How To Maintain Your Garage Door

A garage door needs regular inspection and maintenance in order to ensure safety. Even the most reliable garage doors can be susceptible to wear and tear over time, which will lead to replacement costs and noise among other issues. The noise especially can be bothersome for those living above the garage or near it. The following are simple practices you can carry out to ensure your garage door lasts longer.

Ensure all bolts and nuts are tightened

Before doing anything, make sure that you unplug the automatic door opener so that it's not activated. Check on all the nuts and bolts, and tighten those that are loose. The bolts that support the brackets loosen because of the constant opening and closing of the door.

Check the lift cable and rollers for wear

The nylon rollers often chip over time because of corrosion. The steel ones wear out. You can easily replace the rollers yourself with new rollers that you can get at your local hardware store. As for the cable, get rid of any gunk that is at the base of the cable in order to check on the state of the strands. If the strands have worn out, do not attempt to replace it, as it is under high pressure.

Lubricate the chain and springs

Torsion springs are fixed onto the roller bracket and support the bracket that supports the cable while the chain propels the garage door opener. Spray the springs with a lubricant to help put off corrosion. Use white lithium grease on the chain. It will help make the door open more quietly and smoothly, and it will also help the opener and the chain last longer.

Check the weather seal at the bottom of the door

If the seal is worn out, replace it with a new one from your local hardware store. If the door is wooden, pry the old seal off using a pry bar and install the new weather seal from your hardware store. Use 2.5 centimetre galvanised nails for every 10 cm of the seal to help hold the seal in place. Position the seal with the wide flange angle facing the inside of the garage.

Check the door itself

Most importantly, disengage the garage door opener by pulling on its release handle. Then lower the garage door; if the door is balanced properly, it should be able to remain lowered halfway. If it rises back up, then there's too much tension on the springs. If the door lowers all the way to the ground, then the springs need to be tightened.

For more information, contact a business such as AAA Panels & Garage Doors.