Springs Break at first cold weather......

It is a common thing for garage door springs to break when the first cold front comes in. If your door is over five years old and you do not want to be trapped in the garage during an in opportune time, then get your springs replaced and have routine maintenance done so you can save your self time and headaches.

There are two main components to a garage door: the door itself and the opener.
We'll start with the actual door.Repairing a Garage DoorOverhead garage doors, whether they roll up in sections or swing up in one piece, operate on spring tension. The door moves on metal tracks on the garage walls, and a heavy spring or springs provide the power. In most cases when the door doesn't work easily, repairs are fairly simple.
Here are some helpful repair tips:

• Step 1: Check the metal tracks inside the garage. Look at the mounting brackets that hold the tracks to the walls. If they're loose, tighten the bolts or screws at the brackets. Working inside the garage with the garage door closed, examine the tracks for dents, crimps, or flat spots. If there are any damaged spots, pound them out with a rubber mallet, or with a hammer and a block of scrap wood. If the tracks are badly damaged, they should be replaced.


• Step 2: Check the tracks with a level to make sure they're properly aligned. Horizontal tracks should slant slightly down toward the back of the garage; with roll-up doors, the vertical sections of track should be exactly plumb. Both tracks must be at the same height on the garage walls. If the tracks are not properly aligned, loosen but do not remove the screws or bolts that hold the mounting brackets, and tap the tracks carefully into position. Recheck the tracks with the level to make sure they're in the right position; then tighten the screws or bolts at the mounting brackets.
  Roll-up garage doors have tracks that curve from vertical to horizontal; both parts must be aligned. Make sure thedoor sections are securely hinged.


• Step 3: Clean the tracks with concentrated household cleaner to remove dirt and hardened grease. Clean the rollers thoroughly, and wipe both tracks and rollers dry.


• Step 4: Lubricate both the tracks and the rollers using garage door lubricant spray or powdered graphite in the tracks, and household oil or silicone spray on the rollers. If there are any pulleys, lubricate them with the same lubricant you used on the rollers.


• Step 5: Check for loose hardware, and tighten as needed. On swing-up doors, check the plates where the spring is mounted to be sure the screws are tight, and tighten any loose screws. On roll-up doors, check the hinges that hold the sections of the door together; tighten any loose screws, and replace any damaged hinges. Sagging at one side of the door can often be corrected by servicing the hinges. If a screw hole is enlarged, replace the screw with a longer one of the same diameter, and use a hollow fiber plug, dipped in carpenters' glue, with the new screw. If the wood is cracked at a hinge, remove the hinge and fill the cracks and the screw holes with wood filler. Let the filler dry and then replace the hinge. If possible, move the hinge onto solid wood.
  Swing-up garage doors move on horizontal tracks. The power spring is mounted on the door frame and hooked to the door.


• Step 6: Check the springs. On swing-up doors, the spring on each side is hooked into holes or notches. To adjust the tension, move the spring hook to the next hole or notch. On roll-up doors, the spring on each side is controlled by a spring cable on a pulley. To adjust the tension of this type of spring, pull the cable farther through the plate above the door, and reknot the end to maintain the tension.

Caution: If a roll-up door has only one torsion spring, at the center of the door, do not try to repair it. The tension is so great that the spring could injure you. For doors with this type of spring, call a professional repair service.
On roll-up doors, the spring tension is controlled by a cable on a pulley. To adjust the tension, pull the cable and reknot the end to shorten or lengthen the cable.Sometimes the problem with your garage door can be traced to the opener.

Cold Weather Blues.....

Don't get caught in the cold trapped outside your garage or inside your garage door because of a broken spring or any other problem your door could have. If your door is over 5 years old, I recommend having routine maintenance done and a spring change to prevent a garage door repair in an inopportune time.

• Garage doors open – garage doors close. Cars go in. Cars go out. With the garage door closed, the cars are safe and dry. But what if that door didn’t open?
  With the hustle and bustle of life today, things like garage doors usually get taken for granted. And if they suddenly stopped working, think of how fast they’d occupy our minds. We’d certainly do whatever we could to get them fixed ASAP, wouldn’t we?
  But to fix garage doors, we need knowledge – knowledge most of us probably don’t have. And that’s why we’ve assembled this glossary of garage door terms and definitions, so you’ll know what’s going on when that repairman or builder starts throwing garage door jargon at you. So read on, and get a quick education. It’ll be a lesson well learned.
  
• Astragal Astragal is the name of the weather-stripping that runs along the bottom of the garage door, stopping any drafts or rain from entering the garage.
  
• Back hangs Back hangs are the vertical supports that hold the horizontal track in place, and stop the door from moving around in the track.
  
• Backroom Relating to garages, the backroom is NOT the room where you go to play cards with the boys. It actually refers to the amount of space required to install a garage door, and is measured from the door to the back of the horizontal track.
  
• Bottom bracket There are two bottom brackets, or corner brackets, on a garage door – one on the right, and one on the left. The lifting cables are attached to the bottom brackets on most sectional doors.
  
• Bracket-mounted track Sometimes, a vertical track is attached to a doorjamb with angle brackets. This is referred to as a bracket-mounted track.
  
• Cable drums Cable drums are an important part of a tension spring system. As the garage door opens, the lifting cable winds around the grooves in the cable drum. It keeps the lifting cable in line, so it doesn’t get tangled.
  
• Cable safety device A cable safety device stops the garage door from falling if the cable breaks.
  
• Cable stop A cable stop is another safety device, attached to the end of the cable, that stops it from slipping through the drum.
  
• Cable The cable, or lifting cable, connects the bottom bracket to the counterbalance mechanism.
  
• Center hinge The center hinge is a flat hinge mounted on the door section that allows it to negotiate the curve between the vertical and horizontal tracks.
  
• Center support bearing The center support bearing is mounted in the middle of, and above, the door, supporting the spring shaft.
  
• Clearances You’ll need to know your clearances before you start your garage door installation. That refers to how much backroom, headroom and sideroom, or the distance around the walls of the garage, is needed to efficiently install your door.
  
• Curtain The curtain refers to the face of the door that goes up and down, or side-to-side.
  
• Cycle One cycle of a garage door goes from when it’s fully closed, to fully open, and then back again to fully closed. Torsion spring doors are rated by how many cycles they’re supposed to safely complete in their lifetime, for example 25,000, 50,000 or 100,000 cycles.
  
• Dead load A dead load refers to a load that doesn’t move, like a garage door as it rests in the closed position.
  
• Door frame The door frame holds the garage door with two vertical pieces and a horizontal header, or top piece.
  
• Door movement Door movement refers to how much room a door has to lift in relation to the inside measurements of the garage. Door movement may be standard lift, full vertical lift, high lift, or low headroom.
  
• Door size When specifying a door size, you give the width first, then the height.
  
• Double-thick glass Double-thick glass is around 1/8” thick.
  
• Extension springs Extension springs are one of the two types of spring systems used to carry the weight of a garage door as it lifts. They stretch on either side of the door, running from a pulley attached to the door, to the rear track hanger.
  
• Flag bracket A flag bracket connects the vertical and horizontal tracks.
  
• Flush design A garage door with a flush design is flat, with no indentations or grooves.
  
• Galvanizing Galvanizing is the process of coating steel to prevent rusting. All steel garage doors are galvanized.
  
• Garage door opener Garage door openers consist of all the hardware that combines to open and close a garage door. A garage door opener can be operated automatically by remote control.
  
• Garage building plans Garage building plans consist of all the garage blueprints and designs that, when followed carefully, will produce the garage of your dreams.
  
• Garage door screens Garage door screens are similar to any regular screen door, but they’re big enough to fit in the opening of a garage door, keeping out bugs and dust.
  
• Gauge Gauge refers to the thickness of steel. The higher the number, the thinner the steel.
  
• Hinges Hinges are used to connect the sections of a garage door, allowing the door to bend as it runs up the vertical track and onto the horizontal track.
  
• Horizontal track The horizontal track runs parallel to the garage ceiling, and supports and guides the door as it reaches its fully-open position.
  
• Insulation The insulation in a garage door can be made of polystyrene foam or polyurethane filler. Polyurethane insulates better than polystyrene, but polystyrene lasts longer.
  
• Jamb seal The jamb seal is the weather-stripping that runs around the door jamb, stopping drafts and rain from entering the garage.
  
• Jambs The jambs are the vertical pieces on either side of a door frame.
  
• Lift-handle A lift handle is sometimes installed on a garage door for use if manual operation is required.
  
• Lites Lites are the industry’s word for glass or clear plastic windows in a frame. Some lites are double-glazed for insulation.
  
• Low headroom If your garage ceiling is lower than normal, you may need special low-headroom track hardware accessories.
  
• Muntin A muntin is a piece of material that separates glass panes in a door.
  
• Opening size The opening size refers to the distance between the walls and the doorjambs in a garage door opening.
  
• Overhead garage door An overhead garage door is one that’s built in hinged sections, allowing it to travel up and down tracks as it opens and closes.
  
• Pane A pane refers to one section of a door.
  
• Perimeter seal A perimeter seal kit includes enough weather-stripping to completely surround a garage door.
  
• Photo-electric sensor Photo-electric sensors are required by law for safety reasons. They’re mounted 6” above the ground in the doorway, and will reverse the direction of the door if it hits an obstruction. If the sensor isn’t working, the door won’t work, either.
  
• Pneumatic sensing edge kit A pneumatic sensing edge kit serves the same purpose as a photo-electric sensor. It consists of an air hose that runs along the bottom of the garage door that’ll reverse the direction of the door if it comes into contact with an obstruction.
  
• Portable garage Portable garages are made of UV-resistant and fire-retardant tarps or plastic sheets supported by metal tubing, that’ll house oversize items, like boats or RVs.
  
• Radius The radius is the curved part of a track between the vertical and horizontal pieces.
  
• Rain stop A rain stop, or water stop, is a piece that runs across the garage floor, and holds the door flush against the outside finish when it’s closed.
  
• Rear track hangers Rear track hangers attach the horizontal track to the ceiling, thus stabilizing it.
  
• Roller assembly The roller assembly consists of an axle with a wheel attached, that runs up and down the track.
  
• Rollers The rollers are the wheel part of the roller assembly that roll freely using ball-bearings.
  
• Safety spring containment Safety spring containment is a system found in extension springs, whereby cables run through the inside of the coil, holding it in place in case it breaks, thus avoiding injury.
  
• Sectional doors Sectional doors are just that – doors made up of sections hinged together, thus allowing it to bend around the track as it opens and closes.
  
• Shaft bearings Shaft bearings support the weight of the counterbalance system against the weight of the door.
  
• Sideroom Sideroom is a measurement you need when you’re figuring out what size door system you need. It represents the distance from the door, back to the closest obstruction.
  
• Spring assembly The spring assembly is the hardware that transfers the weight of the door to the counterbalance system.
  
• Stop molding The stop molding is the wooden or plastic piece that’s attached to the outside of the door jamb, to seal out weather and light.
  
• Top header seal The top header seal is the piece of weather-stripping that runs along the top of the garage door.
  
• Torsion spring counterbalance assembly The torsion spring counterbalance assembly is all the hardware that combines to evenly distribute the weight of the garage door as it opens and closes.
  
• Torsion springs Torsion springs are the other type of spring system (as opposed to extension springs) that aid in raising and lowering a garage door. They’re mounted above the door, and are loosened and tightened by the cables as they wind around the drum when the door is opened and closed.
  
• Track The track is the part that holds and guides the roller assembly. It runs vertically to the top of the garage door, then horizontally parallel to the ceiling.
  
• Winding sleeves The winding sleeves are the hardware that convert the tension as it enters the tension spring, thus distributing it into a manageable weight for the spring system.
  
• Windload Windload refers to the force of the wind as it hits a garage door in the closed position. In hurricane or high-wind areas, doors are required to carry up to 110mph windload resistance.

That’s the basics, folks. We’ve included all the important garage door springs and parts so you’ll know what you need for your garage door installation, whether you’re doing it yourself, or hiring a professional. If you want complete garage door packages, then go online – there’s a wide variety of styles available.
These days, garage door manufacturers are up-to-date with your demands, continually creating better looking and better functioning garage doors. So, no matter whether you’re remodeling or building a new house, and no matter how far out you might think your ideas are for a garage and garage door design, there’s probably one waiting for you. So go ahead –start that project. Garage doors today are as efficient and aesthetically-pleasing as ever. And when your garage is finished, your car will be safe and dry – and so will you!

When to call a garage door company......:)

My door opener just hums and will not start.

• Check your starting capacitor. This is the part that gives the opener an extra boost to start. Some times these parts leak or smoke when they go bad. If this happens most times the opener hums and will not start.
  


• Check to see the opener is not bound up. The screw on a Genie should always turn easy.


• Check to make sure that the carraige is engaged to the opener.

My garage door hits the floor to close then opens right back up.

• Your front limit switch is either bad or out of adjustment. - Your down limit setting is out of adjustment.
  


• Your door is hitting an object when closing.

Installing an opener on a door that did not have an opener before.........

• You have bought a brand new home that has metal (steel or aluminum) hollow pan (insulated or non-insulated) garage door(s) but no electric opener(s). You call a company to install a new opener or you install one yourself.
  
  Runs great!
  
  But there is something you should know:
  
  


• Without knowing the proper way to install an opener and a door together. You would not know that you could be missing two important pieces that will save you hundreds of dollars in repairs. The persons installing the doors will save money by putting the thinnest grade of door with as least amount of parts necessary. The company installing the opener do not care enough to tell you that you could avoid future problems by having an operator support bracket and a strut or brace installed on the door. Without these pieces, the top panel will be damaged from the constant pulling up and down on the door. Which will lead to replacing the panel, which could cost you hundreds in repairs.
  


• This problem normally occurs within the first three to five years.
  


• If a repair call on one door or opener is over $350.00, you are paying to much.. The most expensive repairs should range in between $250.00 - $350.00. If there is that much damage, then you should replace the door or opener. Or the company is over charging you for the repairs you are having done. (Considering that the panel is the most expensive part of a door).
  


• Routine maintenance is very important in keeping your door running smoothly and safely. This should be done once a year.
  


• You should inspect your door once a month for any problems or inconsistencies that may have developed.

My remote has stopped working or has short distance.

• Check your battery. You will be surprised how many times most calls I've gone on that this was the only problem.
  
• Your RF coil in your remote could be off freq.
  
• Your receiver could be bad.
  
• Check your dip switches in your remote. Make sure your receiver matches what's in your remote . Not all remotes have dip switches. Refer to you user manual.
  
• Your contacts in your remote could be dirty.
  
• A remote can wear out and need to be replaced. 3-5 years of use
  
• If you can get an original remote, do so, they work better than universals and get better range.
  
• If you have an old remote that they no longer produce, I recommend a universal receiver kit made by Liftmaster. As long as you have a working wall button. It will work.

My door won't close or go's a few inches stops and comes back up.

• Openers sometimes have infra-red sensors that mount on either side of the garage door a few inches off the floor.
  
• Check that they can "see" one another. If they cannot the opener thinks there is something in the way of the garage door and will not close.
  
• Make sure the wires that go to the back of the sensors are not broken.
  
• Make sure bugs have not made a home in the lens part of the sensor. Here in Texas mud doppers love to put mud in these lenses and make a home of them. Spiders also like to build webs or even leaves blown in from outside can cause the infrared to malfunction.
  
• Make sure they are not in shock. Voltages higher than normal, like lighting storms and power company voltage spikes can "shock" an infra-red. It will cause it to not work and not allow the door to close.
  
• The garage door itself can have problems also that can prevent the door from closing properly. It is just a reminder to check the safety beams to be sure that this is not the problem. Routine maintenance would also be recommended to ensure proper garage door function.

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