How to Find & Maintain Your Garage Door Springs

One could argue that you likely enter your home through the garage more frequently than the front door, effectively making the garage the main point of entry for your home. While manual garage doors are a thing of the past, homeowners now rely on garage door springs, garage door openers, motors and rollers to do the heavy lifting for them. Garage doors are one of the heaviest appliances and take a great deal of power to raise and lower. Since the sheer weight of your garage door can put serious wear and tear on all of the parts, it is important that you stay knowledgeable about how to locate and properly maintain all the parts of your garage door. This will help prevent your garage door from going off its track, malfunctioning and possibly having to be replaced entirely. One of the most central mechanisms and vital parts of any garage door is the torsion springs. As you can imagine, these springs are constantly under pressure, expanding and compressing, as they pull your garage door up and down. Knowing how to properly care for and maintain your garage door springs is critical to the longevity of your garage doors. How to Locate Your Garage Door Springs Now that you know how important garage door springs are, let’s explain what they look like and how to identify them. That way you can locate them when it is time to conduct your routine garage door maintenance. How to Spot a Garage Door Spring – Garage door torsion springs look like cylindrical metallic canisters that resemble a long coil. Most garage door springs are about two feet long, but never exceed four feet in length, and are almost always colored black. If you’re looking for a spring that isn’t currently mounted on a garage door, you should also know that these devices have a small circular opening on each side. This opening admits a thin rod, and it is 1/2 inch wide. Where to Find Your Garage Door Springs – You might be asking yourself, “Where are the garage door springs in my garage door?” There are two different types of garage door springs that appear in either of two places in your garage. Torsion springs, the most common, are fastened just above the garage door when it is in a closed position. The other is extension springs and are located on both sides of the garage door above the upper tracks. Why Garage Door Springs Malfunction Your garage door goes through significant strain every time it is willed up and down again. That is why it is so important to maintain all of the parts in your garage door so that it can work properly for years to come. Here are some common reasons your garage door may start to act strangely or malfunction. All of these are easily prevented by conducting regular home maintenance. Standard Wear & Tear – The most common reason garage doors malfunction is due to a broken torsion spring from yearly wear and tear. Garage door springs take the brunt of the heavy lifting, which leads to them degrading over time. If installed correctly, a garage door spring should last up to 10,000 cycles before it needs to be replaced. Kind of like a rubber band that has been stretched one too many times. They are bound to wear out, but you can take measures to help them last longer. There are some high-quality, extended-use garage door springs that are more durable and have a longer life expectancy. Poor Maintenance – Again, it comes down to maintenance. Aside from wear and tear, poor maintenance can cause your garage door springs to malfunction. When you properly tend to your torsion springs, it can extend their life. Overlooking and neglecting your garage door springs can lead to them breaking and possibly damaging your garage door. Rust Buildup – This is an inevitability as time goes on, especially in certain climates or homes located next to a body of saltwater. Regularly spraying your garage door springs with substances like WD-40 should keep the rust from building up and protect your garage door springs from the elements. How to Maintain Your Garage Door Springs Your garage door should absolutely be on the shortlist of quarterly or yearly home maintenance tasks. When it comes time to conduct maintenance on your garage door, you’ll need a few things to get the job done. What Tools You Will Need – You’ll need a sturdy ladder, a file used for metal grinding or hard surfaces, and a can of WD-40 or an anti-rust or mechanical lubricant product. Disconnect Garage Door Opener – Make sure there is no power running to your garage door opener. Refer to your manual to find out the easiest and safest way to unplug your garage door opener, remove the battery or turn it off. Again, referring to your manual, detach the garage door opener from the opening mechanism. Go in for a Closer Look – Time to bust out the ladder and sturdy it near the garage door opener’s shaft. You can spot it at the top of the garage door and there is a long bar that has springs wrapped around it, with brackets at either side. Inspect this bar to see that the shaft is rotating smoothly. If it isn’t, it may be best to call a professional garage door technician to properly fix this issue. Check Mounting Bracket – You will be able to find this bracket where the torsion springs are bolted together. Again check to see that the mounting bracket is secure and that the torsion shaft rotates with ease. If you notice any corrosion, grime or build-up, use a file to smooth it out. Lube Your Garage Door Springs – If you have done the above steps and everything seems in good working order, it is time to properly lubricate your garage door springs. This is something that you should try to
New Year’s Resolutions for Your Garage

Now that the decorations are safely stowed away and the in-laws are back in their cozy homes, it is time to honor your yearly home maintenance resolutions. Some people opt for cleaning out their closets, while others focus their attention on fine-tuning major home appliances and exterior features. Garage doors are the workhorses of the household. For being the largest appliance, garage doors are mostly overlooked. When you consider how much wear and tear these heavy-duty doors endure on a daily basis, it’s easy to see why it is important to conduct a yearly check-up. Garage Door Maintenace Check List Let’s face it. Home improvements and monthly upkeep isn’t all that fun, but rather a labor of love. Whether you are transforming your garage into a man cave, or simply giving it a tune-up, Incorporating your garage door into an annual maintenance routine will keep it running smoothly into 2021. Improve Security – According to law enforcement, the garage is one of the most vulnerable entries in any household. Thieves can gain access to your garage in under six seconds. What’s even more troubling is that most homeowners don’t lock the interior door that leads to the garage. So if an intruder were to gain access to the garage, they’d also have access to your home, which is no good. To keep your belongings and family safe, there are both high-tech and old school solutions for burglar-proofing your garage. Try mounting cameras in the garage and syncing them with your smartphone. That way you can monitor the activity in your garage from anywhere in the world. You can also go the obvious route and lock your garage door from the inside at night. If your garage door didn’t come with a latch that can be locked, you can drill a hole just above the rollers and secure it with a padlock. Tighten up the Hardware – On average, a garage door will open and close more than a thousand times in a year. In the midst of all this heavy lifting, the hardware can loosen and create real problems. To keep your garage door on track and operating smoothly, give your garage door a once over and tighten the roller brackets, nuts and bolts with a socket wrench. Be careful not to strip any of the hardware. Test the Garage Door Balance – Balancing your garage door is more important than one may think. If your garage door is off-balance, the opener will be forced to work overtime to compensate for the off-kilter garage door. Eventually, your garage door opener will buckle under the strain and you’ll have to call a garage door technician to come in fix it. There is one way to check to see if your garage door is off balance? Try to manually lift the garage door up halfway. If it doesn’t stay put, then the counterweight system is improperly balanced. Adjusting, calibrating and even possibly replacing garage door springs should be left up to a professional. Inspect and Replace the Rollers – Without rollers, your garage door would cease to function. No matter what material your garage door wheels are crafted from, they need to be checked on at least twice a year and replaced every eight years. This is something that most homeowners overlook. When you are inspecting your rollers, if you see any that are chipped or cracked, it is time to replace them. Replace the Weatherstripping – Every garage should have proper weatherstripping, regardless of where you live in the country. Quality garage weatherstripping will keep out the frigid air during the winter, and also helps sand, dust and other particles of debris from wafting in your garage. If you notice that your current weatherstripping is cracked or crumbling away, it is time to replace it. Weatherstripping can be purchased rather cheaply at your local hardware store and is easily installed. Measure the length you will need prior to going to the home improvement store. That way they can cut it to your exact specifications right there on the spot. Easy enough, right? Clean And/Or Update Your Garage Floor – An oil-stained garage floor is not a pleasant sight. If your garage doubles as a workplace or chill spot, you’ll want to make sure the floor is looking good this year. You’ll be surprised to find out that you can give your garage floor a major facelift for under $20. There are special chemicals that can really give a polished look to the grossest of garage floors. This can be accomplished in less than three hours, and will surely make a lasting impression. Be sure to have all the tools you need to execute this task safely. You will need a stiff brush, towel, protective goggles and gloves before you begin. Pressure Wash Your Garage Door – This is fairly straightforward. Washing off all of 2019’s dirt from your garage door will be gratifying. If you do not have a pressure washer gun, you can easily rent one for a day from any Home Depot or hardware store. Once you’ve tackled the garage door, if time allows, you should pressure wash the driveway and walkway to your home as well. Create New Year’s resolutions that you can easily execute. Ensuring that your garage door is in working order is actually a pretty simple task. Start this new year by incorporating garage door maintenance into your yearly or bi-monthly routine. By doing so you will save money, secure your valuables and keep your family safe this year. Precision Garage Door Las Vegas are experts at fixing any garage door problem in less than 2 hours. For assistance, contact us directly at 877-301-7474. Our garage door installation experts can answer your questions or schedule a free in-home estimate.