Steps to Overhead Garage Door Maintenance

Steps to overhead garage door maintenance – There are several types of overhead garage doors but most have similar items that need maintenance which are listed below. Whether you have a manually operated overhead garage door or a power operator, open and close the door several times and listen for smooth operation versus sounds of grinding or rubbing that don’t belong. Also close the garage door and go to the outside and check the perimeter for a correct seal. There are several rubber gaskets that seal the gap between the door, and the door frame. Also you might find a seal between the bottom of the door and the floor surface which is usually concrete. The purpose of the rubber seals is to seal out the elements. These rubber seals can be found on both sides of the garage door (attached to the wood framing) and on the bottom (attached to the door itself). Use silicone spray lubricant to spray on the gaskets as it works very well for preserving the rubber and preventing it from sticking or tearing when the door is in operation. Just don’t get any of the lubricant of the floor because you won’t be able to stand up for very long.

Check door track (the track that the wheels ride in) on both sides of garage door for dirt buildup caused by years of grease and debris. If excessive, use any type of automotive brake cleaner or paint thinner and an old rag to clean the track back to bare metal. After doing so, use either a spray or brush on thick grease, such as lithium based grease, and re-lubricate the entire track with a light coat.

Check the wheels that ride inside the door track to make sure they are not broken or cracked and use a small amount of the lithium grease to lubricate the shaft of the wheels. Also make sure they “ride” the door track straight and in the middle.

Next check all securing bolts and screws that attach the various metal parts to the door to make sure they are tight. If they are loose re-tighten the screws. If screws are not able to tighten (stripped) then remove screw and insert a piece of cardboard or wood shaving into the hole and try re-tightening the screw again.

If you have a power operator on your garage door there are usually two types. First being a chain drive and the second being a screw drive. It doesn’t matter which one you have; the procedure is going to be basically to clean the chain or screw drive with the same cleaner that you used to clean the track on the door. Again use an old rag as it gets messy and lithium based lubricant to re-lubricate the chain or screw drive but don’t overdue it. A little bit goes a long way; both grease and common sense.