What Do Companies Do During A Garage Door Inspection?

Your garage door is a key part of your home and provides protection and storage for valuable assets. Keeping it working properly requires maintenance, and step one of the maintenance process is usually a thorough inspection. But what goes into a routine inspection by a garage door company? Hire a reputable garage door repair and installation company like Door Gators. They’ll likely do an inspection free of charge to ensure your garage door and opener system is in good shape.

Aside from the door itself, your garage door opener is the most important part of the entire opening system. It ensures the safe and efficient operation of the garage door. It’s imperative that all of the mechanical components are working properly.

A good garage door technician will carefully look at the gears inside the garage door opener motor to check for wear and tear and to make sure that all the gears are properly lubricated.

This is also where the technician should make sure that all belts and chains are functioning as they should. The trolley and carriage must also be inspected. This mechanism connects the door to the opener and guides the door up and down. 

While the technician is checking the motor, they should also check the circuit board, which is the main part of the electrical system. It should be dusted off and cleared of burnt or worn solder points. Another big component of the electrical system is the lightbulb. A garage door tech should make sure the opener has the correct bulb and doesn’t show any signs that it may burn out. Using the wrong bulb can disrupt how your garage door opener communicates with your remotes, so it is critical to ensure any replacement bulbs are correct. 

At this point in the garage door inspection, it is time to test the handheld opener remotes to make sure they’re doing their job and working at the right range. If you use an app to open and close your garage door from the car, the technician will check to ensure all functions are workings. Finally, If your garage door opener system has an outside keypad, that will be tested as well.

This is considered the workhorse of your garage door opener system. It provides all the support and performs all the heavy lifting as your garage door opens and closes. The torsion system is extremely dangerous to work on by yourself because of the weight of the garage door and the tension the system provides. You should never attempt to do any repairs yourself.

When inspecting a torsion system, most garage door repair and installation companies will start by placing a scale under your closed door and weighing your garage door. This will help determine how much support the torsion system provides and if adjustments need to be made. 

Suppose your garage door opener uses traditional springs. In that case, it must be closely inspected for rust, cracks, and other hazardous situations that can weaken its durability. If your support system features a torsion spring, the torsion tube also needs a thorough check. A technician will ensure that it is level and free from bends, allowing it to provide adequate support.

Finally, while finishing off the torsion system inspection, a technician will check the end bearings and drums. They must be adequately secured and lubricated to ensure they allow the springs to work with as little effort as possible.

A good garage door repair and installation company will check all of the face hardware on your door, which includes the fasteners, hinges, and brackets that connect the individual garage door panels that turn it into a cohesive, moving unit. Each hinge and bracket should be inspected for cracks, bends, and other signs of extreme wear. A technician should make sure that all fasteners are secured with the proper tightness, which usually means checking dozens of individual screws to ensure they are not loose.

The appearance of your garage deal might not seem like something that needs inspecting, but a good garage door company knows that visual elements can indicate current or potential problems. If the paint on your door is chipped or faded, it can lead to oxidation and other damage, which could lead to holes that would require a garage door replacement down the road. A good technician will also look for stress cracks, dents, and sagging, which could lead to a slow deterioration of the garage door. 

The rubber pieces and molding also need to be inspected. The bottom rubber on your garage door is meant to help insulate your door and block pests and rodents from getting into the garage. If the bottom rubber is worn or cracked, it is likely letting air and bugs into your garage. Depending on the severity of the cracking and dryness, it may need to be replaced.

While many things on a garage door inspection list require just a visual inspection, some of them need to be tested and reviewed on a pass-or-fail basis. For Instance, a door balance test requires a technician to pull the garage door’s manual-release cord and lift the door halfway. When the technician lets go, the door should stay in its position and not lift or sag. If it does not maintain its position, a technician will correct the balance until the garage door passes the test.

Every garage door opening system has sensors and safety eyes that alert your door to stop or reverse if any object is blocking the door’s path. A technician will test these to make sure they are properly aligned and working correctly. They’ll place an object under the garage door and close it. When the door gets very close to the object or starts to touch it, it should immediately stop and lift itself back up. 

After completing the inspection, the garage door technician will clearly explain what they performed and their findings. They will also give you options to help determine the best course of action to address any immediate issues that could lead to more significant problems down the road. At Door Gators, we are happy to come out free of charge to give you a thorough inspection, honest feedback on what we found, and a few options to fix any problems our technicians discover. Email us or give us a call today!