How often should my overhead garage door be serviced?
Your overhead garage door is the largest piece of moving equipment in your home. Most families use their garage door more than their front door. In order to ensure a properly working door and operator, you should have your overhead garage door and operator serviced every year.
The noises your door or operator make are your initial “warnings” that something is not quite right. The longer you put off the necessary service, the more damage may result. Regular service can extend the life of your door and operator.
How long should my garage door springs last?
The most common torsion springs have an expected life of about 10,000 “cycles”. A cycle is one opening and one closing of the garage door. The steel spring experiences tremendous force each time the door opens or closes. Gradually, the steel fatigues with each flex, and eventually cracks and breaks, usually releasing its stored energy in an instant with a loud noise or bang. In garage door repairs, most accidents occur during the replacement of the springs. While many door companies quote a flat fee for spring replacement, we prefer to quote a range and charge our customers for the actual cost of the spring that is on their own door. (Springs can vary in price by more than $30/spring.) Also, if one spring breaks and they were installed at the same time, it is likely that the other will not be far behind since they both have the same wear and tear. For this reason, we suggest changing both springs at once (we always replace both if they are extension type) to save you the expense of a second service trip. Ask us about upgraded cycle and LIFETIME springs!
How do I release the door from the operator so that I can open the garage door by hand?
With the garage door fully closed, simply pull the red release cord down toward the floor. Always take special caution whenever you release the garage door opener if the door is not in the fully closed position, since the door may want to slam closed when released. If at all possible do not release the garage door when open, except for emergency or security purposes and close the door with caution. Some older openers may not have a red release cord and may need to be released by pulling down a handle, a spring loaded clip, or even possibly unbolting the arm from the door and opener. If you do have an older door that is difficult to disconnect you may want to replace the opener with a new garage door opener that has an easy pull red release cord.
How do I tell if the garage door spring is balanced properly?
Disconnect the operator by pulling the red release cord with door fully closed. Open the door halfway by hand and let go of the door. The door should pretty much stay in the same position, although some slight drifting may occur. If the door wants to drop or if it opens on it’s own, the garage door springs should be adjusted by trained and experienced garage door service technicians.