|
|
Have you inspected your Garage Door lately?
The garage door is typically the largest moving part in your home and is probably used every day. With normal use, parts can wear out and break, creating potential safety problems. There are a few light maintenance duties and inspections a mechanically inclined person can perform to ensure maximum safety and increase the life of their door.
Check the rollers, hinges and safety devices to be sure they are fastened securely and in proper working order.
Check the balance of the door by lifting it a few feet off the ground and releasing. The door should not travel more than a couple of inches in either direction. If the door drops to the ground then your springs either need adjusting or replacing. When operated manually a garage door should go up and down smoothly.
In the event of spring failure extension springs can cause severe damage if they are not contained. If the doors springs dont already have safety cables installed, now would be a good time to get them installed. Remember even the highest quality springs eventually wear and break.
Replace springs if they show signs of wear such as uneven gaps between the coils, bent or damaged ends.
Inspect the cables for fray. Replace frayed cables immediately. Check the pulleys for nicks or excessive wear that can cause damage to the cable. Replace worn pulleys if necessary.
Verify that the tracks are level and plumb. Tracks should line up parallel to the door sections without binding. Ensure that the lag screws securing the track brackets to the jambs are secure. Replace bent, missing or rusted lags immediately.
Tighten all hinge and bracket screws, bear in mind that garage door bottom brackets are under extreme tension when the door is closed and can cause serious injury if accidentally or deliberately loosened or removed. Replace bent or broken hinges. Check the doors rollers for excessive wobble and replace as necessary.
All garage door openers manufactured and installed after 1991 are required by law to have a reversing mechanism. Garage door openers manufactured and installed after 1993 are required to have photo eyes connected at the bottom of the track to trigger the reverse mechanism when an infrared beam is broken. A defective or improperly adjusted reversing mechanism on your garage door opener could cause damage injury and possibly death. Check your door opener regularly to be sure that the reversing mechanism is in proper working order.
Lubricate rollers, hinge pivots, pulleys, torsion spring coils, bearings and the electric opener chain and sprockets.
With periodic inspections and maintenance the average garage door can safely provide many years of trouble free performance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Richard Aquino has been selling and installing replacement garage door parts since 1982. Visit Bargain Enterprises at http://www.garage-door-hardware.com for residential, commercial and industrial garage door and electic opener parts and accessories.
Have you inspected your Garage Door lately?
-
The Joy Of A Patio Awning
Additionally, patio awnings come in a wide range of styles that allows a person to accent an outdoor space exactly like he or she thinks proper. Whether a traditional awning fabric is selected or whether a modernistic aluminum awning contrivance is chosen, a person can decorate and improve the space to the degree that perfectly matches his or her tastes and desires. In addition to adding a bit of colour and interest to a patio, patio awnings are also entirely practical.
-
Patios: The New Trend in Home Remodels
Patio Misters are a wonderful addition if you live in a climate where summers can be unbearable. You can make this a focal point of the patio with container garden landscaping, intimate lighting, tiki torches or candles. If you have a spacious patio you might add a home spa.
-
Solar Home Improvements without Panels
The temperature differences from room to room will eventually equalize, but a few ceiling fans can help. Once the sun sets, they start giving off heat which allows you to maximize your passive solar system. Before electricity was in abundant supply, ancient societies planned entire structures around the concept. Get in, mark the time, close the vents and roll up the windows.
-
Patio Canopies: Protecting Your Patio From The Elements...
Several makers offer vinyl patio units with limited 15-year warranties. Patio canopies also have use for residences with a swimming pool, the backyard deck or other large and exposed areas. Canopies can also be made of steel while maintaining their retractability and flexibility. 45% of such dwellings have them, rising from 37% in 1992.
-
The Advantages of Steel Buildings
Steel building products, including steel frames, are made of recycled steel. Ever since Sir Henry Basserner invented steel in 1855, it has become an integral part of bridges, pipelines and even skyscrapers. Besides, they can be given a conventional look by covering them with traditional building materials like bricks, siding or stucco. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Steel Buildings provides detailed information about commercial, pre-fabricated, and pre-engineered steel buildings, steel storage buildings, and steel building kits.
-
The Smart Way To Look At Home Improvements
Does that mean that major home improvements are always a bad idea? Viewed strictly in investment terms, major improvements rarely make as much sense as selling your present home and buying one thats carefully selected to provide you with what you want. What home improvements really pay off when the time comes to sell your house?
|
|
|
