Maintenance Tips

Wash your door regularly

Wash the door with a mild detergent, such as dish detergent, and a car brush. Thoroughly rinse the surface with a garden hose. Avoid abrasive cleaners and strong detergents. Never use an electric pressure washer. Waxing your garage door once a year with car wax will protect its luster and revive the shine it may have lost due to acid rain and UV rays. For best results, never apply wax in direct sunlight. If the door is facing south or southwest, avoid dark colors since they absorb more heat. Whether the garage door is made of steel, aluminum, or wood, southern exposure to the sun tends to damage the paint much faster. This is especially true for applied paint.

The weather-stripping found around frame and bottom edge

If it is made of rubber (quality PVC), use a multi-purpose cleaner for vinyl, such as the one used on outdoor furniture. Rinse well with a garden hose. Lubricate weather-stripping every other month, or more, according to how often the garage door is used. For this purpose, use a silicone-based product.

Never use a petroleum-based lubricant since petroleum is known to adversely affect the elastic properties of rubber. Weather-stripping rubber must remain flexible to be an efficient barrier.

Tracks, hinges, rollers, and springs

Lubricate rollers and hinges with some motor oil (e.g.: 10W30). Do not use any petrol based lubricant because, aside from lubricating, it has the property of degreasing. Use motor oil for the tracks, especially in their curved section. Springs require basically the same treatment. Apply motor oil on them and wipe off excess oil with a cloth. This simple trick will help prolong their useful life.

The electric garage door opener

• Once every month, do maintenance on your electric operator. Work the door manually. It must be well balanced. If the door is not balanced, contact a qualified garage door installer.
• Check if your garage door opens and closes completely. If necessary, adjust limits and/or force. Most garage doors openers come with two knobs for these adjustments. Consult your owner's manual.
• Check the safety reversing sensor. The door must reverse on contact if an object or a person is under it. Also, check if your photo sensors are correctly plugged in and aligned. The door should reverse if any object passes through the beam.
• Garage door openers do not require additional lubrication.
• Do not permit children to play with the opener. Keep the remote control out of children's reach.

We recommend that you have the garage door inspected by a us at least once a year. For your own safety, never attempt to adjust the springs, the lower hinges, or the hoisting cables yourself because of, among others, the inherent risk associated with the great deal of tension in the springs.

Tune up

A professionally installed and well-designed garage door only weighs three to four kilograms. That's why you only need two fingers to lift it. If it takes more than that, your door needs to be adjusted.

We will conduct a 10-step inspection, perform the necessary adjustments and lubricate the weather-stripping and hardware.

1. Lubrication and adjustment of rollers and hinges
2. Lubrication of torsion springs as well as the end and centre plates
3. Adjustment and balancing of torsion or extension springs
   
4. Adjustment of set screws, drums, springs as well as centre coupling and their anchor plates
5. Adjustment of tension of lifting cables
6. Adjustment of vertical and horizontal tracks (alignment and wall attachment)
7. Verification and lubrication of exterior frame and door bottom weather stripping
8. Adjustment and lubrication of door opener's electrical component including trolley
9. Adjustment of all security systems (mechanical or photoelectric)
10. Verification of proper operating condition of all electric door opener accessories, if applicable (wall control, remote control and battery, digital keypad and battery, exterior emergency release key lock)

Safety Tips

Your garage door is the largest electrical appliance in your house and its correct operation is very important for your safety and that of your family.

Here is how to ensure that your garage door is the safest possible.

• Do regular maintenance of your garage door
• If you have an extension spring system, make sure you have safety cables
• You can do the garage door installation yourself, if you have the ability and the proper tools to do it, and especially if you read our garage door installation guide attentively. However we strongly recommend that you work with an expert installer
• Do not try to adjust the springs yourself, they are under high tension
• Check the correct operation of your garage door opener regularly
• Keep the remote controls out of children's reach
• Choose the " Security + " operator with rolling codes, (i.e. It's secret code changes each time you use the operator) you will lower the risk of theft
• Ask us to assist the annual maintenance of your garage door.