Tips to extend the life of your garage door

Let’s look at the numbers

If you are like most, statistics play an important role in learning about something. We’ll apply that to garage doors. The “average” garage door (residential) lasts for about 30 years with regular use. If you have torsion springs on your garage door, they tend to last for roughly 20,000 cycles. If your garage door uses the older extension springs you can count on about 10,000 cycles of use. A garage door spring cycle is equal to one open and one close. According to these numbers, your torsion springs should last about 13 and a half years before needing replacement. This based on 4 trips a day, every day in and out of your garage. Of course you can adjust these figures to match your own situation more closely. Also, if you make fewer trips or treat your springs to periodic maintenance, these numbers will improve.

Speaking of maintenance…

Don’t let that word bother you – maintenance does NOT have to be extensive, time consuming or expensive. You do have a choice you know. You can totally neglect your garage door and leave it to fate so to speak. You will wind up paying more in the long run when repairs or full replacement is needed on parts, accessories and on the garage door itself. In addition, your garage door will start to look run down, shoddy and in disrepair as well as not work as it should. Why mess with any of that? We recommend basic garage door maintenance every so often to keep your entire garage door working and looking its best. A poorly maintained garage door can even cost you more money than you think. Imagine trying to sell or rent your home and not being able to because of a poorly working or unsightly garage door. Your asking price will be lowered as will the appraisal for the bank. Possible renters won’t even consider it and move on to a better property for the money. You might even get hit with a fine from your property association for lack of basic maintenance!

Aren’t garage doors tough?

Yes, they are; garage doors are very tough. Since they are durable and made of metal or wood, they can take a lot of stress from wind, rain, heat, snow, sun and constant usage. Durable does not mean indestructible! Even the pyramids are showing their age and damage so be sure to apply basic maintenance when and where needed!

Ready? Begin!

Time to start garage door maintenance at your home! Start by keeping your garage door clean and debris free. Spiders love photoelectric safety eyes and will eagerly build their webs right over your lenses. This can stop your beams from transmitting correctly and interfere with regular garage door use. It also adds new spiders into your garage when these hatch. Periodically clean your sensors and also your tracks. A clogged track can send your rollers back upward when they can’t navigate due to chewing gum, twigs, dirt, mud or other debris. Give your tracks a once over every now and then and make sure that your rollers have a clear path.

Clean your garage door itself when needed. Wipe smears, mud, and other debris off of the inside and outside of your door. Not doing so gives your garage door a sloppy, ill kept look and when added to chipping paint or damaged panels, the whole house can look disheveled. Be sure and apply paint touch ups when needed and keep your garage door looking presentable at all times. Remember; your garage door is very noticeable from the sidewalk or street. Anyone walking outside or driving down your street will notice your garage door before just about anything else. Use water and a gentle detergent for cleaning your garage door. Steel or aluminum garage doors can be waxed every once in a while. You don’t need anything fancy or expensive; just regular car wax will do. For sensor cleaning, use a dry, soft cloth and be careful to not scratch your lenses. Treat them as you would a camera lens; carefully and gently! If you need to remove webs from the sensors, a twig or garden stick will do just fine.

Lubrication is important

Remember the tin man from The Wizard of Oz? He needed his oil can every now and then. Well, so does your garage door. Don’t be alarmed; all that is really needed is a little lubrication for rollers, hinges and springs. No need to go overboard; just a light sprits is good. Just spray lightly as you don’t want to be cleaning up a big mess and only a little is really needed. Don’t use WD 40; instead use a silicon spray. You can buy these at most home improvement stores or automotive sections of department stores like Target, Sears or Wal-Mart.

Lastly, make rounds

While you are not a doctor, you can still make periodic checks on your garage door. Every now and then check for obvious damage, wear and tear, chipped paint, or debris. A few minutes every month or so is enough to catch any maintenance problems that be accruing. Look for frayed wires, loose hinges or bolts, missing parts, snapped cables, etc. Make this a regular habit and it will pay big dividends!