Your garage door is a collection of moving parts designed and connected to operate as one unit. Changing temperatures and damp air can render these moving parts incompatible, so a Northeast Ohio winter is clearly a risky environment for every homeowner dealing with a garage door and door opening system.
Your local garage door expert can help you with adjustments, maintenance and those unfortunate emergencies, but staying ahead of potential problems is your best bet to avoid getting locked out of your garage or experiencing damage to your garage door system or your vehicle.
How will you know your garage door or opening system needs attention? Here are some common problems homeowners experience with their garage door when the weather gets cold:
- The door fails to open or close, or it fails to complete the cycle
- The door gets stuck somewhere along the track
- While moving, the door suddenly becomes very noisy
- The door freezes to the ground
If you have confirmed the problem is not dead batteries in your remote, you may be facing a garage door emergency. Since it may be difficult to know what the problem is, trying to troubleshoot it yourself can be dangerous. Your Above & Beyond emergency team can help identify and repair the issue.
When door operation becomes noisy, or if the door is stuck or fails during a cycle, you may have a bent or damaged track caused by metal contracting in cold temperatures. Unfortunately, this can happen whether or not you regularly maintain your garage door and the track will simply need to be replaced.
You can stay ahead of the worst problems by checking over tracks and moving parts before the winter season and replacing worn parts before they become a problem. Also consider the following:
- Lubricate moving parts with a quality silicone-based spray. Be sure to clean the tracks and clear them of old grease and debris before lubricating to get your best results.
- Replace insulation and worn weatherstripping before the coldest days of winter to keep a more stable temperature inside your garage. Metal parts will not fatigue as quickly if temperature changes are not as extreme.
- Check the sweep and threshold of your garage door to be sure the ground is level and water will not pool and ultimately freeze your door to the ground. Attempting to open a frozen garage door can damage the motor and parts of your door and opener.
- Test the quick release to be sure it is working properly and open and close your door manually before winter sets in. If the door is difficult to maneuver or feels exceptionally heavy, you may have a broken spring. Contact your garage door expert for an inspection and repair.
If you haven’t yet scheduled your fall maintenance checkup, contact Above & Beyond today for a thorough inspection. Your due diligence now can keep you ahead of an emergency later.