Ways Garage Door Maintenance Can Save You Money

How to Save Money with Garage Door Maintenance

Many homeowners don’t think too much about their garage doors. Until there’s a problem, they really don’t give the garage door a second thought. However, garage doors need maintenance to keep them operating efficiently, and the right garage door upkeep can actually save money over time.

Cost-Effective Garage Door Repairs vs the Cost of Ignoring Maintenance

Most steps you can take to keep up with your garage don’t cost a lot of money. Lubricating the door’s moving parts, tightening screws and bolts that come loose, and keeping the tracks clean are all examples of garage door maintenance that don’t cost you anything, yet can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the long run. Let’s look at some of the consequences of ignoring routine maintenance.

• The garage door may wear out more quickly than it should. Maintenance keeps the little issues from becoming larger problems, extending the life of your garage door.
• Emergency repairs may bring significant costs. When a garage door malfunctions, it is usually at an inconvenient time, and this can result in an expensive emergency service call.
• You may end up having to replace major components. Keeping up with minor maintenance delays the trouble and expense of replacing costlier elements.
• The energy efficiency of your home may suffer.  A garage door that isn’t properly sealed and insulated can let outside air into your home, which means your HVAC will need to work harder.
• Your garage door could negatively impact your home value. An attractive, well-maintained garage door makes your home look better, improving its curb appeal and increasing its value. If your garage door is in disrepair, it can detract from your home’s look and diminish its value.

Affordable Garage Door Care and Maintenance That Can Be Beneficial

Now that the importance of garage door maintenance has been explained, let’s get into the specifics of beneficial garage door maintenance. What do you need to do to keep your garage door in tip-top shape?

• Give it a regular once-over. Look at your garage door closely every few months, looking for signs of wear and tear and making sure it’s opening and closing properly.
• Lubricate all the moving parts. The rollers, hinges, tracks, and springs of the garage doors all need regular lubrication to help them operate smoothly. Don’t use WD-40 on your door, but apply a silicone-based or garage door-specific lubricant at least every six months.
• Test the door’s balance. Disconnect your garage door opener and lift the door manually, leaving it halfway open. If it stays open, it’s balanced properly. If not, it needs adjustment.
• Keep the hardware tightened. All the little bolts, screws, and brackets on a garage door can loosen over time, so tighten anything loose during your inspections.
• Make sure the safety features are operating properly. Features like auto-reverse and sensors can help prevent accidents if they are working correctly. To test them, put an object in the door’s path or wave something in front of the sensors while closing it. This should cause the door to reverse.
• Clean the tracks. When there is dirt and debris on the tracks, friction can slow the movement of the garage or cause the door to become misaligned. Keep them clean so that nothing interferes with the operation of the door.
• Maintain the weatherstripping. Weatherstripping can crack, tear, and develop gaps, and this can let drafts, water, and pests invade your garage. Prevent this and safeguard your home’s energy efficiency by replacing weatherstripping when necessary.
• Check on the opener. Intermittently test the remote controls and wall switch to make sure they’re working properly. If you have a battery backup, test it so that you can be confident it will work during an outage.
• Call in a professional when needed. Even if you’ve done all the right maintenance, you may sometimes run into a problem. If your door makes loud sounds, is uneven, or simply isn’t working, call for help from an expert.

Let A1A Overhead Door Company Provide Care to Extend Your Garage Door’s Lifespan

When you need help with garage door maintenance, trust the experts at A1A Overhead Door Company. Our knowledgeable staff can help you determine exactly what’s needed and complete all necessary work efficiently and professionally, making sure you have a garage door that can stand up to anything that happens to it. Family owned-and-operated, A1A Overhead Door serves the entire metro Jacksonville area. In fact, we even go as far as fifty miles into the outer counties. We are licensed and insured to cover both the client’s property and ours, and we’re proud to work with our clientele and will match or beat any competitor’s written estimate. For more information, you can call 904.579.1123 or contact us through our website.