1. What are some garage door maintenance tips for homeowners?
- Don’t forget to spray your door. Every 3-6 months you should lubricate the top of your springs, rollers, and hinges. We have found that Tri-Flow works best, but WD-40 is what most people have in their garage already and will work just fine! In Minnesota we have a lot of salt to contend with, so it also helps to lubricate the bottom cables so they don’t rust off and cause even more damage.
- Make sure your opener and springs are adjusted correctly. A good balanced garage door should be easy to lift and shouldn’t slam on the concrete when closed. If this isn’t the case it would be a good idea to have a technician come out and re-adjust because it will help with the longevity of both the garage door and opener.
- In the winter make sure snow is shoveled at least 1 foot away from the garage door. If the bottom weather seal is freezing to the concrete it’s going to put more strain on the opener, so try and remove as much snow and freezing water away as possible. We have seen a lot of freezing and condensation happen from homeowner’s tracking snow in to their garages. You’ll start to see the bottom garage door rollers frost up from the melting and freezing, which could cause them not to move. An easy way to avoid all of this is to shovel the snow out right away (but easier said than done right?).
- Take a rag and clean off your garage door opener rail. Your rail can get very greasy over time and should be cleaned every fall. Once winter rolls around and we get colder temperatures the grease is going to get thick and sticky, and this puts more stress on your opener.
2. How long should my garage door springs last?
- The average lifespan of torsion springs is 10k cycles, or 7-9 years assuming 4 cycles per day. 1 cycle = each time the springs have to lift the garage door up and down. This is the statistic for your typical oil rubbed torsion spring.
- Garage Door Springs 101: Not all springs are created equal! Just be aware of having a professional install galvanized springs that claim to have a higher cycle/lifetime warranty on them. The galvanized springs do not last as long. We have seen an average of 3 years vs. the 9 years with oil tempered torsion springs. Some companies who offer a “lifetime warranty” on the galvanized springs are going to make three as much money because the homeowner will still need to pay for their labor to come out and replace the springs when they break. Also homeowner’s biggest concern about oil tempered springs is they can start to look rusty, but if the springs are lubricated once every 3-6 months they will look just fine and hold their paint from the factory. Major reputable spring manufacturers started to use galvanized springs for a short time because of the hype, but then switched back to oil rubbed torsion springs due to better quality and longevity. Galvanized springs can look dingy too over time since they’re not black in color. If you’re on the fence, go to Google and see where you can buy a galvanized spring anymore (whether it’s local or not) and you will have a tough time, whereas the oil rubbed torsion springs will be readily available.
- A professional garage door technician is going to work with you on installing springs based on your wants and needs. A lot of people use garages as their entry way into the house and want a higher lifecycle, whereas others aren’t using theirs to this extent. A large thing to keep in mind when quoting springs is someone can always come and put a cheaper spring up for you, so just make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. A technician won’t know what wire size springs are needed until they get to the job and measure the IPPT rating. We at Augusta buy materials from some of the highest quality manufacturers to guarantee good customer satisfaction.
3. How do I decide between a non-insulated or insulated garage door?
- In the garage door industry a couple $100 goes a long way. You can typically bump up to an insulated door for that amount, and the longevity on the door is going to be much better. If you live in Minnesota and have an attached garage to your house with insulated walls, you probably want to get a garage door with an R Value (Insulation Value) of 12+. If you’re looking to use your garage as more of an extension of your house, you should probably look at an R Value of 16+.
- Regardless of necessarily needing the extra insulation, an insulated garage door is going to be less noisy, efficient, and stronger than a non-insulated garage door. We have seen homeowners take out whole non-insulated garage doors with their car, and seen insulated garage doors hold up much better to this kind of beating. The extra warmth could also be helpful in maintaining other things in your garage. Whether it be the garage door opener, springs, tools, your vehicle from potentially gelling up etc. it’s going to be a much better door.
4. What’s the difference between polystyrene and polyurethane?
- Polystyrene sucks up moisture and therefore isn’t as great of an insulation as polyeurethane. Polystyrene is glued in to a steel door which meanss there can be voids that aren’t necessarily filled. You will see polystyrene as the insulation in most garage doors with an R Value of <10.
- Polyeurethane pushes away moisture. It is about twice the R Factor per inch as polystyrene. It also adheres to the steel better which means it goes into every crack and crevice and fills up all voids. The best insulated garage doors are going to be polyurethane.
5. My garage door is broken – how do I figure out what’s wrong with it?
The 3 most common garage door repairs that we see are broken springs, busted garage door cables, and gear kits going out in garage door openers.
- Spring Repairs – If you look at your springs it should be pretty apparent if one is busted. A lot of times people actually have one busted spring and do not realize it until the second one busts (if it’s a double stall garage door). You will know right away it’s the spring if it’s extremely difficult to lift garage your door. A technician should have on stock all wire sizes for professional grade springs to make sure it’s replaced correctly and safely.
- Gear Kits – You’ll know a gear kit is out when you press your garage door opener button and you can hear it running but nothing is moving. A gear kit can go out from old age, lots of use, or potentially because your garage door isn’t running properly. Your door may not be running properly if it’s heavy to lift, your rollers are going bad (rusty or bearings start clicking), ball bearings , your garage door sections could be sagging from not enough struts. These things all cause more wear and tear on your garage door opener to do it’s job.
- Cable Repairs – Most of the time it’s obvious you have a busted cable because your garage door will be all the way up on one side (crooked in the opening). If this is the case please call a professional because it can be very dangerous to fix and could cause further damage to the tracks and sections because the garage door is under extreme tension. DO NOT PULL OFF THE OTHER CABLE! To avoid this in the future inspect your cables for fraying and make sure they’re not rusty. If you see they are rusty it’d be a good idea to have them replaced before they do bust.
These are just the most common garage door repairs we see, but it doesn’t mean there couldn’t be something else going on with your garage door or opener. Call a professional technician to diagnosis the repair as there are many parts and pieces that go in to a garage door running smoothly, and they will be able to make sure there’s no other underlying cause for the damage.
