Maintaining a Hazard-Free Garage Space

When it comes to any garage door, particularly in homes or buildings where children are present, safety is of paramount importance. Garage doors are large and heavy items that require proper care and maintenance to ensure they don’t become hazards to people around them.

At Crawford Door Sales, we’re here to help you maintain basic safety and care for all garage doors, from residential options to commercial choices that include our sectional overhead doors. Here are several important areas to maintain when it comes to ensuring your door doesn’t become a hazard.

Spring System

If you consider simply the weight of garage doors themselves, you might be overwhelmed. An average nine-foot-wide garage door (about the size of a two-car garage) can weigh up to 150 pounds, and larger options like three-car garages can get up near 300 pounds in many cases. If this weight isn’t properly controlled, it can be a major safety hazard.

This is where garage door springs come in, however. They’re meant to displace the weight of the garage and make it far easier to lift – with an efficient spring system, that 250-pound door will only feel like about eight to 10 pounds when you lift it, which you can do with one hand.

But if there are issues with your springs, the hazard could return quickly. Springs should be replaced at least once every seven years, and more often if the garage is used a lot. If you notice even small spring-related issues, do not hesitate to have them repaired.

Rollers

You want your rollers to appear round and smooth at all times, allowing the wheels on the garage to glide right along with no friction. If you’ve begun to notice that these have squared edges instead, or are having issues with rolling properly on the shaft, consider repairs right away before you are dealing with alignment or other issues.

Lubrication

One of the most common hazards within residential and commercial garage door settings is rust, which originally may seem like a small issue but can grow into a major wear problem that blocks components from working properly. To avoid it, be sure to keep springs, rollers, tracks and other metal components well-lubricated at all times.

Loose Nuts and Bolts

Have you begun to notice regular squeaking or other noises coming from the garage when it moves? This is often a sign of loose nuts or bolts in the hinges that hold the tracks, and you should tighten these right away to risk further damage.

Old Openers

If your garage door opener is more than 10 years old, and especially if it was manufactured before 1993, we highly recommend upgrading it to a newer option. One of the top garage hazards out there is in the form of faulty openers that cause the door to move or not move at the wrong times.

For more on keeping garage doors free of hazard risks, or to learn about any of our overhead door services, speak to the staff at Crawford Door Sales today.