Enhancing Your Home’s Curb Appeal

A new garage door is a fairly expensive purchase, and one you probably don't want to do too often. If you take good care of your door, you may not have to do this as often. With proper maintenance and care, your garage door can last for years and years without fail. If you are having issues with your garage door, you should know how to make the necessary repairs. Read on for a few troubleshooting tips to help you repair your garage door.

1. Squeaky Door

If your door is squeaking loud enough that your neighbors all know when you're coming and going, it's time to do some repair work. Most likely the issue is that the rollers on the rails are dirty and need to be cleaned. To clean the rollers, take a rag with a de-greasing cleanser on it and clean the rollers thoroughly. Repeat on each roller on your garage door. Once the rollers are all clean, then clean the rails as well. Be sure not to spray any type of grease or oil onto these rollers or rails, as this is only going to cause more dirt and dust to stick to these areas. Only use a lubricant that is made for garage door rollers/rails.

2. Door Opening Unevenly

If your garage door is opening or closing unevenly, it may be due to an issue with your rails being un-level, or the screws holding the rails in place may have loosened. If this occurs, use a level to be sure your rails are level. If they are not, tighten the screws and tap the rails into proper placement using a rubber mallet. Do this for the horizontal and vertical rails as well. Tap lightly with the rubber mallet, don't tap it too hard as you can damage the rails. When the rails are level, test your garage door to see if it opens and closes level again.

3. Not Opening Or Closing

If your garage door is not opening or closing, check the batteries first in your garage door opener. If this isn't the problem, check that you have power to your opener. Check the breaker to be sure you didn't pop a breaker. If this wasn't the issue, you may need to hire a professional repairman for help. You may have an issue with the motor on your garage door opener. 

Replacing a garage door can be expensive. Take good care of your door and the automatic opener by maintaining it properly. If you have issues with your garage door, hire a professional repairman for help.