How’s your garage door working? Whether it’s working properly or showing some signs of wear and tear, one thing is for sure — you need it tuned up from time to time. This is where a tune-up service for garage doors comes in.
An annual tune-up of your garage door isn’t an option; it’s a necessity. Without a tune-up, an expensive part like your garage door opener may have to be repaired immediately.
Regularly scheduled garage door tune-ups will add years to the life of your garage door. A tune-up ensures that your garage doors continue to work the way they should for the next year without giving you trouble. Also, you’ll avoid expensive repairs and replacements of hardware components when you schedule regular maintenance for your garage doors.
Because it keeps your garage doors in peak working order, garage door maintenance is not an easy task — and it’s a task our garage door technicians perform well. Our garage door technicians perform tune-ups that keep garage doors working in the long run. But what goes on in a garage door tune-up? Read on to learn more about what you can expect from a tune-up and who to call when you’re looking up “garage door tune-up near me” in California.
What Do Garage Door Technicians Do?
Garage door technicians render a vast array of services. They perform every task related to garage door repair and maintenance. Whenever garage doors need replacement parts, technicians also carry out the installation of these components.
When it comes to tune-ups, you can expect our technicians to perform the following tasks.
Inspect Your Garage Doors
Technicians can’t perform the right services if they don’t know what’s wrong with your garage door. This is why a technician will usually begin by inspecting your doors.
A technician will perform a thorough inspection of your garage door’s components, including the door opener, rollers, and hinges. A technician will also be diligent in checking your garage door’s opening and closing to see if it works the way it’s supposed to.
Make Repairs
After the inspection, your technician will know what’s wrong with the garage door. From here, they can perform the necessary fixes, depending on the problem.
Of course, technicians in California have a professional responsibility to inform you of their findings before they make any repairs. They will provide you with a list of their assessments and price projections for the repair or tune-up project.
Replace Certain Components, If Necessary
At times, no repairs will be necessary. All it takes is a replacement of certain parts.
After determining the need for replacement parts, technicians will provide an itemized list and a quote for your garage door’s tune-up project. This way, you’ll know how much money you’ll be paying to get your doors working for years.
If you need a tune-up, you can either set up an appointment with us or request a quote.
What Is Included in a Garage Door Tune-up Service?
When you reach out for garage door maintenance in California, you can expect several services. Our services are among the most comprehensive in the state and include everything from inspections to repairs.
Below are the services you should be looking for in a tune-up service for your garage doors.
26-point Preventive Maintenance Inspections
Regular maintenance will not be complete without an inspection of some sort. When it comes to your garage doors, the inspection carried out is the 26-point preventive maintenance inspection.
26-point preventive inspections are an essential part of any garage door maintenance service. In this task, technicians will assess and evaluate the function and condition of your garage door.
During a 26-point inspection, a technician will assess two main areas. The first area is the operational mechanisms of your garage door. To evaluate your garage door’s operational components, technicians will perform the following tasks:
- Test the function of your garage door’s opening components like the garage door openers, panels, and remotes (if any).
- Assess your door’s trolley or boom (including the rollers).
- Check the safety eyes’ function and condition.
- Check the gears or the garage door opener motor.
- Evaluate the function of your door’s bell wire.
- Test the door’s limit switches or safety reverse.
- See if your garage door is at the right force setting.
From here, a thorough inspection of the actual garage door follows. The main door assessment is a mixture of ten inspections. Each inspection will be for a particular part of the door, namely:
- The door balance
- Bolts and springs
- Rollers
- Cables
- Safety cables
- Drums
- Center bearings
- End bearing plates
- Pulleys
- Forks
- Shaft
- Hinges
- Door brackets
- Tracks
- Arms of the hinges
- Strut or truss rods
- The spring tension of the anchors
- Weather seals
- Control panels
If you count the total number of functions and components to be inspected, you’ll find that the assessment covers 26 areas. After this assessment, garage door technicians can inform you of your door’s problems and move on to the next step.
Maintenance Adjustments
Garage door adjustments can involve different tasks. Sometimes, adjustments can take the form of aligning certain parts to ensure that a garage door opens easily.
Garage door professionals can also adjust the garage doors by reducing extreme tension in the springs. By addressing problems with the tension springs, your garage door will open more evenly, ensuring the safety and security of your vehicles and garage’s contents. If the inspection reveals that the garage door opens too incompletely or too far, technicians can adjust two components. The adjustments can be for the safety sensors or the garage door opener.
Lubrication and Installation of Parts
During this phase of the annual tune-up, technicians can apply lubricant to certain parts of the garage door. The areas to be lubricated are parts that are in contact with other mechanisms such as the garage door hinges, springs, and bearings.
A professional may also have to replace certain parts. Often, technicians replace the following:
- The door tracks
- The springs
- Garage door openers
- Corroded hinges
- Photo eye units
Garage Door Testing
After technicians have installed, replaced, and lubricated your garage door’s parts, they test the doors. By letting the garage door open and close, they’ll see how effective the tune-up was and address any other problems that surface.
Homeowners are often present during testing, so they can see the results of the tune-up for themselves.
Why It’s Not Always a Good Idea To Repair or Tune Up Your Garage Door Yourself
On the surface, it may seem that DIY-ing your garage door’s tune-up will save you time and money, but you’re actually better off hiring a professional garage door service for your tune-ups. Here are a few reasons for you to hire a garage door service.
Garage Door Maintenance Can Be Dangerous
Some of your door’s mechanisms are easy to lubricate and check. However, others require more careful handling and inspection. In particular, the springs are perpetually under extreme tension. If you try to fix or replace these yourself, you’re risking injury.
The Risks Associated With Incorrect Garage Door Parts
Contrary to popular belief, not all garage doors are the same. There will be massive variations in the parts you have to acquire and install. Use an incorrect part on your garage door, and you’ll have to spend time taking that off and finding the right one to replace it. Your door may end up in a worse shape than before you tried to replace a part yourself.
Garage door professionals have been in the business long enough to know the correct parts for your garage door. Because of their experience, they can perform your annual maintenance with the right process and parts, correctly restoring your garage door to its original working condition.
Garage Door Maintenance Can Take Longer Than You Might Initially Think
Homeowners can misdiagnose garage door problems. As a result, they underestimate the amount of time needed for the tune-up project, assuming that the issue may just be a worn-out part or an unlubricated bolt or hinge.
Indeed, lubrication solves some of the problems that take place in garage door components. However, when the problems are unseen, you might end up having to take your garage door apart. Doing this can make your garage door maintenance take longer than you initially anticipated.
When you call a professional garage door service in California, technicians can inspect your garage doors thoroughly. From here, they can adjust and lubricate various components to restore your garage door, staving off damage and expensive repairs while you wait.
How Often You Should Schedule Your Garage Door Tune-ups?
We recommend that you schedule your tune-ups and maintenance every six months. With maintenance scheduled twice a year and on a regular basis, your garage door will remain in peak working condition for the long run. Also, you’ll learn more about how to avoid repairs from the replacements and recommendations of a professional garage door service.
Twice a year may be too frequent for some homeowners, especially those who don’t use their garage doors often. For this demographic, we recommend annual garage door tune-ups. Also, we advise many of our clients to schedule their tune-ups in between seasons. This way, they wouldn’t have to get anything repaired immediately when weather conditions are at their worst.
“Is There Anything I Can Do To Prevent Extensive Damage to My Garage Door?”
Regular maintenance done by a professional service takes care of your garage door’s accumulated wear and tear. After your regularly scheduled garage door maintenance, you must perform certain actions on your end to further stave off damage.
Here are some of the measures you can take to protect and maintain your doors in California.
Always Secure Your Garage Door When It’s Closed
Frequent movements of your garage door’s parts during opening and closing add to your door’s wear and tear. By securing your garage door, you’re preventing it from opening unnecessarily. As a result, you reduce wear and tear, preserve your door’s alignment, and minimize the risk of repairs long term.
Keep Your Ears Open for Excessive Noise
Too much noise is a sign that your garage door needs lubrication. If lubrication doesn’t eliminate the noise, it may be time for you to call a professional garage door repair service in California.
Check for Unusual Sights
When we talk about unusual sights involving your garage door, we mean its appearance and how it opens and closes. A garage door with any dents on the surface needs to be repaired immediately to prevent further damage. Also, slower opening and closure indicate problems with the garage door openers or rollers. Any issues in these components may require expert attention from a professional garage door service.
When in Doubt, Call a Professional Garage Door Service in California
If you see any problems that you think require expert attention, it’s best to be on the side of caution and call a professional garage door service in California. As we’ve mentioned earlier, a professional garage door company can thoroughly inspect your garage door and make the necessary adjustments and fixes to restore your garage door.
If you’re a homeowner in California, choose a garage door service with expertise backed by decades of experience. For more than 40 years, we’ve provided homeowners in Fresno, San Diego, and many other parts of California with quality garage door services. Whether it’s a thorough garage door inspection or a significant garage door tune-up, our certified technicians can get the job done for you for a fraction of the costs elsewhere.
If you’ve got garage door problems, look no further. Leave nothing to chance and get expert services from a garage door service near you. Reach out now for an estimate of our garage door repair and maintenance services in California or any nearby ZIP code.
