Rated Does Your Garage Door Work Properly?
How can you tell whether your garage door is functioning like it should? A garage door is something that we often don’t even think about — we just open it and close it every day and assume that everything is fine. After all, it works, doesn’t it? Just because your garage door works doesn’t mean that it’s safely operational. There may be issues that are preventing it from working properly. Here are some ways to tell.
Does Your Garage Door Move Freely or Hesitate?
Your garage door should open and lower smoothly. If it hesitates at all, there may either be a problem with the motor or the track may simply need to be adjusted. Oiling and lubricating the rollers and hinges every once in a while is a great way to keep your garage door operational. Lubricant that is made especially for garage doors can be applied thoroughly to the tracks and the garage door wheels, smoothing out performance. If your garage door keeps moving erratically after you have properly lubricated it, it could be another, more serious issue, such as the house settling and needing garage door adjustments.
Does Your Garage Door Keep Water Out?
A garage door should have an insulating seal at the bottom that keeps water out. Without this insulating seal, you could end up with a flooded garage, or higher than average heating and cooling bills. The easiest way to check on your garage door’s seal is to either visually inspect it or to look into your garage after it rains. If your garage door seal is old, there will be leaks. It may also appear to be discolored or warped. Garage door seals do need to be periodically replaced, especially in areas with highly variable temperatures.
Does Your Garage Door’s Sensor Work Properly?
The garage door sensor is incredibly important, yet very few people check their own periodically. The door sensor is designed to reverse the door if it encounters any resistance. You can check your door sensor by putting something underneath it, such as a 2×4. The door should encounter the 2×4 and then immediately go up again. If it continues to go down, there’s a serious problem that could pose a danger — especially to children and pets. There may also be another sensor in your door that optically determines whether there may be an obstruction. These sensors should engage if you break the beam of light and the door should go back to the up position. If it doesn’t the eye may need to be replaced!
Does Your Garage Door’s Light Not Go On?
One of the most common issues with garage doors has to do with the light not going on in the garage when the door closes. Even if you change the bulb, the light just doesn’t seem to trigger. This is usually due to a faulty circuit board that needs to be replaced; the repair is usually fast and simple. Nevertheless, many learn to live with an intermittent or not working garage light, because it doesn’t seem to be an urgent problem. If the circuit board or other electrical components within the garage door mechanism isn’t working right, it still merits a check; there could be other problems, too.
If a garage door isn’t working properly, it’s likely that it’s experiencing premature wear and tear. Not only may the interior components break down and have to be replaced earlier, but the garage door itself could break down, causing you inconvenience and hassle. If you’ve experienced any issues with the proper operation of your garage door, give us a call at Action Garage Door. At Action Garage Door, we specialize in the routine maintenance, repair, troubleshooting, and installation of garage doors.
