Garage Doors » Garage door repair

Garage Door Repair: Is DIY Possible?

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:45:56 +0000

Garage door repair guides are difficult to find. Maybe this happens because usually garage doors repairing needs a specialist. Besides, for most maintenance and fixing operations, more than one person will be required, so a garage door owner will be forced to seek for help from neighbors or family. Many accidents may happen if garage door parts are not manipulated with great care. We wouldn’t advise anybody to attempt replacing a garage door torsion spring by himself, only to give you one example.

At least in the United States there are companies providing complete garage door services, and in most areas they promise to offer same day service.

The Dangers of DIY Garage Door Repairing Projects

First of all, you probably know already that overhead garage doors operate on the principle of spring tension. This means that the power for moving the door up and down is supplied by heavy springs which accumulate tension. In time, they may get loose and fail in operating, or they may even get broken. It’s dangerous to attempt replacing torsion springs by yourself, first because you don’t have the experience, and second because the tools required to do it properly may be expensive or very hard to find. What you can do by yourself:

check the tracks to see if there’s accumulated dirt which may prevent smooth sliding of the garage door. If it is required, you can clean the tracks with a household detergent.
check the spring mounting brackets to see if they are tight. If you discover any loosen screws, you may use a screwdriver to tighten them.
visually check the rollers and the pulleys to see if they are broken.

Because the torsion springs have so much power, you could easily get injured when attempting to replace them, so it’s much better to seek for professional garage door repair help.

Garage Door Springs

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:16:24 +0000

Garage door springs replacement is always a challenge for the owner. First of all, springs are the first parts that break at a garage door, due to their intense level of wear. Luckily, you don’t have to throw away and replace your garage doors if this happens. It is enough to change the torsion springs and things will be back to normal.

Tips for Replacing Garage Door Springs

Change the springs as a set, even though one of them might still be good. Actually you never know with such devices like springs, when they are going to break. Since one of them has broken, what makes you think the other one would still last for years, despite the fact that both door springs had to support the same efforts and tensions, thus weakening them both, even if only one breaks at a point in time.
Torsion springs replacement is a delicate operation, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, and you don’t have the proper tools, then you’d better leave it up to the specialists and forget the do-it-yourself mentality which drives you into trouble every now and then. Springs accumulate a high level of tension, and it’s easy for you to get injured when trying to extract the spring from its place. All that tension will give the wire a huge harming potential.
If you insist to change those springs yourself, make sure you buy appropriate springs, that match the weight of the garage door. The shop assistants can clear up this issue for you, all you need to know is the make and model of your garage door, if not the weight (which has to be specified in the technical documentation, somewhere).
Beware that although the wire size, winding diameter, and length can be different, springs of different geometry may have equivalent torque characteristics, which means that you can replace your garage doors springs with a new set that has the same torque, which is the most important characteristic of a spring, be it for a garage door or not.
When you measure the old springs in order to purchase new ones, make sure the measurements are done with the springs in relaxed position, otherwise you’ll screw everything up. Pay attention to the fact that the garage door springs never unwind to the full, even at the top-of-travel, thus making it difficult for you to measure it correctly, if it’s not broken yet.
Check the winding cones to see of you need right or left hand wound springs. Although you might get a replacement from the merchant in case you buy the wrong type of springs, you never know, so you’d better make sure you don’t make this foolish mistake.

If all these seem a bit too complicated for you, get your phone and call the service to replace your garage door springs.

Garage Doors Maintenance

admin — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:31:10 +0000

Garage door maintenance should be included in your weekend to-do list at least a couple of times a year. Your garage doors get a lot more use than you may realize. In an average household a garage door typically is opened and closed 10-20 times per day. Over a year that’s a lot of opening and closings. Left un-maintained garage doors will eventually fail causing not only inconvenience, but possibly even damage or harm to your vehicles, your home and even to yourself. Consequently it is important to perform garage door maintenance at least twice a year.

Garage Door Maintenance – Torsion Springs and Rollers There are a number of mechanical aspects of a garage door that should be checked. Examine the garage door rollers, torsion springs and metal brackets that attach the garage door to the house. Make sure they are all securely fastened and that the rollers turn smoothly in the garage door tracks.

If the rollers are not turning smoothly examine them to determine if they are broken or just simply need a lubricant. If they appear damaged replace them. They are typically easy to remove. If they are just sticking a little, apply some silicon based lubricant to them.

Garage Door Maintenance – Tracks

As part of the garage door maintenance process it is also important to examine the tracks and make sure the sections that are bolted together are flush with each other. Frequently a bolt will loosen up that holds the tracks together. If this happens, the tracks may become slightly skewed from each other, or the loose bolt may protrude in the track area, causing the door rollers to sometimes catch on them. This can cause added torque on the garage door opener which may trigger it to reverse direction. Simply tighten up any loose track bolts and make sure the track sections are flush. It is also a good idea to oil the garage door tracks with motor oil, e.g. 10W40. Use a rag and simply wipe them down.

Also, while examining the garage door tracks use a level to make sure they are level. They should be fastened to the garage door opening such that they are parallel with it. If they are not, adjust them appropriately so that they are.

Garage Door Maintenance – Springs

As part of the garage door maintenance process you should also examine the springs and make sure they are fastened solidly to the garage door and garage door frame. Manually open and close the garage door and see if the door feels extremely heavy while lifting or requires extra effort to close. If it does, then the springs need adjusting. The springs should be adjusted such that when the garage door is lifted halfway open, it stays halfway open. It should not move on its own either up or down, without additional pressure being applied to it. Note: Garage door springs under tension can be quite dangerous and thus adjusting garage door springs should be left to a professional.

It is also a good idea to wipe down the springs with a little motor oil to make sure they do not catch when opening or closing the garage door.

Check the base of the garage door to make sure there is no rust or decay, pending if it is a metal or wood garage door. Also check the weather-stripping to see if it is damaged. If it does not need replacing, at least wipe it down with a vinyl cleaner to protect it from UV damage and to keep it flexible and pliable.

With these few garage door maintenance tips, your garage doors should continue to operate smoothly for months to come.

For more information on building a garage addition see HomeAdditionPlus.com’s Garage Addition Bid Sheet at: http://www.homeadditionplus.com/Garage%20Addition%20Bid%20Sheet.htm.

About the Author: Over the past 20+ years Mark Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. For more information about Home Improvement and Home Additions, and Home Remodeling and Repair visit homeadditionplus.com and homeaddition.blogspot.com.

Garage Door Rough Openings

admin — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 08:35:09 +0000

Garage Door Rough Openings

Tip! Almost all garage door openers make noises when you operate them, but there are some models specifically designed to be quiet. If your garage is under a bedroom or a study room, then you need garage door openers with very quiet belt openers.

One of the most confusing aspects of homebuilding can be the rough opening for an overhead garage door. It is one of the most frequent questions I am asked.

The rough opening for a garage door, simply put, is the actual size of the door itself. For example, if the garage door is a 7′0″ x 16′0″, then that is the size the rough opening should be framed to. This is also what the opening in the foundation should be. The studs and cripples will then stop right at the edge of the foundation.

The foundation usually drops 8″ to allow the concrete floor to be poured over the top of it. This has to be accounted for when figuring the length of the cripples to get the right height of the overhead door header. Normally the floor is poured 3″ below the top of the foundation wall. If the overhead door is 7′ then 4 and 1/2″ is subtracted from that height. This is the 3″ drop and 1 1/2″ for the bottom
plate. Your total cripple length would be 6′ 7 1/2″.

Tip! There are some websites on the internet which provide advice on repairing garage doors and garage door openers. They provide information about the general maintenance and for some troubleshooting.

Once the floor is poured, the door jambs can be installed. The width of these jamb pieces vary with the size of the wall and what the wall is finished with (brick, siding, dryvit, etc). The header piece is installed first, then the two side pieces. These go from the header to the finished concrete floor. Once the jambs are in the door can be installed. With the door installed the door stops are then put on either with or without weatherstripping.

If you know the door size of your overhead door, you know the rough opening. From there its determining where to start and stop your framing.

About the Author: Mike Merisko has been a carpenter for 26 years. Most of those years were spent in the homebuilding and remodeling industries. He was also in business as a carpentry and general contractor. While that is his forte, he also has experience in bridge building, commercial construction, and exhibit building which is how he earns his living these days. You can browse through articles by him and others at his website http://www.sawkerfs.com or visit his blog at http://www.sawkerfs.blogspot.com

Tip! In the market two types of garage door openers are available namely jackshaft type and trolley type. Even though the jackshaft type occupies less space, the trolley type is more popular.

Garage Door Repair

admin — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 10:16:26 +0000

Can you make your garage door repair by yourself?

Garage doors break and need repairing every now and then, despite the good maintenance you may be keeping. Repair is a must, as you need to use your car and you have no place to keep it outside the garage. For simple problems, you could almost certainly do some of the fixing yourself. If you are looking for a powerful opener, a garage door with at least 3/4 horsepower may be your best option. This garage door opener can lift the heaviest doors easily. Here are some common garage door problems you can repair yourself:

Your garage door goes up and down by itself. No, it’s not the bogeyman. The explanation is actually simple – there must be someone in your neighborhood that uses a security or access code similar to the one you are using. This can cause interference with your radio receiver. Radios in police cars and airplanes also have the same effect. How do you make sure this does not happen again? Simply change your code.

The process for changing a security or access code differs from one garage door opener to another. As a general rule, you just need to hold the transmitter close to the opener’s box and push a certain transmitter button for thirty seconds (consult your manufacturer’s manual to find out what button to hold down). Most openers that are new models are equipped with a rolling code that changes automatically once the transmitter is used.

Tip! It is estimated that a garage door opener’s springs have to be replaced once in every 5-7 years. Frequent servicing of garage door openers prevent problems and may also increase the life span of the opener.

Your garage door goes halfway down and back up when you try to close it. In this case, you might be using a garage door that has a safety sensor system that detects if there is any obstruction to the door coming down and tells the machine to pull the door back up. Your door automatically opens up again when it senses any obstruction – a bucket or broom, maybe. Just remove the obstruction and your door should again work perfectly.

Tip! Here are a number of factors to consider when choosing a garage door.

This problem may also happen if your sensor’s lenses are dirty, dusty or has a condensation built up (sometimes spider’s web). The system will think that something is in the way, causing the door not to close. Keep the lenses clean.

Nothing happens when you press the transmitter. If you suspect that your transmitter is not working, you may want to change the battery or look for the power source to see if it is working. If this does not fix it, your transmitter might be damaged and needs to be replaced. Call the service company.

Garage Doors provides detailed information on Garage Doors, Garage Door Openers, Garage Door Repair, Overhead Garage Doors and more. Garage Doors is affiliated with Garage Door Opener Parts.