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Untitled Document - Edited - 2025-04-27T094143.516

The document outlines the top signs indicating it's time to replace your garage door, including sluggish speed, increased noise, visible damage, inability to open or close, old age, and rising energy costs. It emphasizes the importance of regular maintenance and the potential safety risks associated with malfunctioning doors. For professional assistance, the document encourages contacting a specific company for inspections and installations.

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joywabuna
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25 views4 pages

Untitled Document - Edited - 2025-04-27T094143.516

The document outlines the top signs indicating it's time to replace your garage door, including sluggish speed, increased noise, visible damage, inability to open or close, old age, and rising energy costs. It emphasizes the importance of regular maintenance and the potential safety risks associated with malfunctioning doors. For professional assistance, the document encourages contacting a specific company for inspections and installations.

Uploaded by

joywabuna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Top 10 Signs It's Time to Replace Your Garage Door

Your garage door plays a crucial role in facilitating your home's overall functionality, security,
and curb appeal. Keeping it in good condition should be among your top home maintenance
priorities. You should routinely service it, fix it when it runs into problems, and replace it when it
has lived out its working lifespan. Here's how to know it's time to replace your garage door.

1. Sluggish Speed

A garage door relies on a system of tracks, rollers, springs, and cables working together to ensure
smooth operation. An average residential garage door should take 12 to 15 seconds to fully open
and close. If yours takes longer, there could be a problem with its operating system.

One of the primary causes of this problem is lack of lubrication. Insufficient lubrication increases
friction on rollers and hinges, which causes the cable system and springs to work harder to lift or
lower the garage door. This strain is what reduces the opening and closing speed. Applying
silicone or lithium grease should restore the door to normal operational speed.

If the door is still slow, other possible causes include worn-down pulleys, lost tension in the
springs, faulty brakes, damaged hinges, malfunctioning motor, or blockage in the tracks. Some of
these issues are more challenging and costly to deal with, and sometimes, it is better to just
replace the garage.

Be sure to rule out wrong control settings. Some garage door models allow users to program the
speed at which they open and close for safety reasons. If your door has this feature, check the
owner's manual or the control panel settings to ensure it hasn't been accidentally set to a slower
speed.

2. Increased Noises

The normal sound level of a residential garage door opening or closing typically range from 60
to 75 decibels (dB). This is comparable to moderate background noise or the sound of a vacuum
cleaner.

If your garage door is louder than usual, pay attention to the specific sounds it produces as it
goes up and down. A slapping sound often indicates a loose chain, which can lead to uneven
door movement and premature wear on the opener. Grinding or scraping noises may suggest
misaligned tracks or worn-out rollers, while vibrating and rumbling sounds may mean that the
nuts or bolts are loose. Clunking noises occur when the door opener struggles to do its job, either
because of old age or bad batteries. Popping sounds indicate that the torsion spring has snapped.

Whenever you hear any unusual sounds from your garage door, stop using it immediately and
call a professional to inspect and recommend solutions. Issues such as torsion spring snapping,
misaligned tracks, or loose nuts and bolts pose serious safety risks. A snapped torsion, for
example, can cause the door to suddenly drop, while loose nuts and bolts, if left unchecked, may
result in parts shifting or breaking under strain.

3. Visible Damage

Visible damage is one of the most obvious signs that you need a new garage door. While you can
repair cosmetic flaws like small dings and scuffs, serious imperfections such as cracks, large
dents, and sagging may warrant a complete replacement.

A damaged garage door compromises your home's security and functionality. For instance,
cracks allow drafts to seep in, which can lead to temperature fluctuations that make your garage
less energy-efficient. Moreover, gaps caused by cracks or warping can let moisture, pests, and
debris enter, potentially damaging stored items or weakening the door's structure over time.

Large dents and sagging panels not only affect the appearance of your garage door but can also
interfere with its ability to open and close smoothly. This extra strain on the motor and other
mechanical components can accelerate wear and eventually lead to system failure.

Rust can affect the insulation, tracks, springs, and hinges. It can also diminish the curb appeal of
your door.

When getting a new door, consider one that's resistant to weather and physical impact.
Accidental bumps and harsh elements like strong winds and hailstorms are the major causes of
garage door damage.

4. The Garage Door Won't Open or Close


There are many reasons why a garage door may fail to open or close, but the issues that may
warrant a replacement include broken torsion or extension springs, snapped cables,
misalignment, faulty motor, and loose chain. Meanwhile, problems that you can fix with simple
troubleshooting, include dirty photo eye, displaced photo eye, faulty remote, and electricity
disruptions.

The role of the photo eye is to prevent the garage door from closing when something or someone
is in its path. It works by emitting and receiving an infrared beam between two sensors
positioned on either side of the garage door. If this beam is disrupted by dirt, obstructions, or
misalignment, the door will not close.

Garage door remote and transmitter often runs out of battery unexpectedly. If it has been a while
since you last changed the batteries, this could be the reason as to why the garage door is not
responding. Try replacing the batteries and test the door again.

If the remote works well but the door doesn't respond, the power to the garage door could be
disrupted. Check the circuit breaker, fuse, or GFCI outlet to ensure electricity is flowing to the
garage door opener. A tripped circuit breaker or blown fuse can cut off electricity to the system,
preventing the door from opening.

For all other issues, call a professional for a thorough inspection and diagnosis. They often
advise replacing the garage door when it has extensive damage or persistent operational issues.

5. Old Age

The average lifespan of a garage door is 10 to 20 years. This lifespan depends on usage and other
environmental conditions. Typically, torsion systems have a cycle life of 10,000 to 20,000
cycles. Therefore, if you open and close your garage door three to five times or more in a day,
expect it to last at least 10 years. Of course, this timeline also depends on weather conditions,
maintenance habits, and the quality of materials used.

Regardless, an old garage door is too worn out to be as efficient and effective as a new one. They
tend to break down more frequently and require increasingly costly repairs. Old garage doors
also look weathered and lack modern security features, making them more vulnerable to break-
ins.
6. Cost

If your energy costs keep rising, your garage door could be the culprit. Issues such as poor
insulation, worn weather-stripping, or operational inefficiencies can lead to significant energy
loss. Your HVAC system will have to work harder to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures
and, in the process, consume excessive energy. Not only that, a struggling heating or cooling
system undergoes unnecessary wear, potentially shortening its lifespan and requiring costly
repairs or premature replacement.

Contact [company_name] for More Information

If you are looking for a professional opinion on your garage door or a new installation, call us
today—we would love to help. Our highly skilled and experienced technicians will inspect your
door and determine whether repair or full replacement is necessary. If replacement is the best
option, we'll help you find the ideal garage door that suits your home's style, functionality, and
budget.

Call [company_name] today for garage door installation in Christiansburg.

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