How to Save on Winter Repairs with Fall Garage Door Maintenance
Does the garage door shudder and groan when you put it through its paces? One has to wonder if it will give out in the dead of winter. Not to mention the prospect of an emergency repair bill once the snow has a chance to accumulate.
Garage Headquarters has 50 plus years of experience to put behind any service call; we have been of assistance to homeowners in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts in keeping their doors in good order since 1973. Give us a ring at (401) 381-5065 in Rhode Island or (781) 628-5261 in Massachusetts to put one of our certified technicians on the phone about getting your door in shape for the coming months.
There is no better time than fall to tend to a garage door. The mild weather allows a technician to do his work in comfort and nips any minor trouble in the bud before it gets cold. Too often a homeowner will put it off until there is a break, at which point the timing is poor and the fix is a good deal more involved.
The Hardship of Cold Weather on Garage Doors
One would be hard pressed to see why, but winter is unforgiving to a garage door. Metal will contract in the freeze, lubricants get thick and are no longer slick, moisture can put components in a vice. Something that was fine in October is apt to have difficulty come January.
Cold puts its strain on the system in several ways:
- Rollers and hinges are made to drag by stiffened grease
- Metal springs are brittle and can snap
- There is cracking in the weather seals, admitting moisture and the cold
- Contraction of the panels may loosen hardware
- The bottom of the door can be frozen to the ground
- Your electronic opener has to overcome more resistance
A bit of fall attention is all it takes to head off most of these.
What You Get from a Fall Tune-up
We do not believe in a cursory look. A technician from our staff will put the entire system under review and find the small things that become big repairs in the cold.
When you have a maintenance visit we will typically:
- Go over every bolt, bracket and piece of hardware to make sure they are tight
- Put the proper cold weather product on the rollers, tracks, hinges and springs
- See how the spring tension is and check for fatigue
- Make certain the door is balanced to spare the opener
- Replace any weather seals that are past their prime
- Run a test on the auto-reverse and safety sensors
In short, it is protection against a winter breakdown.
Where the Savings Are
It is a simple equation: a scheduled visit is a fraction of the cost of an emergency and makes the parts you have last longer. A roller you have put in during the fall is a small matter of expense. Leave it and it could put the door off track in mid-winter and the bill will be accordingly larger.
Take springs for instance. They are among the costliest and most frequent points of failure and the cold only encourages it. Our technician can put in a new one on a planned call in October rather than in the middle of a freezing emergency.
Then there is the matter of the opener motor. A well lubricated and balanced door does not tax it as much, so the opener is less of a drain on power and is not going to let you down when called upon.
New England Homeowners Put Their Trust in Us
From our Warwick, RI home office we cover Providence, East Greenwich, Coventry, Jamestown and other towns in Rhode Island as well as Boston, Newton, Cape Cod, Plymouth, Wellesley, Brookline, Hingham, Needham and the rest of Southeastern Massachusetts.
You will not find another company in New England with as many local certified technicians on our payroll. We are fully licensed and insured and have a 100% satisfaction guarantee to back up the 450 odd Google reviews we have. An estimate is free of charge, so there is no risk in seeing what is required of your door.
We are open 8am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday and 8 to 12 on Saturday to accommodate a pre-winter appointment.
Make the call now and face the winter without worry. At (401) 381-5065 in Rhode Island or (781) 628-5261 in Massachusetts, Garage Headquarters is ready to have our technicians put your door in order for the season.
