Tips to Winterize Your Garage Door
We all love the changing of the seasons, whether it be the changing leaves of fall or the budding flowers in spring, nature is always in motion. When winter comes so does the cold weather and snow, which can impact mechanical things such as your garage door. There are a few things you can do to ensure consistent and reliable operation of your garage door through the coming winter. Starting with a professional tune-up or a general tune-up by the homeowner checking for damage, loose bolts, and lubricating the moving parts. Checking and replacing weather seals helps keep snow and debris out of your garage as well as contributing to temperature control inside your garage. Cold temperatures also affect battery powered devices such as keyless entries, it is recommended to update batteries and test battery back-ups in preparation for winter weather.
Pre-Winter Tune-Up
All garage doors should receive at least one professional tune-up per year, but in places that have changing seasons it's best to have at least two a year before the more extreme seasons such as winter and summer.
Check all fasteners, hinges, and rollers for any damage as well as lubricate all hinges and rollers
Check vinyl weather stripping and bottom seal ensuring a tight seal.
Hand operate your garage door it should move somewhat easily and be able to hold itself open at the halfway point as well as fully open.(if does not good sign to call a professional)
If time permits, clearing debris and old lube from the tracks can also be helpful during a tune-up.
A quality tune-up by a professional or a homeowner can help ensure good operation all winter long!
Weather Seals
Proper sealing of your garage can make all the difference for a garage door (especially insulated doors) providing many benefits.
Homeowners with non-insulated doors may want to install insulation kits to better their garage doors temperature control, consult a professional as even small increases in a garage doors weight can largely impact openers and springs.
Vinyl trim is generally what is used to seal the top and sides of your garage door, and over time the seals lose their structure from extreme heat and freezing temperatures throughout the years; when trim no longer seals tightly or has been damaged be sure to replace it.
Bottom seals often referred to as bottom rubbers also contribute to a good seal. In cold temperatures the rubber seals will shrink and possibly tear in the corners, when harsh winters are consistent replacing your bottom seal may be necessary every couple years to keep a good consistent seal.
Another factor for bottom seals is the actual garage floor. If your concrete has settled it can be hard to have it repaired before winter, but in many cases you can get larger seals to remedy any gaps for the time being.
Battery Powered Accessories
Simply put battery powered accessories can be affected heavily by cold temperatures due to the cold slowing down the reactions within the battery causing for lower capacity.
It is recommended to replace batteries in garage accessories that will be exposed to cold temps such as a keyless entry and your visor remotes on a yearly basis.
Openers with battery back-ups should be tested annually ensuring that your battery back-up is holding charge and will be ready if needed. Easily check your battery back-up with these three simple steps.
Inspect your battery for any corrosion as well as the connections or properly made. Newer wall stations will have a smart screen indicating the charge in your battery back-up.
Unplug your opener from the outlet to simulate a loss of power to the unit.
Press wall station or visor remote and see that the operator runs as normal solely from the battery back up.
Note that openers may run a bit slower on battery back-ups. Also when the battery is low on charge the opener may only do basic functions to conserve power.
Once you have done a tune-up, checked your weather seals and replaced them if needed, and tested all battery components you and your garage should be ready to take on the winter! If you find needed repairs or replacements that are big or need attention be sure to call your local garage door professionals to help get your door on track before winter starts.