Introduction
Garage doors are your home’s largest moving part, offering protection as well as access to the house. However, weather can have a strong impact on your garage doors, and it’s important to recognize these signs so that you know when to call in a professional. From getting jammed during rain to sensor malfunctions due to extreme heat, this blog explores how various weather conditions impact your garage door and what steps you could take to lessen the issue.
How Weather Can Wear Down Your Garage Doors
Mother Nature is a powerful force, causing extensive damage to your garage doors. Whether it’s the sweltering summers of Florida or the chilly winters of Washington, various weather conditions leave their marks.
Here’s a look at a few things that happen to your door with weather fluctuations.
- Hot Summers & Garage Door Damage
With temperatures rising higher and higher as the years pass, it’s no wonder that your garage doors are malfunctioning. Extreme heat doesn’t just mess with materials; it also impacts motors and other components. Issues you might face with your garage doors during the summer season include:
- Metal Component Expansions: the extreme heat can lead to various metallic components expanding. If the springs, tracks, or rollers are expanded, your garage door is going to be misaligned and have trouble opening and closing.
- Fading & Warping: UV rays from the sun can also damage the garage door panels. Expect to see faded paint patches and warped wood due to high temperatures during the summer season.
- Malfunctioning Sensors: The extreme heat can interfere with the sensor signals. This means they won’t be able to detect obstacles sufficiently and might open or close at random.
- Overheated motors: The extreme heat can also cause your garage door openers to overheat, making them shut down temporarily.
- The Winter Frost & Garage Door Faults
On the opposite end of the spectrum, extremely low temperatures can also impact your garage door negatively. When the weather is frigid or rainy, expect to face issues like
- Contracting metal parts: opposite to high temperatures, metal contracts during the colder months, leading to stiff springs, tracks, and rollers. This will result in jerky movements and jammed doors.
- Compromised Lubricants: The low temperatures can cause your garage door lubricants to thicken. This will lead to friction when you try to operate your door and may even interfere with the sensors.
- Frozen seals: the weather stripping can freeze due to extremely low temperatures. This will lead to jammed doors that refuse to move.
- Battery Drainage: Finally, the colder months can impact battery performance, meaning those keypads and remote controls you have for your garage door won’t work properly.
- Rain, Humidity & Garage Door Malfunctions
Next, consider the impact that humid weather and rainy seasons could have on your garage door operations. During thunderstorms and muggy evenings, your garage doors may show signs of damage, such as
- Rust & Corrosion: understandably, the metal parts of your garage door can fall prey to rusting and corrosion. This may result in weakened or jammed doors.
- Swollen Wooden Panels: Next, as with high temperatures, high moisture levels will also cause your wooden garage door to swell, leading to jams, misalignment issues, and warping.
- Mold Growth: One of the key issues with high humidity levels is the growth of mold that can not only damage your door but also impact the rest of your structure.
- Electronic Damage: Finally, the sensors and circuit boards can also start to malfunction due to high humidity levels.
- The Impact Of Winds & Storms
Yet another factor affecting the well-being of your garage door: hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards may lead to
- Panel Damage: with dust, twigs, branches, and other forms of debris headed in your garage door’s direction, expect to see dents, dings, cracks, and splinters
- Broken Components: The impact of these things can also lead to broken springs and rollers.
- Operation Disruptions: If there’s an unexpected power outage, your garage door may stop working altogether.
Signs To Call In A Professional Garage Door Repair Tech
While you can change remote batteries and clean components just fine on your own, more complex repairs should always be left to certified technicians to avoid safety hazards. Aside from this, your garage doors are intricate products that just can’t be handled without specific skills and tools. Here are a few things that signal calling in professional backup:
- Broken springs: When you see your springs loose or broken, schedule repairs.
- Frayed Cables: Similarly, worn or snapped cables are most definitely better left to experienced technicians.
- Track Issues: if your track is corroded, misaligned, or has other problems, it’s another red flag that requires immediate attention.
- Malfunctioning Openers: Finally, if your opener light is always illuminated, your door won’t open despite your command, or you’re hearing strange noises, don’t try to DIY it.
Conclusion
Your garage doors act as your shields, along with providing access to your home. They, just like every other part of your house, are subject to wear and tear due to varying weather conditions like strong winds and high humidity levels, as well as extremely low temperatures. Instead of tackling any of these issues by yourself, it’s always better to call in certified and experienced technicians who can easily troubleshoot and have the tools necessary to fix the problem.
- FAQs
What can I do to prevent these issues?
Maintenance measures like routine inspections of springs, tracks, and rollers, along with frequently testing openers and lubricating moving parts, are a good start.
How much do garage door repairs cost?
The cost of garage door repairs can be around $860, depending on the type of damage, type of door, and size.
What are the most common types of garage door repairs?
Broken springs are the most requested garage door repairs.