best step is maintenance:
The best way to ensure problems don’t arise with automatic garage doors is regular maintenance. This means regular lubrication of all moving parts, including locks, and regular cleaning to ensure that potential issues are clearly visible.
Winter time is when maintenance becomes most important, and unfortunately daylight hours at this time are scarce. Cleaning with water during winter can be problematic, so a quick brush-down of the door every two weeks and accompanying lubrication of parts should keep things ticking over.