When the weather turns colder, you’ll be glad you have a garage to keep your car indoors. In addition to colder temperatures, winter brings snow and sleet, both of which can cause problems for your vehicle. It’s therefore quite convenient to be able to secure your vehicle behind a garage door.
But what if your garage door stops working properly? In the same way that cold weather can harm your car, it can also harm your garage door. Fortunately, there are solutions to the various issues that may arise; however, it is necessary to first understand what those garage door issues may be.
Common issues caused by colder weather in the garage
The following are some of the most common causes of your garage door not opening in the winter:
1. Broken springs
The winter season can have a negative impact on automatic garage doors in a variety of ways, with broken garage door springs being one of the most common. The main culprit here is wear and tear — garage door springs typically last around 10,000 cycles, and it’s easy to forget to perform regular maintenance checks on the springs during the hectic winter months.
The manual lift test can be used to inspect the springs. Installing a safety cable is another way to protect against the effects of broken springs. You won’t have to worry as much if you take care of that installation before any springs break.
2. Lubrication Issues
Most professional garage door openers require year-round lubrication to keep the moving parts running smoothly. It is not uncommon for these products to change consistency in cold temperatures during the winter. This is generally bad for the professional garage door opener and any moving parts that require lubrication.
As with broken springs, you can check for this problem by manually lifting the garage door. If it gets stuck in various places on the way up, it most likely has a lubrication issue. The issue could be that the lubricant has thickened or that it has been applied unevenly. One way to avoid this occurrence is to use lubricant with a viscosity rating appropriate for the lowest temperature in your area.
3. Damaged Sensor
If the door passes the manual lift test, the motor could be the issue, but it isn’t the only one. The remote sensor could also be the source of the problem. If the remote you use to open the door is damaged, it may not be sending signals to the mechanism properly. In this case, you’ll still need to call Cary’s garage door repair professional to deal with it, but it will be less difficult to deal with than a damaged motor.
4. Wrapped Metal
If you are having difficulty manually lifting the door and the lubrication appears to be adequate, the metal parts themselves may be the source of the problem. Because metal contracts slightly in cold temperatures, the metal parts of the lift mechanism become tighter together.
In some cases, this causes enough resistance between connecting parts that they cannot move, resulting in your door becoming stuck. Lubricant can help to alleviate this problem by allowing the parts to slide past each other more easily, but if the problem persists, you may need to consult a professional.
5. Ice between Panels
Most commercial garage doors are made up of multiple panels that bend and fold as they rise. Unfortunately, the connections between these panels allow moisture to enter and freeze. When the panels become frozen together, they are unable to fold, preventing the door from opening.
To deal with this issue, use some of the same methods as for dealing with ground freeze — scraping, using a heat gun, pouring hot water on it, or simply waiting for it to melt naturally. However, take care not to damage your door in the process. A heat gun, for example, is probably not the best solution if your door is made of wood.
6. Water Damage
Winter precipitation, especially with wooden garage doors, can cause the door and frame to swell. Roof snow can melt and run down into the entrance, where it can seep into the wood. In the worst-case scenario, the space between the door and the frame closes, causing them to rub against each other. The door may even become stuck in place, preventing it from opening when you need to go in or out.
You can avoid this problem by keeping your rain gutters clear so that water runoff does not splash onto the door and cause or contribute to swelling.
The first step in clearing your garage from snow is to call a high-quality garage door repair professional. At Tip Top Garage Doors Cary, we provide a wide variety of garage door services at great and affordable costs.
Call Tip Top Garage Doors Cary at (919)-701-3003 if you want to install a brand-new garage door in your house. Simply give one of our Garage Door Repair specialists a call.