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Garage Doors - Residential

5 Important Things to Know About Owning Garage Doors:

  1. Proper Garage Door Balance:

    For you to keep your garage door working safely and operating properly, it must stay balanced. If you are seeing your garage door panels starting to crack or you can tell your opener is struggling during the opening and closing process, your garage door is likely not balanced correctly. An unbalanced garage door will cause the internal components of your garage door opener to wear out faster than normal and eventually it will fail (freeze up or break) likely causing you to replace the entire garage door opener and of course have the garage door rebalanced! Do not wait until the garage door opener fails; get your garage door balanced. It is much less expensive to be proactive and take care of the little things before your end up reactive with much bigger problems.

  2. Garage Door System Preventative Maintenance:

    Every Quarter, Home Owners should schedule Preventative Maintenance for their garage doors and the opener. That little squeak, grind, scrape and creak you hear as the garage door goes up and down is some kind of friction adding extra wear and tear on your garage door opener system. These little issues eventually result in the same replacement situation as in #1 above, where you end up having to replace it. Having a Garage Door Professional spend 30-45mins on your garage door system every 3 months or so can add years to the useable life of your system. While the Garage Door Professional is there doing the Preventative Maintenance, they will check out your system as a whole while applying lubrication, tightening the cables, the screws & bolts that hold it all together. Did you know that the Screws & Bolts loosen as the temperature fluctuates during the day and over the seasons? You want a service person oiling the chains, hinges, rollers, drums, T-Rails and inspecting all the little things that you, a home owner, wouldn’t likely know to check or what impact what they find has on the system. You want a Professional doing this; it is about safety and preventing more expensive repairs or having your Garage Door System Replaced.

  3. Professional Garage Door System Inspection:

    At a minimum, on a bi-annual seasonal basis, in the spring and in the fall, have a Garage Door Professional Inspect your System, Perform Preventative Maintenance and Tighten All Your Bolts and Screws. I know it sounds simple, but overlooking this when the seasons change, opens your garage door system up to potential damage, because this is the time the moving parts start to come apart. Doors are heavy, Springs and Cables are under high tension and when those parts fail, they can coming apart with force and cause serious damage to you, a visitor, to your home and/or your property in the garage. Preventative Maintenance helps you avoid many unnecessary garage door and opener issues and extend the usable life of your opening system.

  4. Garage Door OpenerMAX Closing Force” Setting:

    DO NOT set your garage door openers “Closing Force” to MAX. Setting your garage door to this setting essentially forces the garage door to close with force. This can trap or SERIOUSLY INJURE A CHILD! Especially a small child, an animal or item caught under the door when it is forcing itself to close which could not only damage the item under the door, it could damage the Garage Door! Besides, if you door is properly balanced, maintained and operating correctly, it should smoothly open and close not requiring extra force to do so. If you know your “Closing Force” is set to MAX and you don’t know why, (It should have been explained to your during the installation or when you received the keys to your home, because it is a Safety Issue!) You should call a different Garage Door Professional to check out your garage door system, because there may likely be other things that need attention with your opening system besides the “Closing Force” setting.

  5. Low Quality Garage Doors:

    Many subdivision builders buy mass quantities of low-grade non-insulated garage doors. These garage doors have a minimal life span of only 5 – 8 years. They are like 16x7 soda cans rolling up and down every day, are easily damaged and provide no heating or cooling benefit and usually are not very aesthetically beneficial to your homes curb appeal.

    So, when considering a new door for any reason, think of it as an investment in your home and not just another garage door. It is going to be part of your home for many years to come and the quality and aesthetics you decide upon will make a big difference in your daily life. It is not just when you are looking at your home as you come back from work each day, it is every single time you open and close your garage door. The question really is, is it an annoying and painful process or not even a thought when you use it. It should not only look good, it should operate smoothly, quietly and painlessly so you do not even think about it. Life happens and you do not want your garage door adding to your everyday stress.

    Over the lifetime of a quality garage door, you will very likely pay a lot less than the “bargain” door you may be considering. Most people do not consider that a quality garage door may last many years longer than that “bargain”. In addition, the insulation on your garage door makes a large difference between it being cool in the summer and warm in the winter which will reduce your utility costs ALL YEAR LONG. Your garage is part of your home, it can just be a storage area or it can be another living area to enjoy spending precious time with family and friends.

    Therefore, when some garage door service person offers to install a garage door system for something like $700.00, you can pretty much guarantee that it is another low-grade non-insulated garage door that you end up replacing again in 5 – 8 years and that service may not be around when you call them because you are having issues. If you have to replace the door or are considering giving your home a little face-lift, invest in quality, add some windows and get some insulation. This thoughtful investment in your home can add a new dimension to your everyday life and give your home a new place to enjoy your family for a long time to come.


Just My Thoughts:   After all, when it comes down to it, it is always about having a safe and secure home for your family and that is what a new garage door and/or opener can do that for your home. Always remember to use a Professional Garage Door Service, checkout what other customers say about that garage door service in their Reviews / Testimonials from “Their Website”, but then on other websites like HomeAdvisor.com, BuildZoom.com, AngiesList.com, ThumbTack.com, YellowPages.com, Local.com,…etc. Oh, you will may also find good service professionals in your local Yellow Pages (the big book you get every year…). You know that big book that may still be on top of the refrigerator or in some drawer; you threw it, maybe somewhere in your garage? Bottom line, if every reference has the same message about a service, you should expect to that same level of service when you call on them.

I believe it is also good advice for you to talk with the service person that is actually going to be doing the work on your home. Ask them real questions concerning your situation and listen to their response. Trust your instincts. If their answers are knowledgeable, on track, to the point and simply flow in conversation without a bunch of sales-speak. They are a better choice than a sales person that has to get someone else to answer your questions.

Please keep in mind that the expert garage door professional you seek is probably busy working on a garage door system for a current customer. They may have to tell you something like they “will have to call you back..." or something like “I am with a customer could you please go to my website... You can get all the information you need, fill out a Service or Information Request Form from there…”

If they do, you should respect that answer, isn’t that what you would want them to do if they were on the clock working for you on your home? The Quality Service Providing Professionals you seek are busy, they are in demand, because they do quality work and they are the ones you want working on your home. I am sure you get the idea, just check out their services if you have not used them before. Remember to get your questions ready to check them out when you have them on the phone… :)

Knowing all this before the call helps you make informed decisions and you will increase your chances of finding the Expert Garage Door Professional you want to do the work on your home.

Rolling Tip of The Day:   The Cheapest Service or Person; usually is...

Sincerely,

Shane Dalton, Owner
Rolling Garage Doors & Gates, Inc.
Serving The Greater Sacramento Valley Area
Direct:        (916) 710-1307
Email:        This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website:   RollingGDG.com
G+:   plus.google.com/+RollingGDGInc
FB:   facebook.com/RollingGDG


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