Can a hot Antioch summer cause problems with your garage door and garage door opener?

Winter can play havoc with your Antioch garage door. Summer is a strain on your garage door and garage door opener, too. You might say that spring and autumn offer opportunities for garage doors and garage door openers to relax a little. It’s those other two seasons that put garage doors and garage door openers to the test.

Currently, Antioch is in the middle of another summer. Temperatures have frequently topped 90 and are otherwise hovering in the 80s. There are several factors where summer heat challenges the operation and durability of your garage door and garage door opener. For instance:

The sun beating down on your garage door: We’ve all heard the phrase, ‘It’s hot enough you can cook an egg on the sidewalk.’ Unfortunately for your garage door, the burning heat of the sun is not restricted to the sidewalk. While, at midday, the sun may not hit your garage door as directly, depending on which direction your garage door faces, there are parts of the day when the sun beats down relentlessly on your garage door.

Consider that black pavement can hit temperatures of 140-degrees under the assault of the sun. If your garage door is made of wood, the sun can dry out the wood causing cracking. Additionally, when things get hot, they expand. If your garage door is expanding from the heat, things can get a bit tight in the way the door operates. The sun can even trick the sensors for your garage door opener.

The effects of heat and humidity: The heat and humidity on a sultry summer day can cause problems with the wiring of your garage door opener, as well as the sensors. If the bearings for the wheels that roll in the channels on either side of the garage door are not properly lubricated, the heat and humidity can exacerbate the problem.

Summer storms bring power outages: Your garage door opener should be connected to a surge protector to avoid problems if there is a power outage. Summer storms in Antioch, and the lightning that often accompanies such storms, can cause problems.

Garage door maintenance and garage door maintenance are summer insurance

Timely and proper garage door maintenance can go a long way to mitigating summer-related problems with your garage door and garage door opener. Adjustments and properly applied lubricants take away much of the wear-and-tear that shorten the lives of garage doors and garage door openers.

An ounce of garage door summer-problem prevention is worth a pound of cure. Have your garage door and garage door opener maintained and this Antioch summer can do its worst and you’ll be fine.

Should you replace the garage door opener on your Burlington garage?

Experts say that a garage door opener has an average lifespan of between 10 to 15 years. Some will last longer but they generally, the garage door opener on your Burlington garage, will start to wear out after 15 years, if not sooner. Homeowners don’t always notice when the garage door is losing its oomph.

The problem is that a garage door opener may break or suddenly malfunction. In such cases, it’s obvious that the garage door opener needs replacement. But, even if there isn’t a catastrophic problem with the garage door opener, it may have gone well past its prime.

Without an obvious problem, the garage door opener will wear out slowly – so slowly, in fact, that you probably won’t notice the difference. If you were able to compare the performance of your 15-year-old garage door opener with its performance when you first had it installed on your Burlington garage, you would see the difference right away. But you won’t notice the difference between its performance yesterday and today, or on the same day last year. The change is gradual.

You can extend the life of your garage door opener. The key is maintenance. Maintenance includes properly lubricating the garage door and adjusting the garage door and garage door opener. Without maintenance, rust will attack the rollers and hinges. This will make the garage door harder for the garage door opener to open. The same is true with adjustments.

When the garage door and garage door opener are out of adjustment, the garage door opener has to work harder to do its job. Over time, the extra strain will show on the garage door opener. You may not see it. After all, the change is generally still gradual. But it’s happening anyhow. The door will take longer to open and close. It will make more noise in the process.

Obviously, if the garage door opener is worn out, if it’s past its prime, you may want to consider replacing it. But there is another reason to consider replacing a garage door opener.

Is your Burlington garage door opener a dinosaur?

Technology may have left your garage door opener behind. Are you still using a clunky old garage door opener remote control box? If so, you may find that it isn’t instantly responsive. You may have to push the appropriate button several times to activate the garage door opener. And, keep in mind that, if someone wants to get into your garage, or into your house through your garage, they can break into your car and use the garage door opener clipped to the sun visor.

The electronics on your newer garage door openers are light years ahead of the old models. Instead of clipping a clunky old remote to your visor, you can operate an app with your cell phone to control your garage door opener.

With new garage door openers, you can even close you garage door if you’re many miles away from your Burlington home.

Kenosha CDL drivers should not neglect maintenance of trailer overhead doors

While folks in the Kenosha may not get out driving as much in these days of sheltering-in-place, as a truck driver, you’re probably as busy as ever. This means that you’re raising and lowering that overhead door in the back of the trailer with increased frequency.

Using an overhead door naturally causes wear and tear on the door. It’s inevitable. But is there anything you can do about it? Of course, there is. Just as maintenance of the overhead door of the garage at your Kenosha home, or the loading dock doors where you pick up and deliver goods will extend the service life of those overhead doors, maintenance of the overhead door in the back of your trailer will make a difference.

Maintenance includes lubricating springs and hinges. It also means adjusting the door for peak performance.

You don’t have to lubricate or adjust the overhead door on the back of your trailer every day – not even every week or month. But when is the last time you did maintain the overhead door in your trailer? If you’re like most CDL drivers, it’s probably been a while.

Maintenance of your trailer’s overhead door will help you to avoid situations where springs break, where hinges give way, where the door gets jammed because it isn’t going up or down evenly. But maintenance of the overhead door will do more than that.

Maintaining the overhead door in the back of your trailer will ensure that the door operates smoothly and easily. If you’ve been fighting with the overhead door in back there’s a good chance that, if nothing else, it could use some maintenance. Of course, it’s possible it already requires repairs, but we don’t want to jump to the worst conclusions.

One note of safety: if the overhead door in back of your trailer does require repairs, approach the process with extreme caution. In fact, it’s probably best that you call in a pro. Just like the springs in your Kenosha garage or loading dock are under extreme pressure, so are the springs in your trailer’s overhead door. You can get hurt or worse if something goes wrong.

10 Tips for Securing Your Garage

Your garage is a place where you park your cars and store things. You may even use it, occasionally for leisure and hosting. It’s a great addition to your home. But is it secure?

You can’t take garage security for granted. If you do, it becomes the weak point where the nefarious in our society can gain entry, whether they intend to steal, vandalize, or cause harm. Therefore, securing your garage is as important as securing your home. Here are some tips to consider when securing your garage:

1. Don’t leave high-dollar toys sitting in the garage, in public view, for extended periods of time. If you can, secure these items in the garage so that they’re not visible to people passing by in the street or on the sidewalk. Otherwise, try not to leave the garage door open unnecessarily where those less scrupulous individuals can scope out your garage and your possessions.
2. Don’t forget to close the garage door. Of course, this is critical when you’re not home as people can gain access to the garage and, potentially, the house while you’re not there and are unaware. But, if you are home, this creates another issue – the safety of you and your loved ones.
3. Add some lighting to the area around your garage. People who are up to no good prefer to act in the shadows. Casting light around your garage, possibly with the use of motion sensors, is a great way to discourage those whose motives run off the tracks somewhat.
4. Avoid providing shields for would-be burglars, etc., around your garage. Sheds, bushes, items left outside can provide hiding places for those who want to break into your garage. Take a strategic look around your garage and try to deny those opportunities for folks with ill intent.
5. Secure doors and windows. Deadbolts may not keep bad guys out, but they’ll slow them down. Deadbolts on the windows, on the service door, and on the garage door can prove frustrating for someone trying to break in.
6. Strategically plant some prickly bushes. No, you don’t want bushes that provide cover for someone trying to get into your garage. But some low bushes that are uncomfortable to come into contact with can deter someone outside your garage. Putting prickly bushes under the windows is a great idea.
7. Have your garage door adjusted so burglars and such can’t use the old trick of pushing back the top panel of your garage door and grabbing the release cable. You can also have a garage door release cable shield installed.
8. Secure the door inside your garage that leads to your home. Chances are, there are things far more precious inside your home than inside your garage. If someone can break into your garage, and the inner door is unlocked, they can walk right in. Secure this door and they’re now at another level of security.
9. Don’t leave your garage door opener clipped to the visor of your car. Those with disreputable intentions simply have to break into your car to get into your home.
10. Purchase a new garage door opener to replace that outdated model. The security with an older model of garage door opener is not up to the level of newer models. Even if your old garage door opener works, you may want to consider a newer garage door opener. You can get a garage door opener that uses an app on your phone to open the garage.

Organize your Antioch garage for fun and function during the COVID-19 lockdown

How many times can you watch Harry Potter? No doubt, you’re sick of the news already. Sick of the news, sick of the walls that confine you in your Antioch home. You need something to divert your attention. You need an activity that is productive while offering a mental release from the COVID-19 lockdown and organizing your garage might just be the ticket.

The garage is one of the most inefficiently used spaces we have at our homes. It becomes the receptacle for all those things we don’t want to put away right now. We tell ourselves, “I’ll get to it later.” But when is ‘later?’

With lockdown-induced time on your hands, this is a great time to straighten out the garage. Maybe you can clean the garage enough that there’s room for both cars again. But, as long as you’re at it, maybe you should take it a step further.

Don’t just straighten out your Antioch garage; organize it

Organizing the garage goes beyond cleaning and straightening. Done properly, organizing includes a plan. To make an effective plan, you need to start with an inventory of the things you keep in the garage. When complete, you may want to go through this list and determine if there are items in the garage you really want to put somewhere else.

Once you’ve created your list, go through and prioritize based on likelihood and frequency of use. In other words, if you garden a lot, your gardening tools and materials are a higher priority. If you work on your car or motorcycle frequently, your tools are high priority.

Next create a layout of your garage and start planning where things can go. You may want to consider adding shelves, pegboards, and hooks that will make storage of items in the garage easier. Thankfully, hardware stores in the Antioch area are considered ‘essential’ so you can pick up some hooks, pegboard, and shelving if you need it.

Another good idea is to go online and look for garage organizing hacks. You can come up with some wonderful ideas for maximizing the use of your space in your garage.

If you do a good enough job organizing the garage, you may decide to pick up some epoxy and paint the floor. But, whether you take the project that far or not, you should take a few minutes to consider the condition and maintenance of your Antioch garage door and garage door opener. It’s nice to have an organized garage. It’s wonderful to have a garage door and garage door opener that work smoothly and reliably when called upon.

Have you checked your garage door’s balance lately?

The question above asks if you’ve “checked your garage door’s balance lately?” We might just as well ask if you’ve ever checked your garage door’s balance. Seriously, how many people do you know who check their garage doors to see if they’re balanced? Do you know anyone who has ever checked the balance of their garage door?

Since it’s done so infrequently, what’s the issue? Why bother to check to see if your garage door is balanced? The answer is rather comforting:

• It’s easy to do
• You can improve the performance and durability of your garage door and garage door opener

Checking your garage door’s balance is so easy that we’ll share it with you here and now.

How to balance your garage door:
Step 1: Close the garage door and pull the emergency release handle down and away from the door until the door is disconnected from the trolley.
Step 2: Lift the garage door to the halfway point. Let go. When you let go, the garage door shouldn’t move. If it’s balanced, it’s supported by the springs and will not go up or down.
Step 3: Lift the garage door all the way open and, once again, let go. The garage door should rise slightly. If it slams closed, even if it slowly drifts down, your garage door is not balanced.
Step 4: With the door remaining disconnected from the trolley and the garage door opener, raise and lower the garage door slowly. While doing so, listen and feel for spots where the garage door binds, hangs up or grinds and sticks. The garage door should move freely.
Step 5: Close the garage door completely and pull the release handle again. Press the remote control for the garage door opener and the trolley should move into place connecting to the garage door again. If this doesn’t happen, you may have to lift the garage door until it engages with the trolley.

If your garage door fails to pass any of these tests, give a qualified garage door technician a call. They’ll come out and balance your garage door for you.

When the garage door isn’t balanced, it makes more noise, it takes more time to open and close and it causes more wear and tear on the garage door and the garage door opener. Your garage door and garage door opener will last longer if you keep your garage door balanced.

At Garage Doors and More, we tip our hats to other essential providers

If your garage door is broken, even within the bounds of coronavirus isolation, you’re liable to find it essential that you have the garage door fixed and promptly. While abiding by the governor’s ‘shelter-in-place’ order, you still need to go out and pick up groceries. And, if there’s a medical emergency, or simply a doctor’s appointment, you’ll want to have access to your vehicle in the garage.

There’s no denying that, even while shutting down the economy to prevent the further spread of a pandemic, there are roles that are essential – that we can’t ‘shutdown.’ Those who operate in those essential fields are denied the sanctuary of staying in their own homes relatively safe from the spread of COVID-19.

Taking that additional risk, these are individuals who deserve a degree of respect and appreciation. This actually includes a fairly substantial list of people in a number of roles.

We don’t have to think long before we realize that first responders are among those most at risk while fulfilling an essential need. First responders include police officers, firemen, EMT and paramedics. If someone is sick with coronavirus, and they call emergency services, the people who respond cannot avoid coming into some level of contact with someone with the disease. In many other cases, the first responders have no way of knowing if the person or people they’re dealing with are infected.

At hospitals and other medical facilities, the people who work in the medical profession are expressly called upon to help people with coronavirus or who may have coronavirus. There’s no escaping it – only precautions to mitigate the risks.

But there are others we depend on while isolated

Of course, there are many others who serve us during our enforced isolation. Chief among these people are those who serve, somewhere along the line, in the food industry. This includes farmers, truck drivers, restaurant owners and workers, the young man stocking the shelves at the local grocery store, and the cashier where you pay for your food.

When we go to the grocery store, we may spend 20 minutes or half an hour. During that time, we inevitably come into contact with other people, with products other people have touched. We can, as the first responders do, take precautions. We can wear masks and rubber gloves. But we can’t 100-percent avoid the risk of catching the disease. The clerk stocking the shelves at the grocery store is there for hours. During that time, they have no way of escaping the risk.

If you need your garage door fixed, garage door techs understand how important that is. But we also understand how important other essential providers are in our lives. We want them to know how much we appreciate them.