The overhead garage door is one of your home’s most valuable components. Not only does it make life far more convenient but it also keeps your car and family safe. Because it’s such an integral part of your daily life and security setup, you want your garage door to be operating as smoothly as possible. Want to get the best performance from your garage door? Take care of it through regular maintenance — not just when stuff breaks. Overhead garage door repair is something you should be doing throughout the season unless you want to replace your garage door before its expected expiry date. Most of the maintenance you can do yourself — and if you keep up on it, there’s less chance you’ll need to call a garage door repair professional.
Tightening All Bolts & Moving Parts
Most people use their garage doors several times a day — at least a thousand times per year. That’s a lot of movement and things will loosen up overtime. This can lead to serious repair problems with your garage door. One of the easiest overhead garage door repairs you can do is grabbing a wrench and screwdriver from your toolbox. Take a few minutes every month and tighten down all the bolts and moving parts of your garage door. This will help it run smoother — which means a lot less noise. This isn’t a perfect door repair but it’s something you can do whenever you have free time. If you find that noises persist from your overhead door, consider hiring a garage door repair company to do some inspecting.
Oiling Your Garage Door
Keeping your garage door well-oiled will also help it run smoother and lead to fewer needed repairs. This can lower the risk for your garage door going off track. Every few months, go over all the moving parts — the rollers, brackets, and springs, with an approved garage door lubricant. You’ll be able to find something suitable at your local hardware store. Don’t use WD40 because it will cause your garage door to rust prematurely. Use a paintbrush to get in between the cracks and crevices. Doing so will help prevent your door from jumping off track. . However, If your door does veer off track, stop using it and call a repair company that specializes in overhead doors. If you’re not experienced with garage door tracks, it’s best to leave it to a professional as the last thing you want is an overhead door in worse condition after you’ve attempted to repair it.
Dent Repair
If you have a metal or aluminum door, it will dent from time to time — especially if you have kids who seem to spend playtime in the garage. Fortunately, repairing garage door dents is fairly easy and doesn’t require much effort. Clean the dented area and coat it in aluminum foil. Run a lit lighter across the foil. Next, take a can of compressed CO2. Holding the can upright, spray the heated foil. This sudden change in heat should cause the dent to pop right out and repair your overhead garage door. This simple garage repair trick can save you potentially thousands in door replacements so don’t forget to share it with everyone you know who has a dented door.
Repairing Your Garage Door Bottom Seal
Most people overlook this garage door repair, but it’s a fairly easy DIY job. The garage door bottom seal is the material around the bottom of your garage door that keeps out water, debris and pests. Most will start to crack and wear out after five years, especially in the hot dry summers of Rancho Cordova, California. The seal can be replaced over a couple of hours with materials you can buy at your local hardware store.
Garage Door Springs: Definitely Not DIY Material
We decided to add a garage door repair that definitely doesn’t fall into the Do-It-Yourself category. Garage door springs are extremely dangerous. They are under an incredible amount of tension. That’s what makes lifting a several hundred-pound door feel as light as a feather. If these springs should suddenly snap, they can cause serious bodily injury, even death. And if you manage to survive, you’ll have to replace your entire garage door. It’s just not worth the trip to the emergency room and the costly overhead door installation.
Normally, we’re all about DIY, but not when it comes to garage door springs. Let us handle the nuances of overhead door springs. We’ll be able to replace or them based on your garage door’s situation. Give us a call. We offer 24/7 emergency garage door repair to the Rancho Cordova and Greater Sacramento area. That includes holidays and weekends. We can make house calls anytime!