Avoid These Common Summer Garage Door Problems and Stay Safe

Summer is here, and that extreme heat can influence your garage door. Along with the good comes the hot summer weather, which can wreak havoc on your garage door system. At DoorMaster Garage Doors Service, we’ve witnessed firsthand how extreme heat and seasonal wear and tear can create issues—even safety hazards—when ignored.

Here are some of the most frequent summer garage door problems and tips for avoiding them and keeping your door in good shape.

Expansion of Metal Components

Hot weather leads to the expansion of metal parts like springs, tracks, and screws. That can cause them not to line up correctly, make strange noises, or be hard to open and close.

How to Stay Safe: Plan a Summertime Tune-Up. Have a mechanic check the bike in the spring to ensure gears, brakes, and other parts are lubricated and adjusted. A professional garage door person can assess springs and bolts for heat stress or loosening.

Dried-Out Weatherstripping

Excessive heat and sun can dry and crack the weatherstripping on your door. This is not only a waste of energy but also allows all types of pests and debris to enter your garage.

Solution: Check the weatherstripping at the bottom and sides of your garage door. Replace any brittle or damaged seals to prevent the heat from entering the garage when necessary.

Sensor Interference

Sunlight can disrupt your garage door safety sensors, particularly if the sensors are facing sunlight. This can cause your door not to shut properly or even force it to return immediately downward.

What You Can Do: If possible, put up sun shades or install the sensors in a shadowed area. Cleaning your lenses often will also help with sensor accuracy.

Increased Use

Summer also brings more time spent outdoors, which means the garage door is opened and closed more often—think bikes, lawn equipment, and kids darting in and out.

Tip: More use breaks down your opener and moving parts quicker. Watch (and listen) for weird noises and if there’s any delay in the door moving. Doing a little maintenance now could also help you to avoid mid-summer breakdowns.

Power Surges or Outages

Power surges or even higher-than-normal demand (such as in a summer thunderstorm) can cause a power failure, which can damage your garage door opener’s circuit board.

Pro Tip: Plug your opener into a surge protector. If you are subject to regular blackouts, you may require a backup battery system.

Don’t Let Garage Door Problems Ruin Your Summer

A minor amount of advance work can steer you well clear of expensive repairs (or worse). At DoorMaster Garage Doors Service, we provide complete summer checkup services so your door continues functioning without any hitches.

• Call today to schedule your Summer tune-up
• 24/7 emergency repairs
• Providing homeowners with quality, affordable service you can trust
• Stay cool. Stay safe. Stay secure.

Call DoorMaster Garage Doors Service and maintain your garage door perfectly this summer.