Your garage door and lift assembly has a lot of moving parts, and all of them have to be in good condition to work properly. They don?t need a lot of attention, but a few minutes of basic maintenance once a year can save you money by extending the life of your garage door and opener.
Inspection and maintenance for any garage door and garage door opener
Here?s what we recommend:
- Inspect the track for dents or other damage that might stop the wheels or add extra wear and tear on the lift assembly.
- Check all bolts, nuts, and screws on the door, tracks, and back hangs, and tighten or replace as necessary.
- Lubricate the tracks, pulleys, springs, rollers, hinges, bearings, the opener rail and the garage door joints with a silicone penetrating spray (not WD40).
- Inspect the cables for frayed or broken strands and open and close the garage door to make sure the cables wind smoothly onto the drums.
- Check the springs for signs of wear, but do not touch or manipulate them.
- Inspect the power cord and any visible wires for wear.
- Clean the sensors. (alcohol or glass cleaner will work fine)
Garage Door Openers
Your garage door opener is an important part of your home security. They lock your garage and provide an extra layer of security for your garage entry point. When you pull into your garage and close the door, you are less vulnerable to attack than someone fumbling with keys at the front door.
Electric openers are no longer considered a luxury item, most people consider them a necessity. Coming and going through the garage rather than entry doors became increasingly common when automatic garage door openers were introduced.
When you push the button and the door won?t open or close it can be a serious problem. You may not be able to get your car into or out of the garage, and it can destroy your sense of personal safety if your garage door is stuck in the open position.
Here?s a rundown of different types of garage door openers.
Chain Drive Electric Openers
The chain drive opener is the more basic yet very functional of all the electric openers made. A chain drive can open and close a garage door many times a day and continue working well for many years.
Powerful chain drive systems can be better suited than a belt drive system for exceptionally heavy garage doors. The biggest disadvantage to a chain drive system is noise. It is considerably louder than a belt drive as it moves.
A chain is also heavier than a belt, and requires more tension to keep the chain tight. The extra tension required shortens the life of the gear and sprocket system. Chain drive openers can be purchased as 3/4, 1/2, or 1/3 horsepower motor heads and can be used with multiple motor models.
We recommend the Linear LDO 50. We find it to be the most user-friendly and reliable chain drive opener made. You may be familiar with other brands, such as LiftMaster and Genie. They make good chain drive openers and we?ll be happy to install them for you, but they won?t last as long as a Linear.
Belt Drive Electric Openers
Of all the types of garage door openers, belt drive openers have the quietest operation. The newest models of belt drive openers are virtually silent compared to the older models.
Our first choice for belt drive openers is the Linear LDCO800. It is the quietest opener made and is compatible with a battery backup. Having a battery backup is great when the power goes out; you?ll be able to open and close your garage door up to eight times. The LDCO800 has an automatic sleep mode for when the opener is not in use.
Linear LDCO800 openers are silent, strong, and energy efficient with lifetime warranties on both the belt and motor.
Jackshaft Openers
The jackshaft opener is a direct drive opener that attaches directly to a torsion spring system. Jackshaft openers do not work with all garage door systems, but can be modified to work with commercial sheet doors.
The jackshaft motor is a premium series garage door opener with a silent DC motor, a safety shut off system, safety eyes, and an automatic lock. Jackshaft motors are best suited for high lift track systems or for garages where an opener rail will not fit. They do not have a rail like standard openers and they mount to the side of a door on the torsion tube.
The jackshaft opener is the most expensive type of opener to install for residential garage doors, but they are occasionally necessary in some situations, and they are the best residential garage door openers available.
Screw Drive Openers
Screw drive openers are often more problematic than other openers. If you insist, we?ll install one for you, but we strongly recommend other options.
Screw drive openers tend to get louder over time, and the screw system requires more maintenance than the other types of openers. We have found that even the newer models are less reliable than chain or belt drive openers.
Screw drive openers have a long threaded shaft, like a giant screw, that turns to move the trolley forward and backward. This causes a lot of friction, especially in winter. As a result, screw drives need lubrication often and require a lot more maintenance than any other type of opener.
Garage Door Opener Repairs
On average your garage door opener will work reliably for 10 to 15 years, or 10,000 open/close cycles. At some point, though, your garage door opener will fail. If your system stops working and it?s less than 15 years old, repair might be the best option. If it?s older, it?s probably time for a new one.
The garage door opener motor usually outlasts the gears and the other moving parts. Repairing an opener is often a good choice because the electric motors are made to last for a very long time, but we never guarantee the parts that we did not replace.
CSS Garage Doors installs and repairs garage door openers in Kennesaw, Marietta, Acworth, Woodstock, and Canton. We can repair or install whatever brand you have or want. Our trucks are fully stocked with most of the parts that commonly need replacing, including gears, trolleys, circuit boards, capacitors, and new electric openers.
Garage Doors
Your garage door is an important feature of your home, and offers a high return on your investment. Since your garage door is one of the first things people see when they drive past your house, it has great influence on curb appeal. When you?re selling your house, it can make a big difference in impressing buyers.
Garage doors are a significant part of your home security. When you pull into your garage and shut the door, you deserve the feeling of safety that comes with a well-built garage door. A new door will also give you years of smooth, quiet operation.
Today?s garage doors come in a huge variety of options, from design to construction and insulation. You may be drawn to a traditional style with carriage house style windows, a trendy rustic wood style with iron fittings, or a modern minimalist look to match the style of your house.
Standard Raised Panel Overhead Doors
The raised panel design is the most common garage door style in use today. Every garage door manufacturer makes their own version of raised panel garage doors. They may all look the same from a distance, but quality can differ greatly.
Raised panel garage doors come in three basic standard models which are plain metal, vinyl back insulated, and steel back insulated. Plain metal garage doors have steel on the outside and are hollow on the inside.
The plain metal hollow sections can be insulated with sheets of vinyl coated polystyrene which will give the door an average R-value of 7. The high end raised panel garage doors have a layer of steel on both the outside and inside with polystyrene sandwiched in the middle giving these doors an R-value of 8 or higher.
The two sided steel doors can also be injected with urethane foam which doubles the R-value. Raised panel garage doors have several window design and paint color options to choose from.
Stamped Carriage Overhead Doors
Stamped steel carriage doors are built the same way as raised panel garage doors, with stamp patterns to create a variety of textures.
Steel carriage doors, for example, have a stamp pattern designed to look like bead board with wood overlay. Carriage doors feature large windows and decorative hardware attached to the outside of the door to give the door a classic look. Steel carriage doors are very popular, and we offer many different styles and designs to choose from. Carriage door options are plain metal, insulated, and sandwich steel construction. Like the raised panel garage doors, steel carriage doors have many different window and color options to choose from.
Custom Built Carriage-house Doors
If you are looking for a custom built garage door with a true craftsman look, you may be interested in our hand built carriage doors. Each one is built to order, and all we need from you is a drawing or photo to give us some idea of what you want.
We?ll build you a custom steel garage door with wood overlay or a completely hand constructed all wood door. Your handmade carriage door can be constructed from many different types of rot resistant wood or wood for a unique finished look.
Custom wood doors are elegant and trendy, but expensive. More economical overlay doors give your garage a custom look without some of the maintenance issues of real woods.
Overlay garage doors are made with flush panel steel sections with synthetic wood material attached to the outside of the door for a unique design.
When it?s Time to Replace Your Garage Door
When the time comes to replace your old one, we will help you choose a garage door style that offers the quality and quiet operation you want, in a style that fits your taste and budget. Whatever style you choose, a quality garage door is a great way to protect your investment, and enhance the appearance, convenience, and security of your home.
We offer a garage doors made by several different manufacturers, and we?ll be happy to recommend the manufacturers that make the best products based on our experience.
When we install your garage door, we?ll replace the tracks, sections, and all the operating hardware, haul off the old door, and to reconnect your garage door opener.