Automatic garage doors are the preferred type of doors throughout the United States. If you’ve lived with a manual door, you know how annoying they can be on cold snowy nights or when heavy rain falls. Automatics are so much more convenient that it’s no wonder they’ve become the standard. Along with them, however, come some issues that you as a homeowner will need to address unless you want to constantly call a professional to come and fix your door for you. What you need are some tips on how to fix minor problems yourself, so read on.
1. One regular maintenance job that will save you a lot of headaches down the line is lubricating your garage door springs, rollers, hinges, and tracks. The door will not work well for long if you skip this task. You should watch the door every time you open it to make sure it works smoothly. If it appears to be dragging or slowing, adding specially formulated motor oil or garage door oil to these parts can get the door working properly again.
2. Periodically check your door hardware. Tighten any screws that have loosened during use and replace any damaged screws. If you start to see cracks around a hinge, remove the hinge and repair the cracks with wood putty. Allow the area to dry completely before reattaching the hinge.
3. Have you ever come home to find your garage door open when you thought you had closed it? It is possible that someone who lives nearby uses the same security code as you. Changing your opener code will fix this problem. You should also check the transmitter for batteries that need to be replaced.
4. So what do you do if your gate only partially goes down and then goes back up instead of working like it’s supposed to? Start by checking to see if anything is triggering the door’s security sensor system. The gate is designed to come back up if it senses something below, so if you have a tool or other object that violates the gate’s right-of-way, it won’t go all the way down.
5. Examine the tracks and mounting hardware for dents or flat spots. Working from inside your garage with the door closed, you can try to patch up bad spots with a hammer. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to replace the faulty parts.
An automatic garage door can be a wonderful thing if you take the time to maintain it properly.
