Centennial Garage Door Repair

Cold Weather Problems With Garage Doors

Centennial Garage Door RepairYou might notice that your garage door problems primarily happen during the colder times of the year. Cold weather brings on a host of other concerns, such as, making sure you remain well enough to go to work. Keeping your kids from catching a cold or flu, which could prevent them from going to school. This means you may start losing money because you might have to stay home from school to look after sick children. The last thing that you want to have to also worry about when the weather turns cold outside is being stranded inside your garage or not being able to get into the garage. While most of the problems you experience with your garage door during the cold weather can be fixed on your own, there are some that are bit more complex and will require the help of a garage door repair specialist.

Here are some of the most common problems that you will find with garage doors during colder months of the year and a few solutions.

  • Metal Contracting

The garage door opener might not work if the metal contracts. This makes it almost impossible for the door to move up and down. A force adjustment will be necessary in order to resolve the problem. This procedure is performed on your garage door opener. You can quickly consult your owners manual to find out how this is performed or contact a local Centennial, Colorado garage door service, such as, Centennial Garage Door Repair, to handle the job for you. In addition to adjusting the door, a garage door service can make any other necessary repairs to ensure your door continues functioning even through the colder seasons of the year. Even though the manual might tell you exactly how to force adjust your opener, it may not discuss the safety risk involved in working on your opener. There are safety precautions that need to be considered prior to adjusting anything on your opener. Since it has a motor, for instance, and other moving parts, you might not know whether or not they are on while you are attempting to work on the door. If you handle the problem yourself, remember to ask an expert service technician how to remain safe in the process.

  • Frozen Garage Door

Since it is common in Centennial, CO to experience snow and ice buildup, it is possible for your door to freeze to the ground. You might experience a problem with your door not closing all the way due to the snow underneath it. The remedy for this is pretty easy. Keep the snow and any ice cleared from underneath your door. It may be a bit of an inconvenience, especially during the winter, but it may also be all that you can do to prevent your door from sticking to the ground or not closing all the way. Another thing that might also be helpful is spraying cooking spray on the rubber seal located on the bottom of your garage door. This can often prevent the door from sticking to the ground because of the freezing snow or ice.

  • Broken Gears

Sometimes you may notice that is sounds like the garage door opener is doing its job but you do not notice the door moving. This could be caused by broken gears, which can occur when the door freezes and the opener is still attempting to open the garage door. The weight of the door makes this more problematic by stripping gears. Many homeowners see this as a bigger problem than the care to tackle and will often rely on the services of a professional garage door repair service in their area. This is advisable if you lack experience or training in garage door servicing.

  • Grease Buildup

Whenever your garage door will not do what you are attempting to do, raise it up or down, it could be because of grease on the tracks. During colder temperature grease tends to harden. This could occur on your tracks making it hard for the door to move freely. The grease can be removed with a grease solvent. You can do this yourself by using a firm bristle brush to apply the solvent to the tracks. Clear away the solvent and replace it with a silicone-based lubricant, which helps the door continue moving along the tracks. Unfortunately, in really bad situations, it might be necessary vertical tracks may need to be replace, along with the rollers in order to prevent this problem.

These are some common problems that many homeowners report experiencing with their garage door during the colder months of the year. However, before you chalk the problem up as being because of the weather, why not try to troubleshoot the problem first.

Troubleshooting

  • Broken springs will undoubtedly prevent your door from lifting up. If  your door is heavy to lift, even manually, your issue might not be due to the weather but due to broken springs.
  • Disconnect your opener in order to attempt to open the door manually. Look for any spots wherever it begins to stick. You might notice grease buildup.
  • Your garage door opener’s force setting feature might have to be adjusted if

Prevention Methods

If you know there is the possibility of this happening to your garage door because it has occurred in the past, why not take some preventative measures. Here are a list of prevention methods that just might help you avoid a headache due to garage door issues. You can do most of these things or allow a professional service technician to handle the maintenance of your garage door during this time of the year.

  • Keep the pulleys and bearings lubricated
  • Your roller tracks, hinges and latches should be sprayed with a solvent that will enable the door to move smoothly along the tracks.
  • Whenever you have hinges that stick, you can just soak them and keep them clean during the colder months.
  • A silicone-based lubricant is good for shuttle, rollers, bearings and springs, which are all important components of your garage door.

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