Being In Touch With Your Garage Door

When most people think of garage door services, they generally think about installing a garage door, replacing a garage door, or fixing a damaged garage door. They might also think about services related to a garage door opener. However, there are several other garage door services you can ask for and it may never have occurred to you to ask for them. The following services are no less useful than garage door repair because they are part of general garage door maintenance that many homeowners tend to overlook.

Oiling the Chains

Garage doors on a chain and pulley system, or garage door openers that utilize a chain system, need to be oiled regularly. Even though the chains are not directly exposed to the outdoor elements, they are not protected from the humid conditions that exist inside a garage. The humidity can cause the chains to rust or get stuck and grind. Oiling them can prevent some of the rust and prevent the chains from getting stuck or grinding.

Checking the Casters on the Door

Many garage doors rely on casters, or wheels, to help the garage doors slide up smoothly. The wheels move in a set of tracks attached to the door's frame posts. The casters should be checked regularly to make sure they are not bent out of shape and that they are moving freely in their tracks. If they are not, a garage door repair technician can replace these casters so that you do not experience any hassles with your garage door in the near future.

Removing Birds' Nests from the Upper Supports of the Garage Door

Birds are notorious for finding their way into your garage and building nests wherever they think the nests will be adequately supported. Quite often, birds will build nests on the upper supports of your garage door, the area where the door slides up and over and becomes parallel to the ceiling. While you can certainly knock these down when you see them, you may want them professionally removed so that the birds and/or their eggs/babies are not disturbed. Removing the nests will ensure that your garage door does not get stuck on top of the nests or trap and injure the birds that made them and are nesting in them.

Making Sure All of the Hardware Is Secure

Nothing messes up the function of a good garage door quite like loose hardware (except for a damaged door, of course). If you already have a repair technician out to look at some other feature of your garage door, ask him or her to check the tightness and security of the hardware. It takes but a few minutes extra, and you may uncover some other garage door services that need to be addressed while the screws, nuts and bolts are tightened.