770 Kellers Church Road, Ottsville, PA 18942
Phone: 215-795-2500
Email: info@steichoverheaddoors.com
Are you having problems with your garage door? Has your garage door sustained damage from the weather or your kids playing in the driveway? Save yourself a headache, and some dough to boot, by getting your garage door repaired instead of replace
We offer some tips here on how to take care of some problems yourself. If you find that you are not able to take care of the damage or you don't want to tackle the repair, give us a call.
Your garage door has a lot of moving parts and pieces that have to work together to give you the service you expect. Some of these parts will wear over time and do require routine maintenance. Taking care of these routine procedures can help avoid costly garage door repair.
Overall visual check - this is best done monthly. With your garage door in the down position, inspect all the moving parts such as springs, cables, pulleys, rollers, etc., for any obvious damage or wear. Also, be sure to check the fastening hardware to make sure nothing is getting loose. Keeping all the mounting hardware tight will prevent a lot of garage door repairs. If you see any excessive wear this may be due to bigger issues and you should call us to give your door a thorough check.
If it looks like the door's hinges, rollers or tracks need lubrication, you can apply a small amount of spray lubricant or dry lubricant to these parts. You shouldn't have to this more than a couple of times a year.
You need to do this test with the automatic door opener (if equipped) disengaged by pulling on the manual release cord. Open and close the door and see if it opens easily and stays fully open on its own. If you door is out of balance, sticking or binding, it can be tricky to fix. We suggest calling a professional service technician.
Your garage door opener is designed with a reversing mechanism that is activated if the pathway is partially or fully obstructed. This is a safety feature that is found on all openers manufactured after January 1993. If your opener doesn't have this feature, you should seriously consider replacing it with a new unit. This reversing mechanism includes a photo sensor that should be tested to determine if it is in proper working order.
Place an object such as a block of wood on the floor where the door will close and activate the door. When the door hits the object it should automatically reverse. If not you should test the photo sensor.
To test the photo sensor you need to have your door in the open position, activate your remote door button or wall switch to close. While it is in motion, break the photo sensor beam with any solid object. The door should reverse when the beam is broken. If it doesn't reverse make sure your photo transmitters are aligned properly and the lenses are clean. If this doesn't provide a solution, you will need to contact a service technician. You should do this test monthly to insure a safe operation.
Your garage door opener (post 1993) has a force adjustment that requires the door to reverse itself if it encounters resistance. This provides backup safety if the optic sensors are not working. You can test this by closing the garage door while holding on the handle of your door or by placing a block of wood where the door will close as you did for the reversing mechanism test. The door should reverse direction when you apply resistance to the handle or when it encounters the block.
If it doesn't, you will need to recalibrate the force-adjustment screw(s) on your garage door opener. The adjustment screw is located on the back of the opener motor on most all models. You will need to remove the plastic shroud that covers the back of the unit. Turning the screw counter clockwise will decrease the amount of force required to reverse the door direction. Conversely, turning clockwise will increase the force required. Turn this screw ¼ of a turn at a time and open and close the door until you achieve the proper amount of force required to reverse the direction of the door. Your adjustment should provide a tight seal between the bottom of your door and the garage floor.
Shulman Overhead Doors is a full service installation and repair garage door company which services Bucks County, Montgomery County, and surrounding areas.