Tips to strengthen and increase the life of garage doors
1. Proper Maintenance of Garage Doors
Proper maintenance of automatic, remote-controlled garage doors is critical to ensure maximum performance, to prevent future problems, and to increase garage door lifetime.
Proper maintenance includes a professional garage door service technician coming to your home once a year and lubricating and balancing your garage door, along with checking for any potential issues such as air gaps or damaged springs.
A little maintenance can go a long way.
Estimated cost: $69+ versus $600-$2,000 to replace your garage door
2. Cleaning and Painting Wooden Garage Doors
Another way to increase the lifetime of your garage door is simply to clean it. You should ideally do this once a year. Start outside, cleaning the outside of your door with a soft sponge or cloth. Once it is washed, just rinse with a hose.
If the garage door is made of wood, inspect the door to see if it needs to be repainted or stained, according to Lowe’s home improvement expert Mike Kraft.
3. Retrofit Garage Doors
High winds are a definite consideration in Castle Rock. According to the Institute for Business & Home Safety, the two threats to your garage door in terms of wind are wind pressure and wind borne debris, especially if your garage door has windows.
If your garage door is not fortified to withstand high wind, it poses a threat to the rest of your home, especially the roof, since it is the largest opening in your house.
A strong wind may cause your garage door (especially if it is a double-wide garage door) to buckle or force it out of the roller track. Or the track itself could be vulnerable to the wind pressure, if it is too lightweight or the fasteners don’t penetrate the wall deep enough.
Retrofitting your garage door and making it impact-resistant, could increase the lifetime of your garage door and safeguard the rest of your home in the event of strong wind.
To retrofit, first look for a label on the door indicating the design pressure rating. If you can’t find one, look for the following signs of a weak door:
- Does your garage door only have one bar across each of the four panels or maybe only one or two panels have bars?
- Is your garage door made of wood?
- Are some of the door panels rusted or rotted?
- Are some of the door panels badly dented?
- Are the brackets that hold the track to the wall loose, broken, or missing bolts or nuts.
- When the garage door is closed, do the brackets supporting the track line up with the rollers?
- Are the hinges between panels loose, broken, or missing bolts or nuts or screws?
- Are the rollers plastic and/or are the axels through the rollers hollow?
Source: Institute for Business & Home Safety
If any of the above is true, the garage door will likely perform poorly when strong wind strikes and you should retrofit or replace your garage door. If you choose to replace it, look for a garage door that is code approved for both wind pressure and impact protection. Call a professional garage door company for help.
Your home is biggest investment, and your garage door is an integral part of your home. Treat it with proper care and maintenance and it will serve you well.
