Once the holidays commence, your garage door gets a workout as the door repeatedly opens and closes for seasonal outings like school plays, parties, and shopping trips. Before you put another busy holiday season's strain on your old garage door, schedule a thorough inspection of the entire door from the springs to the sensors.
Read on to learn some of the areas your garage door specialist checks out during an inspection or maintenance call.
Safety Mechanism Performance
Depending on the model of your garage door, the door includes safety mechanisms to protect people, pets, and property from injury. Your garage door expert checks each of these safety mechanisms for proper operation and installation.
The garage door repair person checks components like the manual emergency release handle. The manual release handle allows you to rescue a trapped pet or detach the door from the automatic opener during power outages.
The manual release handle should have the following attributes:
- Be colored bright red
- Be easy to tell apart from the rest of the garage-opening system
- Be installed six-feet or lower from the floor surface
- Operate as designed
A garage door inspection includes a check of the automatic reverse mechanism, which is required on all garage doors made after 1991. The reverse mechanism should immediately reverse upon contact with an object. If the sensitivity of the reverse mechanism must be adjusted, a professional must perform this task. Your garage door pro works with the settings until the safety feature engages properly.
Garage door installers equip contemporary garage doors with a supplemental safety system that may include photoelectric eyes or door-edge sensors. Your garage door inspection includes recalibration and adjustment of photoelectric eyes and sensors.
Warning Labels
Your garage door inspector looks for at least four warning labels on or around the door to warn people of the hazards posed by the heavy door and its high-tension springs. Each of the four warning labels offers cautionary information about one the following potential garage door dangers:
- Spring assembly
- General door hazards
- Wall control button
- High tension components
Additional warning labels may be required for specialty garage doors.
Garage Door Opener Motor Status
If your garage door is running slow, the motor in your garage door opener may be wearing out or is not adequately powered to lift the door. Your garage door inspection includes a checkup of the opener motor condition.
The garage door pro checks for worn parts and lubrication of the opener motor. The expert inspection of the garage door opener components includes a test to see if the motor and the dimensions of your garage door are mismatched.
For example, a 1/2-horsepower opener motor lifts up to 300 pounds. A one-horsepower opener motor lifts up to 400 pounds. Your garage door pro may recommend upgrading your garage door opener to a more powerful unit for faster door operation if the door weight and the opener motor are mismatched.
Mechanical Corrosion or Damage
Coastal air and high humidity corrode mechanical components of garage doors. Long pieces of lumber or pipe can bang against garage door parts when people are moving materials in and out of the garage. Any damage to your garage door's components reduces the safety and reliability of the entire garage door system.
When you schedule an inspection now, your garage door specialist checks all of the parts of your garage door system for rust, metal degradation, loose connections, and blunt-force damage. Corrosion and other damages to garage door parts are caught early and corrected before your garage door fails. Your garage door pro can recommend preventive measures to keep corrosion and component damage at a minimum in the future.
Garage Door Panel Condition
A thorough garage door inspection includes a good, long look at the front and back panels of your garage door. The specialist examines the garage door panels for signs of the following:
- Cracks and holes
- Peeling or cracking finish
- Dents and deformities
- Material fatigue or separation
For example, the specialist looks at the windows to ensure the glass panes are secure in their frames and not likely to pop loose or crack from poor glazing. If your garage door panels are severely degraded, your garage door specialist may recommend that you order a safe, new garage door made of durable, insulated materials.
Battery Backups
A new California law states that all automatic garage doors, after July 1st, 2019, need a backup battery so that a garage door can work if the power goes out. Your inspector will ensure that you have one and that it works.
Roller Shafts, Brackets, Springs, and Chains
During your garage door checkup, the specialist checks all of the hardware that makes your garage door lift and close. The precise hardware that's checked varies from garage door to garage door. The precise components checked on your garage door depend on the type of door mount and opener you have.
If your opener is a chain-driven model, the garage door pro checks and lubricates the chain. The pro tests the belt on a belt-driven garage door opener and the threaded rod on a screw-driven opener.
The specialist checks all of the brackets, tracks, trolleys, springs, and roller shafts in the garage door system for stress and failure potential. After the inspection and subsequent repairs, you have peace of mind knowing your garage door is in tip-top shape for all of your holiday comings and goings.
Schedule your complete garage door inspection in the Long Beach, California region
by contacting Edgemont Garage Doors. Be prepared for the upcoming holiday season with a well-maintained, smooth-operating, safe garage door.
