Garage doors are very underrated inventions of modern convenience. It goes without saying that having a garage for your automobile is beneficial in numerous ways.
Not only does it keep your car protected from the elements, but it also adds an additional layer of security when it comes to the theft of your car and its contents.
Though for as nifty as a garage door is, it’s still a mechanism that can become damaged and need repair. Though, this is where things get confusing for the everyday average Joe who might not be up on the garage lingo.
What we mean to say is that it’s hard sometimes for people to understand the difference between repair and maintenance.
So, is there a difference between garage door repair and basic garage door maintenance? Throughout this piece, we’re going to illustrate that there’s not only a difference between the two; we’re going to show you just how many differences there are between the two genres.
Repairing a Garage Door vs. Maintaining It
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What Maintenance Entails
First up, before we get into the repair side of things, let’s speak about the general maintenance. While a garage door that houses a car is a lot different from a car in function, you should approach general maintenance the same way.
Just as you’re going to check your oil and your tire pressure and other aspects of your vehicle regularly, you should also check on your garage door.
There are actually quite a few moving parts here that can show signs of wear and tear over time, and the best way to fend off repair is to maintain your machine.
For instance, maintenance of your garage door will entail checking out the tracks that the door rides on, so to speak, as it opens. Is there any debris caught in there? Is any portion of it lose or starting to bend? You also want to check to ensure that all of your bolts are tight.
Tighten up that hardware, as loose hardware creates vibration, and this begets more pieces of loose hardware, which could result in a pretty big issue if not taken care of.
You also want to check on things like your rollers, your cable, and pulleys, and make sure you remember to lubricate all of the moving parts. These are some of the many things covered in garage door maintenance vs. garage door repair.
What Repairs Entail
The repair part typically comes when a garage door isn’t maintained. Take everything that you read above and just do the hypothetical thought experiment.
“What if I don’t tighten up those loose tracks?” Well, you’re going to have tracks that pull loose and bend, rollers that hop position, a garage door that goes way askew, and more—the same thing with lubricating moving parts.
If you don’t do this, it’s going to cause friction, and things can lock and seize and break off. It’s just not a good situation at all.
The professionals recommend that people perform some general maintenance on their garage door at least twice a year. If you’re diligent in this respect, the odds are good that you’re mostly going to be just inspecting things, rather than fixing things, other than perhaps lubing up parts and tightening bolts.
Though in the event that you do need repair, the good news is that you won’t have to look far, and you certainly won’t have to spend a lot of money to get the sort of repair that you need to greatly extend the life of your garage door.
How to Know When it’s Time for Repair
For most people, it’s going to be pretty self-evident when it’s time for repair. For instance, the door will fall off balance, the tracks and rollers will fall loose, or the garage door simply won’t open for you.
However, there are other tell-tale signs, like the door struggling to open or making a lot of noise.
Keep your eyes and ears peeled and try to catch problems as soon as they arise. Then it’s a lot easier for the pros to fix things up for you.
