Is it time to replace your Zion garage door?

If you take care of the garage door on your Zion garage, performing proper maintenance about once each year, that garage door should last you a good long time. If not, you may find yourself needing a new garage door sooner than you expected, and certainly sooner than you wanted.

Even if you do take care of your garage door, there may be a time when you need, or want, to install a new garage door. If you simply decide it’s time for a change, ‘when’ to install a new garage door is a subjective question. But, if the garage door is past its prime and its condition dictates that you need a new garage door on your Zion garage, the time to do so is more objective. There are particular issues that would indicate it’s time for a new garage door.

So, when do you really need to replace the garage door and how can you tell? Here are several issues to consider:

• Operation: This is the most obvious question. How does your garage door operate, which you can break down into several other categories, such as:
• Speed: Is the garage door going up and down at the same rate of speed as it did when it was new? This may be difficult to notice overtime as the door is likely to slow down a little at a time. But, if you check the speed and try to remember how the door worked when new you’ll probably be able to determine if the speed has changed.
• Noise: Is the garage door considerably louder than it used to be. Once again, the noise has probably increased incrementally but you should be able to tell the difference if you try.
• Safety: Is the garage door in a condition where someone could be injured, or worse? Is it so likely to come off the rails that it might fall on the car and cause damage? Look to see that it is closing all the way, that the rollers are staying in the rails and that the springs are not broken.
• Security: Is the garage door closing properly to the degree that it is not easily breeched. One of the primary functions of the garage door is to keep the unwanted out. The unwanted includes animals that might be looking for a home as well as people who are looking for something to steal.
• Appearance: This is more of a subjective question again. If the garage door looks like heck it’s not very appealing in general. If you’re thinking about selling your Zion home, the appearance of the garage door is even more important and can play a major factor in the ability to find a buyer and how much they’re willing to pay.
• Technology: If your garage door is old enough you may not have the latest technology at your fingertips, such as a garage door you can operate with your smart phone, even when you’re not home.

Before you decide your garage door is due for replacement, you may want a garage door technician to look at the old garage door and see if it’s worth salvaging. With proper maintenance, once again, you can extend the life of your garage door.

Otherwise, it’s a matter of cost versus benefits, including the benefit of a new garage door on your Zion garage.

A quality garage door technician allows you to not worry about your garage door

From your garage door opener simply not working, to that noise that reminds you entirely too much of nails on a chalkboard when it opens, to broken weather sealant or rust formations along the tracks we’ve all encountered some kind of irritation or inconvenience when dealing with what seems to be such an insignificant aspect of our homes.

In other words, not many of us put much thought into our garage doors, how they work, how they’re made or on keeping them in working conditions, although many of us notice the rust forming underneath our vehicle the rust forming along our garage door tracks due to lack of lubrication is far from our minds. Although rust can add a warm, almost homely appeal when used in decor, when present it affects the efficiency of your garage door.

Any good technician knows this and will have thoroughly lubricated your garage door tracks upon installation. That being said, not all technicians are aware that all metal materials on your garage door need such attention, including but not limited to the spring located above the door, this means that even if you have plastic rollers there is still a need for lubrication. Lubrication is necessary to keep your garage door operable over time, but it is only one of the things you need to take into consideration when thinking about keeping up with garage door maintenance.

Here are just a few examples of what can go wrong when your door is not properly maintained:

• Squeaky, grinding noises when opening
• Door doesn’t seal when closed or close all the way
• Broken weather sealant
• Garage door openers simply not connecting or working
• Unaligned Tracks
• Broken springs
• Broken cables

And lastly, most common, but not least …

• Rust

Quality garage door technicians take the hassle of getting your car home safely and securely into your garage easier and far less stressful. They will provide quick and efficient service that keeps your garage door in good condition while extending its life.

Are you using your garage to its full potential?

Your garage is full of potential. Right off the bat it has the potential as a warm and protected place to park your car. This is generally considered the primary role of a garage. Of course, a garage also has the potential as a storage area.

Unfortunately, as a storage area, garages often get out of hand. Rather than neatly, optimized storage, ‘stuff’ runs amok in many garages. Garages will have so much ‘stuff’ haphazardly dumped across the floor that there often isn’t any room left for the car.

Garages are often the haven for lawn and snow-removal equipment. Once again, this can challenge the car for space in the garage.

There are two, or three, solutions for a garage that has turned into a magnet for ‘stuff’ until the garage is overflowing. One solution is to create an orderly system of storing ‘stuff’ in the garage. This usually includes solid and well-thought-out shelving. Another solution is to build a shed.

A shed is a great place to keep the lawn and snow-removal equipment, as well as gardening and other equipment. But some people have such a problem with random ‘stuff’ that the ‘stuff’ in the garage soon finds its way into the shed, too. Next thing they know, the shed is bulging with ‘stuff’ too.

The final solution is to simply accept the ‘stuff’ as victorious over the car in its battle for use of space in the garage.

Assuming someone doesn’t want to surrender the garage to the ‘stuff,’ they may want to explore the potential of the garage further. Once the ‘stuff’ is cleared away into orderly storage, they can turn the garage into a ‘man-cave’ or a ‘she-shed.’ Here, the options are almost endless.

If they want to use the garage in these capacities year round, they’ll probably want to heat and cool the garage. They can connect heating/cooling vents to the garage, assuming the heating/cooling system has the capacity for the garage (they should check with an HVAC contractor first). However, if the car or other gasoline-fired engines will run in the garage, or they’ll use the garage for painting or other processes where fumes are present, they probably don’t want a return vent that will carry the odors and gasses through the house.

If heating/cooling the garage, and even if they don’t, they may want to drywall the garage. If doing so, they should consider insulating the walls prior to applying the drywall. Once the drywall is installed and finished, it’s time to decorate.

Paint and/or paneling can be applied to the walls and ceiling. You can even paint the floor with special heavy-duty latex- or oil-based paints. Another option is specialized tile that can be applied to the garage floor.

From this point, the options are too many to list here. It’s really up to someone’s imagination.

Leave that crooked garage door to the professionals

Garage doors aren’t supposed to be crooked. It’s a bad sign when they are. But it’s a greater concern when the garage door is crooked in the up position than when closed.

If the door is crooked, there’s a good chance the door hit something causing the problem. Maybe a basketball was sitting in the door’s path when it came down. Something stopped one side of the door and, in the process, caused slack in the cable. With slack, the cable jumped over the cable drum.

A broken spring can also cause the garage door to go all crooked on you. You don’t want to trifle with a garage door spring. It’s a powerful spring that can cause serious injury, even death, if it gets away from you. Obviously, if there’s a problem with the

garage spring, you want to call in a professional.

When the cable comes off the cable drum you also want to call in a professional. It’s easier if the door is crooked down low but you still want a professional to fix the problem. That way it will be done right and safely.

If the door is crooked in its lowered position, a professional can probably get the cable back over the drum without too much trouble. But if the door is crooked in the open position, the professional will have to take the garage door apart, piece by piece.

If you try to fix a cable that has jumped over the cable drum while the door is in the open position, you’re liable to drop the door. It could fall on you. It could also fall on your car. In either case, when it falls, beyond the damage it could do to you or the car, it will probably do damage to itself.

The lesson is that, if your garage door is crooked, up or down, call a professional. They’ll fix it right and no one will get hurt in the process.

How often should you maintain your Lake Bluff garage door? How often do you use it?

When you consider the question, ‘How often should I maintain my Lake Bluff garage door?’ the answer is to ask another question: ‘How often do you use it?’ This is logical. The more often you use something mechanical the more wear and tear it will have. This principle applies to garage doors, too.

So, if you use your Lake Bluff garage door twice a day, that’s a pretty heavy amount of use and more frequent maintenance is critical. Of course, it’s possible that you use your garage door even more often than that. The frequency of performing maintenance should increase proportionately.

On the other hand, you may not use your garage door even twice a day. Maybe you don’t park your car in the garage and only use the door a couple times each week. Yes, you can get away with less frequent garage door maintenance. But, don’t make the mistake of thinking this means you shouldn’t maintain it. The question is simply about frequency.

Garage door maintenance – for that matter, garage door opener maintenance – is one of the most overlooked procedures when it comes to mechanical equipment around the house. Few people would allow the car to go three, four or more years without an oil change – the most basic form of automotive maintenance.

Some people have never performed maintenance on their Lake Bluff garage doors. As a general rule, having your garage door maintained once each year is the standard that garage door technicians and installers recommend. But, as mentioned above, if you use it heavily, you may want to increase the frequency of maintenance.

Maintenance includes lubricating the hinges, rails, rollers and other moving parts that come into contact with other parts. It also includes checking the adjustments so that the door is stopping all the way down, going all the way up and stopping if something, or someone, is in the way while the garage door is in operation. Maintenance will check all the springs, pulleys, chains, wiring and other parts of the door and the opener.

Without proper maintenance, your garage door may not break immediately, but you can expect it to slow down, make more noise and stand a greater risk of failure if it’s not maintained often enough. The garage door, and parts of the garage door, won’t last as long if you don’t maintain them.

No, you shouldn’t use the old garage door tracks with your new garage door

It's about time to replace this garage door.
It would be a mistake to use the same
tracks with the new garage door.

You may think you’ll save some time and money by using your old garage door tracks when you install a new garage door but don’t do it. It’s not a good idea.

Garage door tracks are designed to fit the garage door they come with. They are not universal.

You may think that one set of garage door tracks is the same as another. This is because, from a casual perspective, they look the same. The differences are subtle but important. In fact, the differences could make installing a new garage door with old garage door tracks dangerous.

It’s a matter of adjustments and crucial dimensions. The spacing between the tracks matters and won’t necessarily be the same that is required with your new garage door. The spacing is also crucial in terms of the offset between the tracks and the garage door jambs.

If these dimensions are not precise, the door may get hung up as it travels up or down. The door could come off the tracks and fall on your car, or even on you.

Garage door installation requires a qualified technician to ensure that everything is set according to specifications. Garage doors weigh more than you might think. The springs required to reduce the strain of that weight on you or a garage door opener are significant. The springs are loaded to a degree that they could seriously maim or kill someone if they come loose.

There are some projects around the house that qualify as DIYers. Installing, repairing or maintaining a garage door is not one of them.

All those moving parts – care for your garage door to keep it working longer

It’s a door. What’s the big deal? Actually, a garage door is made up of multiple moving parts. Anything mechanical can break and the same holds true with a garage door. The way to avoid problems with your Richmond garage door is to maintain it properly.

Consider that a garage door and garage door opener generally include the following parts.

• Four door panels – some can have windows and they are generally made of wood, steel, aluminum, vinyl, and other materials
• 12 or more hinges
• 10 rollers with 10-ball bearings
• Horizontal and Vertical tracks with 90-degree radius sections between them
• Brackets to mount the tracks and other parts
• Safety photo eyes
• A torsion spring
• Winding cones
• A shaft that runs through the torsion spring
• Cable drums on either end of the shaft through the torsion spring 
• Extension springs
• Pulleys/Sheaves
• Cable
• Locks and Handles
• Rail components
• Quick disconnect door arm
• A garage door opener
• Garage door bottom fixtures
• Weatherstripping

All the parts above that are in bold are moving parts. The door at the front of your house probably has three hinges, which, essentially, accounts for all of its moving parts. A garage door includes at least 30 or more moving parts.

Moving parts wear. Over time, they can break. The enemies of moving parts are friction, heat, and rust. The defenders of moving parts are oil and grease placed, in proper quantities, in the right spots, and in the appropriate frequency.

Grease and oil can reduce friction and heat and ward off rust. When your garage door was installed, it had appropriate applications of oil and grease. But, over time, the oil, and grease wears away and breaks down losing their lubricating capacity.

You’d be surprised how many garage doors have never had reapplications of grease and oil. The same garages were probably never checked or adjusted to ensure they operate properly. These are the first garage doors to break down. The lesson is clear – care for your garage