AHWATUKEE GARAGE DOOR REPAIR: GARAGE DOOR MAINTENANCE

The team at Ahwatukee Garage Door Repair in Ahwatukee, AZ knows that the garage door is an important feature of your property, whether you have a commercial or residential property. Therefore, maintenance is also very important, and it is not something that can be overlooked. The garage door can end up taking up a great deal of the exterior part of your property. Some people have huge doors! Anything that you use every single day needs to be maintained, and the garage door is no exception. The bigger it is, the more noticeable problems might be to your neighbors. Think about it – if you have a garage door that takes up a large amount of your property, and it gets stuck halfway, neighbors are going to notice. This is especially true for forward facing garages. And while a small garage door that is towards the back of your property might not be noticeable if it is off track, it can still be dangerous. These are things that make maintenance very important. You want to extend the life of your garage door whenever possible, too. Here, you will discover ways to keep your garage door in good condition for as long as possible. Have a look!

The Basics: Do a Visual Check

This is something that anyone can do, even if a person doesn’t have experience with garage doors. Simply look at your garage door. Watch it open and close, and see if anything looks as though it is off. Does the garage door shake more than it should while opening, or rattle, if you will? Do you notice any bending or warping in the tracks? Is there an obstruction in the track? If you can see that anything is off, it can ultimately cause problems in the operation of your garage door. If you can see a gap in a spring, for instance, this is a major issue that needs to be placed in the hands of an expert. Keep your eyes open when your garage door is opening and closing, at least once in a while. Also, make note of any mold spores, specifically on wood garage doors. Keep everything clean to prevent harmful growth!

Check Bolts to Ensure They Are Tight 

Hardware can, over time, become looser. Bolts should be carefully screwed into place. You should be able to see if anything is loose, for instance, nuts or bolts.

Remove Any Obstruction in the Tracks

We mentioned checking the tracks for obstructions. Ensure that if there is anything in the way that it is removed. It’s easy to sweep out the garage once in a while, ensuring leaves, sticks and dirt don’t get in the way. You don’t want debris to make its way into your garage door parts, and this is one way to prevent this from happening.

Check the Rollers

Garage door rollers are typically either nylon or steel and they can be expected to last for a few years – usually up to seven. Then, once they have lasted their expected lifespan, it is time to have them replaced. Either way, you should check them out every so often. Look for signs of wear, chipping or even cracking. If you do notice any of these concerns, it is a wise idea to change the rollers. Of course, if you don’t have the appropriate experience, it’s best to hire an expert.

Look at the Cables

There is a lot of tension associated with cables, so any mistakes can cause serious injury. However, it is safe to just look at them and do a visual exam. Notice broken strands where the cable is connected to the bottom roller bracket.

Do a Test For the Reverse Feature

It is quite simple to test your garage door to make sure all is working properly in terms of the reverse feature. Place an object in the path of the garage door. Does it reverse automatically on its own? It should, upon sensing something in its path. If something is wrong, and you aren’t sure what to do, reach out to an expert.

Lubricate or Oil Parts

Parts of your garage door need oil and lubrication so that they function correctly. But you need to be careful of excess grease hardening. Use a silicone based lubricant on the springs. Chains and screws tend to do fine with hardware store lubricant but if in doubt ask your garage door manufacturer.

Look At Weather Stripping

Weather stripping is important. It helps out with things like insulation. The weather stripping is generally at the bottom of the garage door, and you can see if it is cracking or ripping at all. This is something that can be purchased from your local home improvement store.

Ensure Everything is Balanced

If a garage door isn’t balanced properly, then it will fail to function correctly. One can check the balance of the garage door by disconnecting the door from the opener system. Upon disconnecting it, try lifting the door physically. It should lift with ease. When you close the door, it shouldn’t be problematic for you. If you are straining yourself or if something doesn’t seem right, then it is a good idea to call in a professional to take a look at it.

It is important to stay on top of garage door maintenance. Of course, you can always just hire an expert to come out to do a safety inspection for you. Doing a Google search for a local garage door technician in your city should reveal plenty of results. Hire a person that is licensed and insured so that you can trust that you are protected when they do their job. It is so important to make note of any issues with your garage door so that they can be fixed right away. The faster problems are resolved, the longer your garage door is likely to last. Keep it in good condition. Keep it maintained! Hopefully these tips help you to enjoy a long lasting, safe to use garage door for many years to come.

Broken Garage Door Springs-How to Stay Safe

If you have a broken garage door spring, you can’t continue using your garage. If you do, you may end up causing harm to yourself or anyone else who may be in the car with you when the garage comes crashing down. This is inevitably what will occur if you continue using your garage with worn springs. Someone who has the training and experience to do it should, only handle making any type of repairs or adjustments to springs, torsion or extension. We understand that it is one thing to tell someone to remain safe and to actually tell them how they can do it. If you’re going to remain safe from the harm of broken springs you’ll have to be proactive. At Ahwatukee Garage Door Repair we suggest that you have your garage door regularly serviced. Since a garage door has plenty of moving parts, it is best to allow someone with proven experience to handle any repairs that need to be made. It is impossible for you to go on using your garage without occasionally having something go wrong. If you or family members are using your garage every day, several times a day, this is going to cause wear and tear on your springs. The weight of the door is held up by the springs and since the door is heavy, it is going to wear on the springs, eventually. You do not want to let the springs get so worn that they break. What you should do is make sure you can have the springs repaired before it reaches this point. This is why it is in your best interest to rely on the services of a professional garage door service to handle the repairs for you.

Avoid DIY Spring Repairs

Perhaps you would rather handle the repairs to your garage door springs on your own. This is commendable but it isn’t something that we would recommend. There are several reasons that we would recommend that you only allow a trained professional to handle this for you.

Not Making All Necessary Repairs

We often find that when homeowners repair their own springs they only repair one and not both. The spring that isn’t replaced will have to do all of the work of carrying the weight of the door. This can be problematic because the weight needs to be distributed evenly between both sets of springs. When you only repair one spring, it causes other parts of your garage door to work harder, causing more stress on those parts too. Now you can probably see why we would suggest that you allow a trained service technician to handle this job for you. A trained professional will know how to effectively repair both sets of garage door springs. It eliminates all of the other problems that can occur when you only repair one spring at a time.

Missing a Step in the Process

If you are not a trained garage door service technician, you could easily leave out a step in the repair process. If this occurs, this means that the job that you perform would be useless. You must adhere to every step of the repair process in order for the springs to be properly repaired. If you leave out a single step, it could still mean that your spring will eventually break. A trained professional will know all of the necessary steps and they will also perform a thorough inspection of the spring once the job has been completed to ensure that every step was taken.

Putting Too Much Pressure on Your Garage Door Opener

The weight of the door has to be evenly distributed in order for the other parts of the garage to work efficiently. When they are not one of the most important features of your garage door will suffer, the automatic opener. The opener is what helps to open and close our garage door. When the springs are not counterbalanced, they may start to affect the way the opener functions. You may begin to notice that your garage door will start to act as though it will not open or close. This can be avoided and preserve the life of your opener if you call on the services of a qualified garage door service technician.

How a Service Technician Adjusts Springs

In order to adjust your springs they will begin by turning off the garage door opener with the garage door closed. They will then secure the door to keep it from opening up while they are making the needed adjustments. They know where all of the parts are and this helps to keep them safe while they are handling the job of adjusting your springs. When a homeowner attempts to make repairs or adjustments to their springs on their own, they run the risk of being harmed or harming themselves if they are not fully aware of where all of the parts are located. When adjusting your garage door springs, the technician will adjust both sides so that the tension is distributed evenly. Again, if only one spring is adjusted and not the others, this means that the other spring will work harder to make up for the loss of the other spring. Finally, the technician will lubricate the springs. They are lubricated so that they will function properly. It is a good idea to make sure that the springs are lubricated several times a year so that they will continue working smoothly. Repairing and adjusting your garage door springs is not a simple chore. It is something that takes a great deal of precision and know-how. Every single step needs to be taken in order for the job to be performed effectively.

If you are not currently having your garage door serviced annually, this is a good reason to do so. If you want to be certain that your garage door does not fall down and cause you or anyone else any harm, you’ll need to make sure that they are always in good working condition.

 

HOW TO FIND A GOOD GARAGE DOOR SERVICE

Your garage door is an integral part of your home or maybe even your business. This massive wall of wood or metal, guards one of the biggest rooms you have; your garage! We use our garages to park our cars in, house our water heater, and to keep tools, trash cans, boxes and dozens of other items in. It’s easy to use our garages day in, and day out, and scarcely even think about anything going wrong. Then one day a torsion spring snaps or your opener stops working….talk about panic! Who is going to fix the problem? Are they dependable? Will it cost a lot? Do you need to take time off from work to have this fixed? How do you even know which Ahwatukee, AZ garage door repair shop to hire? Don’t worry – just read this post carefully and follow our directions. Ahwatukee Garage Door Repair will spell everything out for you simply so that you can find the right garage door shop for your particular needs.

The cart before the horse

We are going to do something different. Most people really put the proverbial “cart before the horse” when it comes to finding and using quality garage door repair. Take the Robinsons for example. They had a romantic dinner planned for days. It was celebration time since Mr. Robinson got a big promotion at work. They were dressed to the hilt and leaving early for the restaurant when they noticed that the garage door would not open. Thinking that it was just the remote battery that was low, they tried to open the garage door by pushing the wall button. Nope; no such luck! Their car was trapped in the garage! How would they get to dinner? They thought to call for help but who was open at 7 pm on a Friday night? Should they call a handyman, or a friend? If they call a garage door repair shop, which one is best?

What to really do!

The Robinsons did what most others do; they waited until they had an actual problem before calling a garage door repair shop. The trick is to do your search for one or two local Ahwatukee, AZ garage door repair shops BEFORE you need them. Have them already selected and logged into your smart phone(s) whether you need them now or not. If you never need a repair technician; great! But if you do; a pre-selected, full service, licensed professional is only a quick phone tap away at any moment!

I don’t have time for this!

You may be thinking that you are too busy to find a good garage door repair shop at the moment. The thing is; there will never be a good time to do it, and you certainly DON’T want to put it off and wait until it’s too late, and then scurry around frantically, and end up with shoddy service that you paid way too much for! Start your search using our simple guidelines and you won’t be sorry!

Look for these qualities

Start your calls and notice how the telephone is answered at each shop. Does the staff seem eager to help you, or in a hurry to get you off the phone so that they can get back to checking social media or shopping online? Do they cheerfully answer your questions or do they seem evasive and disinterested?

You’ll want your Ahwatukee, AZ garage door shop to be full service as well as insured, bonded and licensed. Full service means that they offer professional help with every part of your garage door including torsion springs, cables, rollers, tracks, pulleys, photo electric safety eyes, hinges, sections, extension springs, remotes, opener units and more. The last thing you want is to hire a company for one garage door part, only to find out that they can’t service another component.

Insist on round the clock emergency service, and not just lip service! Garage doors are notorious for having problems only on weekends or after-hours; or at least it seems that way! You don’t want to be kept waiting, either. Response times should be fast and the service technician needs to be able to come to your home or business location if your garage is at a commercial site.

Referrals

Referrals are a good thing! People remember good service and they never forget a bad experience. You can learn much by talking to friends, coworkers, family members, and neighbors. Remember that hole-in-the-wall restaurant that turned out to be a good tip? It’s the same with garage door shops. Often the best ones don’t have the silly yellow page ads or the huge billboard sign on the highway; they just quietly go about their business providing quality workmanship at reasonable prices.

BBB

The Better Business Bureau is often thought of as a government agency. It is not. It is a privately owned business of its own that relies on membership fees. Should your garage door shop of choice be a member? No; as long as they don’t have a string of unresolved complaints on their file, they don’t need to have an actual membership. The same goes for Angie’s List. They are a membership service that offers helpful tips and “reports” on their contractor listings in good standing.

More tips

Many of your better garage door repair shops offer extra benefits like 25 point safety inspections, mobile service, free price quotes and warrantied parts and labor. Remember to choose a shop that can service every part of your garage door ensemble including springs, cables, tracks, opener units, remotes and of course, the door itself.

Feel free to call Ahwatukee Garage Door Repair or any other local shop that you feel comfortable working with. Garage door problems can happen at any time so it’s best to be ready by having fast access to a trained and experienced garage door repair technician. Treat your garage door to better repair, replacement, and installation service by working a company that you like and trust.

 

IF YOUR GARAGE DOOR EVER GOES OUT OF WHACK, HERE’S WHAT TO DO!

After your garage door opens and closes thousands of times as the years pass, it’s bound to need at least some attention. There are numerous causes for the trouble you’re having. Some are simple, and some are complicated. Here are some probable issues and solutions.

Basic Garage Door Problems

Examine the cables. Thoroughly inspect your garage door springs to see if they are broken. If they aren’t, take a close look at the cables. A cable could be loose, or it might be broken. If the cabling appears different on one side or the other, then you might require cable repair or replacement.

Does the garage door opener run for only a few seconds, but turn off? If your garage door still doesn’t move, this can happen when your garage door is closed, and the motor tries to lift it, yet it won’t budge. First, what you should do is check the springs. If the springs aren’t the problem, then look at the track for any dirt, grime, or small obstacles. If none of these is the cause, then your garage door might be the type that has a built-in lock engaging accidentally. This is often a concern if you have an older garage door.

Complicated Issues with Garage Door Springs

If one of your garage door springs breaks, it can be sudden, and your garage door will slam down with a bang. The first thing you need to do is to check to see if a spring is broken. If so, the garage door won’t work at all, and you will likely observe that the spring has been severed in pieces. Broken springs must be replaced. They have to be replaced in sets; so if one spring breaks, the second one won’t be far behind. A garage door usually weighs as much as three hundred pounds, so it is nearly impossible ~ and very dangerous ~ to try to raise it. An expert garage door repair specialist is absolutely required to do garage door spring repair or replacement for you. In-depth experience, exceptional skill, exact precision, and maximum safety are needed. Keep in mind that most often, spring repair isn’t possible, and replacement will be required.

There are two basic garage door spring types:

Extension springs go on each side of your garage door, stretched alongside the garage door’s overhead track.

Torsion springs are the kind that are mounted on the header above your garage door, with a round rod that’s connected to the garage door’s sides. Torsion springs are normally thought by the experts to be the best; yet they are also highly dangerous. They should be adjusted or replaced only by an eminently qualified garage door repair technician, who will surely follow proper safety precautions.

Additional Issues that are Very Serious

Does your garage door not go up at all? If that’s the case, then it’s likely that your garage door spring requires expert attention. When either of your garage door springs has broken, the door will soon go on the fritz, and eventually won’t open. Call a garage door repair professional right away.

Perhaps your garage door track is out of alignment. This is bad. The metal track of your garage door must be aligned exactly, or it just won’t move. Are there bends in the rails, or gaps between the rollers and the rails? The considerable weight of the garage door can compound these issues as time goes by, so if your garage door starts to fail, don’t put off servicing it, because it may soon become dangerous. Contact a garage door repair expert immediately.

Unless you’re an engineer, DON’T ATTEMPT to adjust your garage door! If your garage door isn’t correctly serviced, a garage door spring can cause injury, and even death. The garage door bottom brackets, drums, and cables might also need adjusting. Avoid any risks, and keep yourself out of harm’s way! Hire a consummate local professional garage door repair specialist whom you know you can always rely upon. If you live anywhere in Ahwatukee, Arizona, consider choosing to hire a dependable garage door repair technician, such as the mobile specialists on staff at Ahwatukee Garage Door Repair, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you.

DIY

It’s essential to follow a routine schedule of garage door maintenance. If you get in the habit of keeping an eye on any signs of garage door wear and tear, you will prolong the life of your garage door. Because your garage door is the largest operating appliance of your household it’s vital to keep it in tiptop condition. Especially if you use your garage as an office, workshop, or game room, it’s even more important to keep it well-maintained.

Regular garage door maintenance doesn’t call for a lot of effort. The minimal time needed to keep your garage door in superior condition is totally worth it, because if you ever do find that you’ll have to get garage door repairs, it won’t end up costing an arm and a leg. Moreover, you likely won’t even have to replace any parts for a good number of years.

It’s a wise idea to schedule an annual inspection with a local legitimate garage door repair company. Wires, pulleys, springs, and cables, unquestionably require the extra attention of a professional.

Monthly, inspect the components of your entire garage door system. If you discover any worn-out parts, replace them. Tighten any loose bolts. If you hear odd noises when the garage door opens and closes, don’t procrastinate; investigate!

Each year before winter arrives, keep your garage door hinges, rollers, and springs lubricated. Without lubrication, the springs will eventually rust, and the coils will bind up against each other and soon break. Some garage door professionals recommend that you lubricate four times a year. Use a reputable brand, so it will not dry out. A light coating is all you will need.