BH Garage Door BH Garage Door
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How Often Do Garage Doors Need Maintenance?

How Often Do Garage Doors Need Maintenance?

Every garage door needs to be serviced at least twice a year, but there are cases where this needs to be done more often. Garage doors that are not maintained become a safety hazard the longer they go without proper repair. If you have a wooden garage door, you may need maintenance more often, such as every three months.

The material, single or multiple panels, and the utility of the door may change how often you need to look into the maintenance, but also what tools need to be used against certain conditions. To understand more about garage door maintenance, ask yourself what the door is most commonly used for.

COMMERCIAL

Commercial businesses and buildings may have garage doors to securely store delivery trucks, or they are used for storage of other items. Companies are also responsible for upholding a certain level of safety for commercial garage doors, and this includes regular maintenance. Garage doors used for business purposes are used far more often than a residential home garage door, which means that the springs and motors are the first things to erode. Once these components become damaged, it places more pressure on the rest of the garage door.

Commercial garage doors need to be checked no less than every three months. The springs, motors, and the physical door all need to be serviced as well. Lubricants need to be applied just as often, and if there is any noisy squeaking, it may need more oiling.

DOMESTIC

Just like you have an annual service on your car and repairs anytime it’s broken, the same applies to garage doors placed on domestic properties. For home use, the first things to go are the springs. Most often these just need some lithium or silicone spray, but they may also need to be replaced at some point. The more you use the garage door, the quicker it will succumb to wear and tear, so be sure to keep maintenance up twice a year or at least every six months.

Always consult a professional before you take on any major repair jobs. Maintenance can be easy enough for yourself, but if something more serious is wrong you can injure yourself or your car quite badly. As a homeowner, you aren’t concerned about government regulations, but your safety needs to come first, so use preventative measures as well.

EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS

Most garage doors are quite resilient to anything Mother Nature will throw at it. But at other times, too much bad weather leads to even worse conditions for the garage door. Too much sun will start to crack the paint. If the garage door is made out of metal, then any water that gets into these cracks will start to cause rust, which is never good. Rust leads to weak points, and eventually, you have to replace a panel or the entire door. Invest in weather condition-specific paint if you are in very humid conditions. For ice and snow, make sure that you are lubricating the springs and chains often. Don’t go for wooden doors because they are more expensive to replace and less resistant to harsh weather conditions.

If you live in a particularly sunny or cold extreme part of the world, you will need to maintain your garage door more often than in other places. In places with a lot of rain, you may need an awning above the garage door to keep it protected from water damage. Be sure to service the unit every three months for the worst of weather conditions, sometimes more often than this if there is a blizzard or major heatwave that warrants it.

MAINTENANCE STEPS

If you are confident that you can safely service your garage door, first start by getting your safety gear together. Gloves, glasses and maybe a mask if you have a lot of dust. Start by checking all the rollers and cables. The same goes for the chains, springs, and any other moving parts that make up the whole system. If any of these need to be repaired, do so immediately. There is a risk of leaving a loose chain or spring for too long, which may cause the door to come crashing out of nowhere.

Next, check the motor. Check that all buttons work from a far distance, as this is a safety feature of most units. You want to get into the garage as quickly as possible. Evaluate the sensors and see if the eyes are dirty. Clean them too, or else the door may close if it doesn’t realize there is something in the way.

Garage door maintenance is imperative and only needed every six months or so. You can perform simple tasks yourself for half the cost, but it’s important to always remember to be safe, and consult a professional if you think your garage door needs more than just a service.