Winter Garage Door Maintenance Tips

This time of year, when you pull into your driveway, your number one goal is to get out of the cold and into your warm home as quickly as possible. That plan backfires, though, when you suddenly find your door won’t open. It’s annoying, yes, but it’s a pretty common occurrence during the winter months. When it gets really cold out, garage doors tend to stick for a variety of reasons. And when temperatures drop really low, the door may even freeze shut, leaving you standing out in the cold.

Your garage is a pretty important part of your home. You likely use it every day, and it keeps your car safe from inclement weather. When you leave for work in the morning or return home at the end of the day, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether your door will open or not. Fortunately, with a few simple maintenance steps, you can safeguard your garage door from cold-weather stress and keep it in tip-top condition, allowing you to come and go as you please.

Remove any gunk or grease build-up on the garage door track. As you use your door more and more, over time, debris can build on the track and rollers, which interferes with how easily it opens and closes. Eventually, your tracks may become so clogged that your garage door can’t open and close at all, which can be pretty inconvenient when temperatures reach those winter lows. If yours is snagged, this could be a likely culprit. Start from inside the garage, and use a cloth to wipe away and remove any grease build-up.

Lubricate all moving parts. Once you’ve cleaned the tracks, use regular grade machine oil (make sure to avoid heavy axle grease) to lubricate the rollers, track, hinges and bushings. These parts can stick and become stalled when it’s cold out, and the lubrication will help get those parts operating smoothly again. When you’re done, wipe away any excess oil to prevent more build-up. Your garage door should actually be cleaned and lubricated a few times a year, so getting into the practice now can only help you in the long run.

Wipe down the weather-stripping and look for cracks that need repairs. Since you use it every day, your garage door will see a lot of wear and tear over time. Weather-stripping at the bottom of the door can often crack after extended use, which can allow snow and ice inside your garage, thus causing the door to freeze shut. Take a cloth and wipe your stripping down so you can get a good look, and take note of any problem areas, and have an expert help with the repairs.

Those are just a few ways to winter-proof your garage door—if these don’t solve your problem, you may need to consult with an expert. If your garage door is malfunctioning, do not hesitate to contact the team at Garage Door Specialist for help. We’ll do our best to identify and fix your problem fast, so you don’t get left out in the cold.

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Damaged Garage Door Rollers

There is a variety of garage door rollers that come in different sizes, material and strength. The sizes of the rollers can be a 4.4 inch, 7.0 inch or a 9.5 inch depending on the size of the door. The different materials they can be made of are various types of nylon and metals. It is important to know what type of rollers to use in a garage door. If you use a roller that is too short the door can jump from the tracks while in motion and damage almost all the components of the door such as panels, hinges and the opener. The type of material that the roller is made of makes the difference in how quietly the garage door functions. A roller that is made primarily of nylon will make less noise than one made of mostly metal. This difference is purely for convenience but as per functionality the material the roller is made of makes little difference, both function the same.

A garage door roller can become damaged due to a few different reasons. One of the reasons is the lifetime of the material. The average roller lasts only a few years. After a few years the housing of the bearings becomes loose causing the bearing to jump from its place in turn the rollers will malfunction.

Another reason is the weight of your door. A garage door that is too heavy or just slightly heavier than it should be will deliver more pressure onto the bearings wearing down the rollers in a shorter amount of time.

Also, if your tracks are not straight it will cause the roller to become worn down unevenly.

A bad garage door roller does not always mean that it is totally broken. It can just be a non functioning roller. Most of the time the garage door rollers are damaged or bad you will hear a lot of scratching noise while the door is in operation. A damaged or bad garage door roller is not healthy for your garage door system or for other garage door components such as the tracks, the motor and the way the garage door functions.

I answered a service call today and the guy told me he was afraid to close his garage door because of the noise it made while opening. He was afraid to cause anymore damage and was really worried that the problem was serious because the noise was horrendous.

When I arrived at the house and took a look at the garage components I immediately noticed that one of his tracks was slightly bent. After further investigation I removed the bad roller and explained to the customer that the roller had become worn on one side causing the roller to become uneven.

The garage door was also an old fashioned top of the line hurricane proof door which are slightly heavier than the average door which causes the rollers to wear down sooner than there time to begin with.

The customer was extremely relieved to know that the problem was minor and I then proceeded to replace the rollers and repair the track.

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THE BEST GARAGE DOOR DESIGN TRENDS IN 2017

Garage door design has come a long way in the last several years! Today’s garage door designs are more interesting, higher quality, and much more varied so every homeowner is sure to find something that they love within their budget. If you are searching for a new garage door this year, take a look at some of the hottest trends for 2017 and see if any of these could be right for your property!

WHICH GARAGE DOOR DESIGN TRENDS DO YOU LOVE?

MORE AND BIGGER WINDOWS.

If Mass Garage Doors Expert has to pick one defining trend for garage door design in 2017, it would be windows. Today’s homeowners don’t want their garages to be dark, mysterious places. Instead, they want more windows and bigger windows on their garage doors. This allows natural light to flood the space and can make the garage more usable and friendly. Some homeowners are even opting for garage doors made entirely of frosted glass, giving them light, privacy, and an ultra-modern feel.

BOLD COLOR OPTIONS.

Ten or twenty years ago, homeowners wanted their garage doors to be as indiscreet as possible. That meant unobtrusive design and colors that were bland or designed to fade into the architecture of the house itself. Today, though, garage doors are being used more and more often as a design centerpiece for a home. Builders and homeowners are using the garage door to make a statement, opting now for bold color options and designs that set the personality of the home.

INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY.

Tech is taking over all areas of our households and the garage is no exception. You’ll be seeing more and more of it in the coming years, too, with garage doors that automatically sense your vehicle, doors that can be opened and closed on your smartphone, and so much more. A lot of these features will be built right into the garage door and won’t be visible to guests and visitors.

WOOD IS BACK.

Wood doors were the most popular option for garage doors for a long time, only to be replaced by fiberglass later on. You’ll be seeing more wood garage doors again in 2017, though. The material is part of the growing trend of combining man-made materials like concrete and steel with natural materials like wood in the home. Wooden garage doors offer a special kind of warmth in a home’s appearance and can be incredibly energy efficient.

DOORS FOR ALL SEASONS.

Homeowners are making more use of their garages aside from simply a place to store their garden tools and park their car. They might use the garage as a workshop or even an outdoor play area for their children. Because of this, homeowners in 2017 are wanting a garage that’s comfortable in all seasons. You’ll see this accomplished with more insulated garage door designs that keep garages warmer in the winter, as well as garage-wide screen doors that allow air flow but keep out pests in the summer.

Are you looking for a new garage door for your home this year? Take to the Mass Garage Doors Expert and we’ll help you find the right door for your home at the right price. Get in touch with us today!

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The pros and cons of a garage door with walk-through door

If you’re wondering whether investing in a garage door with an attached pedestrian door is worth it, you’ve come to the right place. Indeed, having a pedestrian door is definitely worthwhile for some layouts, for example when garages are located in the basement of a house, rendering regular steel access doors (36” X 78”) next to the garage door or on the side of the garage impossible.

Pedestrian doors are also available for commercial and industrial garage doors. Of course, opening a small access door is more energy efficient than opening a large industrial garage door. Pedestrian door sizes vary, but they are generally about 32 x 78 inches. We suggest investing in a garage door injected with polyurethane insulation to ensure a solid door system structure. The garage door should be between 1.375 and 2-inches-thick.

PEDESTRIAN DOOR PROS

• If your garage is located in the basement of your house, having a pedestrian door installed can be practical, especially if you have a double garage door.
• In built up urban areas there may not be enough side space for a normal access door and so pedestrian doors should be installed. You should however, ensure you keep your belongings out of view.
• If you use your garage for storage, rather than as somewhere to park your car, a pedestrian door can come in handy in the event of a prolonged power outage.

PEDESTRIAN DOOR CONS

• The primary drawback to investing in a pedestrian door is the installation cost. You must have the door and safety system installed to avoid any major damage to the garage door. Installing a single walk-through door can cost as much as a full garage door system, without the walk-through door.
• If your garage door is equipped with an electric garage door opener, your door system must have a device to prevent the remote from activating the door opener when the pedestrian door is open.
• Walk-through doors cannot be installed on any sized door. The minimum width is 8 feet. And if you have a door with a rectangular embossed design, the placement of the rectangles is restricted.
• Finally, the more openings created in a garage door, the lower the energy efficiency. You may wish to look for another solution if insulation and weatherproofing are important to you.

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Why Is My Garage Door Opening On Its Own?

The concept behind a garage door opener is that one press of a button will open and close the door, helping reduce the stress, strain and otherwise inconvenient task of manually performing this job. However, there can be seemingly odd instances in which a door will open on its own, without any interaction from the owner of the structure.

This phenomenon is known as phantom operation and needs to be addressed through garage door repair. The reasons are obvious since safety concerns towards individuals and the vulnerability of thieves potentially gaining access to your home are too much to simply put off that repair. Listed below are some of the reasons that this issue might be taking place.

Aging Batteries

One of the more basic problems that results can be connected to something as simple as the status of the batteries inside the remote. While we’d all like such batteries to last forever, the reality is that they’ll eventually wear out and could cause issues such as involuntary door openings.

In many cases, a trip to a local home improvement store may be able to handle this in a simple fashion. However, there can be instances where such places lack a specific option, which means contacting a company that regularly handles garage door issues.

Buttons Sticking

The age of the garage door opener could also be the indirect cause of an issue. This problem develops when the button on the remote or on the garage wall begins sticking or is otherwise difficult to use. That means that all of the usage of the remote over the years has finally taken enough of a toll that getting a new remote or having some repair done is the best course of action.

Circuit Board Concerns

A properly working opener will have its circuit board running smoothly, so when a problem develops in this area, installing a new board is probably the only way to get things back in working order. Handling the installation process of a new board is something that many people are either not equipped to deal with or simply don’t have the time to address, which means letting the professionals handle the job.

Power Surge

The periodic instance of a power surge is something that many people address when it comes to high-priced items like a computer or wide-screen television. That’s because the danger of the surge might end up destroying an expensive appliance.

While that could potentially occur with an opener, it’s more likely that the specific code that allows your device to work its magic has been scrambled because of the surge. Getting that back up and running can be tricky, given that newer openers have rolling codes that may be hard for the average homeowner to grasp. That’s why it makes so much sense to have this repaired by experienced personnel.

Wiring Issues

In some cases, a short in the wire that connects the button in the garage with the motor might be the cause. Another wire-related issue could be due to issues related to the safety sensors or even just the prospect of an exposed wire that inadvertently came loose.

All of the above circumstances dictate that professional garage door repair should be the next step. That’s because all of the possible considerations involved can make it a complicated process. In addition, safety issues could surface since this may be related to an electrical short.

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