Category: General Information

Trucks and cars are investments given priority in their maintenance strictly as the manufacturer recommends. Car owners will immediately seek a professional’s service for their vehicles to changes belts, oil filters, tire rotations, and much more concerns that are truly necessary for the driver’s safety. However, unlike the cars and trucks, these very vehicle owners are owners of homes featuring garages where their vehicles stay home. It is unfair that they use the garage doors several times a week and probably several times a day, and yet they do not pay attention to these doors’ needs.

The owners assume a garage door as a wall object that moves up and down, not realizing that that door has general components that enable its performance. The cars are given attention to the same degree, the garage doors being investments too, need parallel attention for their effective functioning.

What Is A Garage Door Tune-Up Service?

Garage door tune-up service is a skilled operation that requires a trained technician to do a general inspection of the entire door system, starting with the assessment of the door’s appearance. They examine the door for any points that require immediate repair, especially the cracks or joints showing signs of admitting water damages. These obvious concerns need cleaning, sanding, scraping, and painting to avoid their spread.

The door’s interior is also essential to check on as the technician will need to lubricate the mechanisms that facilitate the door’s opening and closing. In this aspect, parts like the door springs and rollers are the most crucial aspects of lubrication since they are responsible for allowing the garage door’s motion.

The technicians know well the type of lubricant compound to apply in the specific joint. For instance, the roller hinges have consist of bolts and bearing that need cleaning and inspection. The professional ensure the tests for safety settings, garage door opener, and system counterbalance.

Benefits of Having a Garage Door Tune-Up

The door needs adequate attention to have an extended or prolonged time of service, enhance and maintain effective and maximum door operation, as a safety precaution for the owner, family, or even strangers safety.

Other essential benefits of having a tune-up on the door include:

• Consistent garage door tune-ups help you to evade the expenses that would otherwise have led to the replacement of the entire door.

• Regular maintenance is essential for general preventative measures. The technician will fix the minor repairs and replace small parts that wear gradually and others that become loose along the usage process.

• The municipalities, either the state or local, may have placed requirements that need to be met for the regular tune-up of your door for your family’s safety precautions and you.

• Tune-ups help avoid circumstances such as accidents of the door falling on someone. Such instances can seriously lead to a lawsuit.

• Essential parts of the garage door system, such as the opener, play a vital role if anything goes wry with them. It can limit your entry or exit, be it manually or automatically. Therefore, a tune-up helps prevent such incidences.

• You might need to sell your home, and you must meet the required standards to sell the place, which might include the garage door’s tune-up.

Signs That Your Garage Door Needs A Tune-Up

The signs that your door needs a tune-up to include:

1. Unsteady motions of the door such as shuddering, stopping, or jerks when opening or closing the door. Such scenarios could be due to loose bolts, inadequate lubrication, or the opening and closing forces.

2. Noise experiences on the door when moving, such as grinding, scraping, or any abnormal sounds. They likely could be as a result of track debris or loose accessories.

3. Worn out parts like the rollers, weather-stripping, and other cracked or chipped parts can highly influence the door’s proper functioning. These could be due to wearing and everyday performance.

4. Breaks and bends; some garage door tracks bend, and parts break. Upon realizing such complications, take a safety precaution by repairing them asap. Such problems could emanate from overuse, misuse, or environmental factors.

Factors to Consider For A Garage Door

Suppose your door is too squeaky or crackly. In that case, it could be time to replace the door. There are aspects to consider, such as security like using openers with rolling code technology and safety using a sensor to reverse if the door was closing and senses any substance or person below it.

Additionally, it is essential to ensure a regular tune-up for your garage door to avoid eventual significant expenses. The tune-up enhances the door performance to its optimal condition of operation.

To sum up, plan a schedule with your professional technician to maintain and service the door. You may choose annually or semi-annually, just like the manufacturers recommend for a new truck or car the service durations, you can as well adopt such a commitment to the door for its effective performance.

Garage doors come in different designs, materials, and colors, and it is up to you to decide the one you want to go with, depending on preference. Unlike design and color, the garage door material needs to be selected carefully as this influences the durability and longevity of your garage doors.

This post will discuss crucial details about common garage door materials, their advantages and disadvantages to help you choose the best.

Common garage door materials

Wood

Wood is the most eco-friendly option for the garage door as it is a renewable source of energy. It gives a stylish appearance, and you can customize it into different designs and finishes for it to be unique. Wooden garage doors are prone to warping, rotting, and fading; thus, they require frequent maintenance. They are best for mild climatic regions as drastic temperature changes and contact with moisture from humidity and rain can make them warp. Common wood types used for this purpose include redwood, fir, and cedar.

Advantages

• High cost

• Require regular maintenance

• Offer natural insulation

• Available in many designs

• Easily refinished to fit the home design

• Can accommodate non-level floors

Disadvantages

• It can warp, rot or fade

• It needs regular maintenance

• Too heavy to operate manually

Steel

Steel is the most common material used for garage doors due to its durability, design flexibility, and high value. Steel is a perfect replacement for wooden doors as it is very lightweight, easy to maintain, and can be used in any climate. The steel garage doors don’t offer insulation, but this can be modified if need be, using a foam core.

Steel is susceptible to rust, especially at the lower part, which comes into contact with excess salt when de-icing in winter. You can avoid this by cleaning your garage at least twice per year. Steel garage doors are made of two-layer galvanized steel then painted with a tough topcoat to increase durability.

Advantages

• It is relatively cheap

• Less maintenance required

• It is lightweight

• High durability

• Available in many designs

Disadvantages

• Can rust if poorly maintained

• Possibility of dents occurring

• It is not a natural insulator

Fiberglass

Fiberglass closely mimics the defined grain texture of refined wood and thus can be used as a replacement for wood. Unlike wood, fiberglass doesn’t warp, crack or shrink when exposed to moisture, therefore perfect for warm and humid climates. This material is semi-transparent, thus allowing natural light into the garage, reducing electricity consumption. In this regard, it is economical and requires low maintenance, making it a perfect replacement for wood. It is not suitable for coastal areas with strong winds as the wind can damage them.

Advantages

• Requires low maintenance

• Allows sufficient amount of natural light into the garage

• It is moisture-resistant and does not warp or corrode

Disadvantages

• It turns yellow with time

• It is brittle and easily broken by the wind

• Requires complete replacement when damaged

Aluminum

Aluminum doors offer everything you can’t get from the wood garage doors. It is affordable, lightweight, and not affected by moisture and temperature changes; thus, it does not warp. However, since this material is lighter than steel, it dents more quickly and can be affected by strong winds, hail, and children.

It absorbs heat very quickly, making it too hot to touch and make the garage too warm, especially during summer. This can damage your items, and your electricity bills may rise as you battle this with air conditioners. Laminated panels can be used to reduce dents.

Advantages

• Requires less maintenance

• It is resistant to warping and corrosion

• It can be customized to different designs

Disadvantages

• It does not offer complete water-proofing

• Less durable, unlike steel

Glass

Glass is a perfect door material when the garage is on the backside, and there isn’t much concern about privacy. This material is used for aesthetic purposes and instances when you need to increase the garage’s space. You also get an opportunity to get access to natural sunlight as you enjoy the beautiful scenery from the house.

Advantages

• Have a natural resistance to rust and corrosion

• Allows maximum light into the garage

Disadvantages

• Low durability compared to steel and aluminum

• Has privacy issues depending on the glass type

Factors to consider when selecting the type of material for your garage

Cost

Wooden garage doors are more expensive than steel and aluminum doors, and thus, you need to have a bigger budget for wood garage doors than other materials.

Maintenance

Wood doors require regular maintenance, so if you want a garage door with minimum maintenance, buy a steel or glass one.

Durability

If you want a garage door that would last for long, buy one made of steel, but if durability is not an issue, you can buy an aluminum garage door and enjoy the other benefits it offers

Style preference

All the materials offer different styles, and you can choose the one you like to match your house design.

Climate

Climate dictates the type of material you will choose for your garage door. If you are in a moist, warm environment, wood is not the best; you need steel or aluminum.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you now understand the standard garage doors’ materials, including their benefits and limitations. As seen above, each of them is unique and used under different circumstances, but they all serve the same purpose- offering protection and security. Consider cost, durability, climate, and maintenance when selecting your garage door material.

A typical garage door system comprises many interconnected components that engage anytime a command or operation is directed to the garage door. Any of these items cannot work singly, and that’s why the entire door is called a system, meaning that one component will rely on or affect the working of another.

Are you looking to host a garage door installation or replacement project? It is good to know the parts that make this excellent home component. Understanding these parts will also help you appreciate how the entire system works to perform its role effectively.

In this article, we will list the major components/parts that make a garage door system and describe each’s role. Regardless of the garage door you wish to install or replace, it will have the following components:

(Note that the components are arranged systematically according to how they interconnect and transmit actions until the whole system engages)

1. Door opener

A garage door opener is a component that receives the signal sent to the door system when you push a button to open the door. It transmits the call to the other elements to complete the opening action. The door opener houses the motor that powers up everything in the garage door system. In most garage door systems, the door opener is the box you will see hanging from the ceiling.

2. Torsion springs

The torsion springs play a crucial role in storing the motor’s energy and transferring it effectively to other components. Torsion springs hold the motor’s power as elastic potential energy and release it when lifting the door. This is what makes lifting the door very easy, even though a garage door may be very hefty.

3. Tube shaft

This is the bar that holds the torsion springs in place above the garage door. It has no other significant role, but the springs would not perform their crucial role properly without it.

4. Drums

The drums work just like a pulley system and transmit the energy from the spring to the cables. These wheels are usually attached to the ends of the tube shaft.

5. Cables

Connecting all the components discussed above and the door itself are the metal lifting cables. On the top, they are connected to the drum that transfers the rotational force to them. At the bottom, they are connected to the door structure. As the wheels rotate, they roll up the cables that, in turn, lift the garage door.

Up to this point, these are the most crucial components needed to move a garage door on pushing the Open button. The parts discussed below support the door’s physical movement up or down and are not connected directly to the opening mechanism.

6. Rollers and the track

Rollers are the wheels connected to the garage door’s sides to enable it to move smoothly up or down, tracing the tunnel on the metal track. For a garage door to open, the wheels must always be in the metal track. Note that the door can only move up to the point where the metal track ends.

7. Hinges

In most cases, the garage door will move upwards to open. However, to enable a smooth transition, the garage door panels must also fold as it opens. The components that allow this to happen are the hinges. They perform this task while still holding the garage door panels together.

8. Brackets

Like hinges, brackets keep the garage door system connected, this time, not the panels but the cables and rollers. The brackets ensure that these two components are fastened in their most appropriate positions.

Protective components

9. Retainer

This is the metallic or plastic component that runs on the garage door’s bottom to hold the bottom seal in place.

10. Bottom seal

This is a heavy-duty rubber or vinyl component installed on the garage door’s bottom. The seal it provides keeps pests, insects, environmental and weather elements at bay.

11. Weather seals

Weather seals function just like the bottom seal but can be installed even on the garage door’s sides to fill up the spaces the door may leave when it is closed. By bridging any gap between the garage doors and the wall/ floor, they perform an insulating purpose that improves the energy efficiency of the space.

Safety components

Due to the hefty nature and the automated control that most modern garage doors rely on, they can pose potential safety hazards if not operated or monitored correctly. The two most common safety components you will find on any garage doors are:

12. Eye safety sensors

These are two lenses mounted on the wall at the bottom of the garage door facing each other. They transmit a beam of light between them, and if an object blocks this light, they prevent the garage door from closing.

13. Emergency cord

The emergency cord hangs from the door operator with a red tag at the bottom. Pulling this cord disengages the opener’s motor and the entire door structure from opening or closing automatically.

Conclusion

I hope you have now familiarized yourself with the essential parts of a garage door system and the roles each plays. At least the next time a garage door specialist will talk of a tube shaft, you will have a picture in your mind of what it is and the role it performs.

One of the most frequent questions about residential garage doors is whether they come in standard sizes. Here is the much-awaited answer – Yes, garage doors come in standard sizes, but this depends on the age and size of the garage you have and other related requirements. This post will discuss garage door standard sizes under various topics to help you understand what size is appropriate for your garage.

In most cases, you don’t want to spend all your time evaluating the average garage size you need, and that’s why it is crucial to be aware of some standard sizes and the situation for them to best work. So, before you start your garage door installation or replacement project, read through this guide, and you will make the wisest decision when it comes to garage door size.

Standard garage door sizes for various garage sizes

If you are building or renovating a residential garage, here are the three garage sizes with their most appropriate garage door sizes that you should consider:

Single door garage

This is the garage’s size that will perfectly house a single-standard sized car, van, SUV, or truck. The most common standard sizes for these garages are 8×7 feet, 9×7 feet, and 10×7 feet.

Double door garage

If you have more than one vehicle or a slightly larger car than what we have discussed in the category above, this is the garage size you will most likely have. This garage size also comes in handy when you want to add extra storage space to your home. The standard garage door sizes here are 12×7 feet, 14×7 feet, and 16×7 feet.

Large door garage

A large garage in the residential space houses several cars with one or more large vehicles in the collection. A perfect example here is an RV garage that is extended in both height and width. An oversized garage needs a large garage door, and the standard sizes you will be looking at here are 16×8 feet and 16×9 feet. There is great flexibility in the adjustments that can be made for these garage doors, especially in terms of width.

Standard garage sizes for new vs. old garages

The standard garage door sizes for new modern garage designs are not the same as that of older garages. Older garages require shorter garage doors because the cars they were made for were smaller. Here, a standard height of 7 feet will work just fine. On the other hand, modern garages are made for various car sizes and should expect the standard height to be 7-8 feet.

If you need to renovate your old garage into a modern one, you are not limited to go with the same old standard door size. You can switch things up and pick one that will perfectly fit the design you are looking to achieve. Remember that communication with reliable tradespeople is paramount to finding the right size and layout of garage doors.

Thickness- the other very crucial size consideration

While most of us will think of the width and height when we hear of standard garage door sizes, the thickness is also essential. The thickness mainly contributes to your garage doors’ cost and insulation; two main crucial factors you will consider when selecting a door for your garage. Here are the primary standard sizes in terms of thickness

• Non-insulated, highly economical garage doors- The standard thickness for these doors is 2 inches, and they are usually made of a single sheet of molded steel.

• Insulated, higher-priced garage doors- The insulated garage doors are thicker and offer better energy saving than the non-insulated garage doors. For these garage doors, expect a standard size of 2-3.5 inches. Their single sheets are thinner than their non-insulated counterparts, but the insulation between them (which may be Styrofoam or polyurethane) can take up a space of 0.25*-1.5 inches.

Choosing either of these two garage doors depends on what you are storing in your garage. If you will use your garage for nothing else but storage, then the most economical option would be best.

What if my garage door does not fall under all these standard size categories?

If you can’t find the perfect one for your garage after going through the above standard garage door sizes, don’t worry, as there are custom-made options to choose. It would be best if you reached out to a garage door installation expert, and they will take measurements of your garage door area and custom make it following these measurements.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you are now an expert on standard garage door sizes and the needs they generally aim to fulfill. Even with this, you still need to involve a garage door specialist to determine the most appropriate door for your garage. Sometimes you may miss some details and pick the wrong standard size or even a good one that will not fit your garage door needs. The good thing is that most of these garage door specialists will offer free professional advice, and you will only need to pay for the materials and the installation/replacement works.

Did you know that your garage doors can give your home curb appeal and increase its value in the home market? No matter the size, design, and age of your garage, installing an appealing and stylish garage door will improve the overall look and value of your home.

Several garage door types bring a powerful curb appeal to your home, but one stands out – full view garage doors. This post will explore what full-view garage doors are, how they improve curb appeal, and tips to improve the curb appeal properties they bring to a home.

What is a full-view garage door?

As their name suggests, full view garage doors are modern-looking glass with aluminum or steel frame garage doors designed to achieve some transparency and other benefits to a garage space. These garage door designs were commonly used in commercial buildings but are now dominating residential properties due to the impression and freshness they add to a home.

Full-view garage doors are not just about bringing in light, as there are also designs to add to strength, sturdiness, durability, and much more. Let’s discuss these factors in the curb appeal section.

What materials are used to make full-view garage doors?

A standard glass door is made of glass panes panels held together by metallic frames to give them strength and flexibility when opening and closing the doors. It is even possible to install full-view garage doors with a frameless structure with only support at the sides. These full-view garage doors are what we commonly refer to as floating doors.

The glass panels are tempered and not just the standard glass variety, a reason why they are strong enough to withstand the outdoor elements.

These doors’ frames are mostly made of aluminum or steel to add to sturdiness, durability, and reliability. These materials are also easy to customize, with a wide range of options from which to choose.

How do full-view garage doors improve curb appeal?

There is so much that can be achieved by installing full-view garage doors to your home. Here are their benefits that all add up to improved curb appeal:

• Allows more natural lighting into the garage

Since full-view garage doors are primarily made of glass, they let in plenty of light to a garage and brighten it up. Since many homeowners are looking for homes with well-lit spaces, you will be a step ahead in attracting them if you aim to sell your home.

• Add a more modern look to your home

Full-view garage doors are stylish and add that irresistible look to a home. It’s hard for people visiting your home for the first time not to comment on the sleek, modern look that these doors bring. If aesthetics and curb appeal are what you are looking to achieve in the home upgrade, then you would be missing out a lot if you went for any other style other than full view garage doors.

• Improves visibility

If your garage houses highly valued items and vehicles that need to be displayed to the people outside, full-view garage doors will come in handy. If you want to achieve this but still worry about your items’ security, talk to your garage door specialist. They will modify the doors to make them sturdy and more secure while still maintaining the required visibility level.

• They make a smaller space appear bigger

Because of the lighting they bring to the garage space, full view garage doors make a small garage look more significant and make the space more pleasant and appealing to home buyers. Note that you can only achieve this if the doors are strategically installed, so you need to work with the best garage door specialists in your area.

Additional merit: Full view garage doors are easier to maintain as they only need professional cleaning and inspection twice a year to work smoothly. This is also something that will impress many home buyers.

Full-view garage doors customization tips for even better curb appeal

• For extra durability- Use tempered glass panels and sturdy aluminum or steel frames.

• For improved energy efficiency- Invest in insulated glass panels.

• To enhance the aesthetics- Use decorative window and glass panel designs. You can also accessorize the garage doors with antique or modern lighting systems.

• To bring in more light and increase visibility in the space- Install clear and entirely transparent glass panels.

• To balance light and privacy- Use translucent, tinted, or frosted glass panels.

Final thoughts

A garage door may be all that matters to strike a good deal with a home buyer or generally improve the look of your home to make a statement to neighbors and visitors. Upgrading your garage door style to full-view is, without a doubt, one of the best ways to achieve this. A full-view garage door will add that refreshing and dazzling look to your home as long as it is installed correctly.

The next time you will be updating your garage door, install the full-view design, and the curb appeal results will speak volumes. If a garage door installation is a new investment, you can focus on this design and start with a fresh, highly appealing look for your home.

Glass is a common material for modern garage doors as it brings tons of benefits to a home. Many customizations can be made to glass, but insulation seems to be offering the best value for money. Every homeowner is looking to boost energy saving in their home to save on the money they spend on energy bills, and an insulated garage door is a perfect way to achieve this.

Many people would still argue that glass comes with a high initial cost than other conventional garage door materials. While this is true, it is fully compensated by the insulation and sealing they bring to the space reducing the energy costs in the long run.

If you factor in all that glass offers, it will undoubtedly stand out among other garage door materials. For this reason, we have dedicated this post to discuss what glass offers in terms of cost-effectiveness.

What is an insulated glass garage door?

This is a door made with two sheets of glass panels with a layer of insulating filling material between them. An extra coating is added to the glass panels’ surfaces to improve the insulation property even better. Insulated glass garage doors are thicker, sturdier, and offer better energy efficiency than uninsulated glass doors. These garage doors can be installed in any garage, but they make a lot of sense for people who live in areas with extremely hot or cold weather conditions.

Insulated glass garage doors and cost-effectiveness

Below are the significant ways insulated garage doors contribute to cost-effectiveness:

• Protect your valuable items from break-ins and harsh weather elements

The insulation adds to the glass material’s sturdiness preventing break-ins and improving the doors’ resistance to harsh or extreme weather conditions. If the items you store in your garage are protected from theft and damage, it means that the money you invested in them will yield better value over a longer span.

• Extend insulation to your house

The insulated glass doors will eliminate air leakage and enclose the climate-controlled space in the garage and the entire house. The cool and warm air produced by your home’s cooling and warming systems will not escape through your garage. This, in a nutshell, is better energy efficiency which will help you cut on energy costs a great deal. Here, you need to install the insulated glass material for both the exterior garage door and the door that connects your garage to your house to achieve a total seal.

• More durable

Unlike uninsulated glass doors, the insulated varieties last longer and serve their purpose for a more extended period. As mentioned above, the insulation aspect improves the doors’ sturdiness, meaning that they are less prone to damage. This reduces the maintenance practices, repairs, and replacements that the glass doors will require, significantly reducing the money you spend in the long run.

Other benefits of insulated glass garage doors

• Enhances comfortability

If you are the person who works from the garage or stores some food in some section in this space, installing an insulated glass garage door is a brilliant decision. The insulation the door will offer will keep the temperatures at the required level to improve your stay there and improve your food storage conditions.

• Improve sustainability

When you reduce your overall energy demand by installing the insulated glass garage doors, you will also reduce the demand for fossil fuels and significantly reduce the pollution burning these compounds bring to the environment. Additionally, a reduction in the release of pollutants in the air means fewer disturbances to the ecosystem and the plants and animals that inhabit it.

• Reduces noise

Lightweight glass garage doors without insulation tend to make more noise than the sturdier, insulated glass garage doors. If you don’t want to disturb your neighbors when opening your garage door, or if you wish to avoid the noise from outside, especially when you live in an urban area, an insulated glass garage door will serve the purpose.

Additional experts tip: No matter how well the glass garage doors you have installed have been insulated, you will still not achieve all that we have discussed above if you fail to protect the rest of the garage. If you are serious about cutting the energy bills in your home significantly, you need to insulate your garage’s walls, floor, and roofing structure.

The bottom line

If you have been thinking that the most considerable appeal for using glass as the material for your garage doors is aesthetics, you’ve probably found another unrivaled benefit- cost-effectiveness. Note that this can only be achieved if the glass panels are insulated, meaning that it is a consideration you will have to put ahead of the others while selecting a perfect door for your garage.

Today, style is just one of the features to consider when choosing a garage door. There are other practical elements such as insulation that should also be essentially important as they influence the cost you spend on energy bills at the end of the day. Don’t sacrifice aesthetics for insulation and cost-effectiveness while you can achieve all these if you pick an insulated garage door for your garage.

Your garage door should only open and close on your command. A garage door opening by itself is a sign of a problem in its operating mechanism.

Your garage door opening without your command poses a significant security risk for you, your family, and your property. Intruders and animals can access your garage or house through the garage and cause substantial property damage or, even worse, harm you.

Below are some of the reasons why your garage door might open by itself.

A Defective Remote Control

One of the causes of a defective remote control could be old batteries that can remotely send random, signals causing your garage door to open by itself. You can start by replacing your batteries to see if that solves your problem.

Poor storage of your remote may cause the buttons on your remote to stick, leading to your garage door opening by itself. This is usually caused by dust or debris getting in the small spaces around the buttons. For example, when you hide your garage key in a flowerpot or under a rock. Clean your remote control in case of such.

Your remote control’s inner circuit board may also have incurred some damages causing it to send faulty signals caused by liquid spillage onto your remote control. In this case, you should consider replacing your remote control with a new one and sync it with the garage door.

Cross Frequency from Your Neighbor’s Remote Control

Your neighbor’s garage door remote control may have the same code as yours or sync to your garage door opener. Your motor may register your neighbor’s remote-control code when you’re setting it up and cause your garage door to open at the same time as theirs.

You can check with your neighbors to determine if this is the cause of your garage door opening or closing randomly. If this is the case, you should clear your motor’s memory to remove your remote code and that of your neighbor. Wait for a time when there is minimal or no interference in your neighborhood and re-sync your remote control using your garage door manual.

Blocked Safety Door Sensors

In 1993, the Safety Commission published rules for automatic garage door openers. Among them was the addition of the auto-reverse safety feature for your safety and your family members or friends.

Your garage door openings and motor are designed with sensors that detect an object in the closing path or a closing action resistance. This will cause the garage door to open automatically.

Small things such as leaves, dirt, or snow can block the sensors around your garage door. This will cause it not to shut completely. You should check your sensors for blockage and clean them in case of any.

Misalignment of the floor sensors can also cause your garage door to open randomly. A bump or bend in the beam or tracks could be the culprit or a blink in the wall panel can help you detect this.

You should realign your beams to have the sensors in the correct positions and check to see if the blinking has stopped.

Faulty Logic Board

The logic board, also known as the circuit board, controls the garage door’s opening and closing. Any damages it incurs may cause it to randomly send faulty signals to your garage door, causing it to open.

A power surge or lightning strike could be one of the causes of damage to your garage door’s logic board. You can turn the voltage into and out of your logic board in case you know how to. Otherwise, you can get a technician to do it.

Your logic board may also be old, causing it to slow down. Consider replacing it to avoid the security risk of your garage door opening by itself. You can also install a surge protector to help keep your logic board safe.

Conclusion

Apart from the ones mentioned above, you may find other reasons that cause your garage door to open by itself, such as radio interference from police radios or CB radios, faulty wiring, or incorrectly set force limits.

Always check things over to ensure your garage door is and continues to operate in good condition. You should get a maintenance guide for your garage door to help you in doing so.

You can do a DIY garage door repair for simple repairs such as stuck remote buttons. However, if the problem is more significant than you can tackle, you should seek professional help from an expert. The sooner you sort out your garage door problems, the better.

Snakes are highly active between April and October, and it not a surprise to find one in your garage during this time. As the snakes look for a cool place to shelter themselves from harsh elements, they may end up sneaking into your garage. Snake presence in a garage is threatening since most are dangerous and may hurt you, your family, or your pets. You, therefore, need to put measures to prevent them from coming in.

Are you constantly fighting snakes from your garage and desperate to find a permanent solution? This article will give you tips on how to keep snakes out of your garage.

Tips to keep snakes out of your garage

Seal up holes

Snakes use any hole available to get into the garage, so if your garage door has worn out at the lower part, leaving a space, the snake can use it to get in. Snakes are good climbers, and they climb through the wall looking for any big crack, unsecured windows, vents, or loose roof tiles. To safeguard your garage from snakes, ensure there are no holes, vents, or cracks. Also, always leave the garage door closed and secure all the windows.

Eliminate unwanted pests

Snakes feed on pests such as mice and other rodents, and hence if these are in your garage, they will always come to feed on them. Therefore, if you find any pests or signs that there are pests, ensure you eliminate them. These are the signs of rodents that you can quickly identify, such as scratching sounds on the wall, their droppings, small holes, and chewed items.

Change up your landscaping

Snakes usually hide behind tall grass and trees, and when the conditions are favorable, they find shelter somewhere else, like in the garage. So if you have tall and unkempt grass near your home, the snakes can easily access your garage when temperatures are too high or too low. Therefore, you should cut your grass short and remove any tall vegetation near your garage, especially at the entrance point.

If your yard is prone to snakes, you can change its landscaping by removing debris and holes. You can also install a snake-proof fence made of plastic sheeting or steel mesh 3 feet high and four feet deep. Also, consider planting snake repellant plants such as lemongrass, wormwood, and marigolds.

Clean up debris

Snakes don’t like staying in an open area, and hence they usually build their nests behind the debris. If you do any work in your garage, you should remove any debris, as this will help keep these slithering reptiles away.

Use natural repellants

• Naphthalene

This is a common ingredient used in commercial snake repellant products such as mothball. Naphthalene has a very irritating smell that makes them leave without being them. Therefore, you should place naphthalene at every snake’s entry point, such as holes, vents, cracks, and any other place where you often find them. Be cautious as naphthalene products such as mothballs are harmful to pets and children when consumed.

• Sulfur

Sulfur operates like naphthalene as it has a strong smell that repels snakes. It would be best if you also put the sulfur powder in every entry point. The smell of sulfur is too strong, so use a mask when spreading the powder.

• Ammonia

The smell of ammonia is very irritating, and so snakes dislike it. You can use it as a repellant by spraying it around the affected areas. The other option is to dip a rag in ammonia solution then place it in the affected area when it is inside an unsealed bag.

• Lime

Make a mixture of lime and hot pepper and pour it around the garage. The smell produced by this mixture is unpleasant to snakes, and also, this mixture produces fumes that are itchy to the snakes’ skin.

• Onions and garlic

Both onion and garlic contain sulfonic acid, which is good at repelling snakes. Chop them well and mix with rock salt, then sprinkle in all the affected areas.

• Vinegar

As most snakes move towards the garage searching for water, they get attracted by any water around, especially if you have a swimming pool within your compound. Vinegar is very effective in eliminating snakes near water sources, and this is achieved by pouring white vinegar powder near these water sources.

You can use the above tips when you identify any of the following signs.

Signs of a snake living in your garage

• Skin

Snakes shed skin every month, although the old ones may take a while before shedding. If you see snakeskin in your garage, it is clear evidence that it has habited snakes.

• Scat

The snake dropping is very similar to that of birds as it is black and white and wet. However, this is hard to find if there is no food source in the garage as the snakes excrete as often as they eat.

• Trails

As the snake slithers on your floor around the garage, they leave trail marks, and hence if you come across these, you should watch out.

• Seeing a snake

It goes without saying that when you see a snake in your garage, it means that you have a problem that needs to be dealt with immediately. There may be more than one, especially during the breeding season, as snakes seek shelter.

Conclusion

When you identify a snake or snake signs inside your garage, you can use any of the above options to prevent further infestation. Killing should never be a priority. You are encouraged to use the other methods, especially the natural repellants or modifying the garage space to make them uncomfortable living there. If snakes become a nuisance even after trying these strategies, you can always reach out to snake control and removal specialists.

For many of us, a garage is where we keep our vehicles and repair tools for safety or everyday storage. Other people use garages as entry points to their houses. When the garage is inaccessible, it can cause a lot of headaches and sometimes damage if some tools aren’t reached on time. In other circumstances, when the door doesn’t close fully or partially closes, it puts our equipment and other valuables at risk of theft or damage. It could also be the entry point for pests and other unpleasant animals. With that in mind, below are the significant indicators to watch out for when accessing our garage to make sure that our doors don’t disappoint us in times of need.

A stuck garage door

One of the significant signs is when the garage door won’t open or close. This can be a frustrating experience, mainly because there is a broad scope of reasons that can cause this. Photo-eye safety sensors can be off the usual alignment in automatic doors, thus causing reversing of the direction that the door operates. There might be a power failure either from a cut cable or failed power supply sensors. Sometimes, the extension springs or torsion could be broken. These are critical in the movement of garage doors and might cause the door not to open or close. Any small snap might also cause untimely shutting or opening of the door, which might be disastrous. It is advisable to have an expert repair it if the cause of the problem isn’t apparent.

A garage door that is off its tracks

The cause of this can be hitting the door with a car or a heavy object in motion. This results in the door going off its tracks or rollers. Once a garage door has been compromised through breakage or such damage, the problem can escalate, thus posing more severe threats. Therefore, it is wise to have it repaired or replaced depending on the damage level as soon as the issue is noticed.

Extreme vibration of the garage door

Garage doors sometimes vibrate or shake whenever closed or opened, but these levels of vibration are moderate. In the case the levels become excess, it is highly likely that there is a problem with the door. It can also be accompanied by some mild or very extensive dancing of the door whenever it is operated. This may be resulting from the hinges holding the door getting loose or some detached screws or bolts. If left unattended, these can cause the door to s
hut and cause an accident suddenly.

Uncommon garage door noises

It is usual for garage doors to have some moderate noise whenever they are opened or shut. However, a faulty door may have some extreme noises every time someone accesses the door for whatever reason. It sometimes could be simply a result of poor greasing or oiling to the hinges or other parts. However, these noises may be indicators of mild to very severe compromise to your door. Hence, whenever there is a noise contrary to the typical sound that the door makes, it is essential to have it checked by someonelike Wayne Dalton garage door repair.

Slanted or saggy door

Most garage doors are uprightly mounted to walls, whether on the sides or from the top. If there is a noticeable slant, sagging, or unbalanced alignment with the door, it does necessitate repair. All garage doors, like any other machinery, are affected by wear and tear. This could cause the doors to sag as the door ages. Ultimately, the door may not work as per expectation or may fail to operate at a very unpleasant circumstance, thus cause inconveniences or, even worse, an accident. A loose bolt or screw could also be a cause of saggy doors, and if not attended to, result in damages.

Delayed opening or shutting of the door

Another primary concern that would call for repair is when a door fails to open for some time or shut and then respond after a while. Also, the door could open or close at a slower speed than usual. There is a vast spectrum of areas with issues that may result from this. They range from tracks to the door’s sensors or the springs, and they could be a beginning of a more significant issue on the door if not addressed on time.

Unresponsive sensors

Over the past decade or so, we have seen most people change from ancient manual garage doors to automatic doors. The sensors involved might sometimes fail to operate as usual or as expected due to fault or lousy installation. This is a significant reason that calls for repair or a redo of the door.

Unresponsive doors on manual operation

Sometimes after bypassing the opener for the automatic doors, the door might still not open or close correctly and thus calls for repair.

Conclusively, it may not be possible to exhaust all the signs that show that a garage door requires repair as there are many different designs and equipment used on garage doors. Outlined above are just some of the significant indicators that work for most, if not all, garage doors. On that account, it would be convenient for anyone to constantly observe their garage doors’ regular operation for easier identification of issues that may arise.

Has your garage door opener begun straining when lowering and raising your garage door? Do the torsion springs grind or creak when you try operating your door opener? Are there any noticeable damages, or do they appear broken? You might have a garage door torsion spring, which requires replacement. Although they might last for a lifetime, extension springs are amongst the most general repairs homeowners need in their garage. Torsion cables and springs are extensively used daily and may break or fail because of wear and tear; it’s not uncommon for them to require replacement every 4-8 years of their useful life.

Nonetheless, when it comes to garage doors, DIY repair is not recommended, especially even when it comes to spring replacement. An instant internet search “How to Replace Garage Door Springs’ along with simple what-to-do guides don’t make anybody a professional and certainly doesn’t make you able to DIY.

Experts advise homeowners never to handle the issue of DIY spring replacement for various reasons. Read on the following article for a clear insight into some of the reasons why you shouldn’t try to replace your garage door spring. So, let’s get started with 5 reasons why you shouldn’t try DIY garage door spring replacement.

1. You Could Get Injured

The first reason you shouldn’t try to repair your garage door springs by yourself is that it’s risky. Garage doors weigh hundreds of pounds. Should they fall, they can damage the door itself, the garage floor, and any items stored in your garage, for instance, your car. Technicians know how to work with these heavy doors carefully, unlike most homeowners. You may not think you would make such a mistake, but garage doors DIY can put you in a risky situation. Furthermore, if you or your children, friends, or pets are standing in the way, you may end up with severe injuries as well.

Besides, the springs used in garage doors store mechanical energy when they are wound up, making them dangerous if they get damaged. If these springs break during your DIY repair, they release lots of tension and send pieces flying unpredictably. More than 20,000 garage door mishaps-causing injuries are recorded yearly, including pinching injuries, crushing injuries, and lacerations. At times, a garage door accident can even cause death.

2. You Could Worsen The Problem

It would be best to have an extensive understanding of your garage door before starting any repairs by yourself. Failure to understand how this mechanics function makes it easy to make mistakes- it only takes one mistake to worsen the problem.

For instance, you may ‘repair’ the wrong thing by accident, you may only address the problem’s symptoms, not the main issue itself, or you can end up using inappropriate methods or parts. Some mistakes can even wholly ruin your garage door and necessitate you to buy a new one. It’s preferable to hire an expert with the necessary experience to get the job done the first time correctly.

3. You May Not Have The Right Tools

Most garage door repair needs specialized tools and components. If you don’t have these tools and a high probability you don’t, you’ll have to find and purchase them. It’s not sensible breaking the bank on costly tools that you will never need again.

Some people may try to fix their garage door springs using tools they have lying around to resolve this issue. Unfortunately, this can be pretty dangerous. Trying to use the wrong tools or parts on your DIY garage door repair can put you in a hazardous position, risk damaging your door, as well as ruin your tools.

Without the correct tools, the garage door repair may be complex, if not impossible. A skilled technician can provide all the tools required to fix the problem without risk or hassle.

4. You Could Lose Your Warranty

Once you have bought your garage door, you are more likely to be awarded a warranty for a particular amount of time. The warranty can help you cater to your repairs and replacements if something goes wrong before the specified time has elapsed.

In case you try to DIY repairs on your garage door, you lose any warranty you might have benefited from because warranties don’t cater for any modifications consumers make to the product after it’s installed. To preserve your warranty and possibly make even good use of it, you should only let an expert repair company work on your garage door.

5. The Repair May Not Be Reliable

Repairing your garage door spring by yourself can leave you with unreliable fixes. Although it may seem like you have taken care of the issue, the hidden problem might still exist- this can make your garage door problem worsen with time, which can be potentially dangerous. Ignoring such problems can result in undesirable outcomes such as personal injury, property damages, and costly garage door replacements.

All in all, there are many DIY projects that you can do around your house, but garage door spring replacement isn’t one of them. Although you may want to advance your skillset or save money, garage door repairs can be dangerous and quite deadly. Unless you’re a professional garage door spring repair technician such as Wayne Dalton, you probably don’t have the knowledge and skill to handle this type of project.