Once the mortgage was paid in full, I decided to make some changes to my family's house. That included investing in new doors throughout the home. That proved to be more complicated than I expected. With the help of a contractor, I explored options for bedroom doors that were built to reduce noise. There was the option of using French doors in some areas to allow more natural light into the space. I also learned a lot about door locks and where they would do the most good. If you want to replace all the doors in your home, let's talk. I'll share the tips that my contractor provided. With a little luck, those same tips will save you some time and effort.
Congratulations on your new garage door installation! Now that it's in place, it's time to establish a maintenance routine. With proper maintenance, your new garage door should function for many years to come.
Tighten Screws
Your garage door consists of many moving parts, which means that it has many screws, nuts and bolts--all of which can become loose as the garage door opens and closes. Once or twice per year, inspect all the moving parts that you can find. Use a screwdriver and socket wrench to tighten anything that seems loose.
Lubricate Moving Parts
Over time, your garage door may begin to make soft screeching and squeaking noises. Often a lack of lubrication and friction between moving pieces of metal is the cause of these noises. You can fix the problem by lubricating moving parts. There are many different types of lubrication on the market, and picking the right type of lubrication is important. White lithium grease and silicone grease both work for this purpose because they stay slick, won't become gummy or sticky over time, and won't freeze or rub off.
Test Safety Features
Testing the safety features of your garage door on a regular basis is very important--especially if your garage door is in regular use around small children or pets. There are multiple safety features in your garage door that can prevent the door from closing on a living being. To test these safety features, start by laying a brick or a 2x4 inch board in the middle of the open doorway. Push the button to close to the door. When the door reaches the object laying in the path of the doorway, it should reverse course and open up again.
To test the second safety feature, stand near the open door with a broom in your hand. Push the button to close the door. When the door begins to close, wave the broom handle in the path of the door. The door should reverse course. If the door fails to reverse course in either scenario, use a dry, clean rag to wipe off the photoelectric eyes near the bottom of the open doorway. If there is dirt on the photoelectric eye, this can impact the ability of the garage door to close properly. If the garage door safety features are still nonfunctional after the photoelectric eye is cleaned, then it's time to have it looked at by a garage door repair professional.
Share12 May 2016
