Summer Heat and Garage Doors!

Did you know that the extreme summer temperatures can affect your garage door the same as extreme cold temperatures in the winter? How you might ask?

As everyone knows the cold temperatures in the winter can cause freezing which can cause a metal spring to break after cycling the spring by opening and closing the garage door many times. A spring can be cycled many times before the metal fatigues and just wears out and breaks. The cold temperatures cause the metal to get cold during the winter and can cause the spring to break in two. The garage door opener no longer has the assistance of the spring to help lift the garage door.

Summer heat can cause the metal in a spring to also fatigue and wear out. Garage door springs can also break from cycling during the summer months. It is not uncommon for springs to break on 95 degree days! The extreme hot temperatures cause the metal to heat up more than is normal which can then cause the metal in the spring to break.

Cold temperatures in the winter can also cause the garage door to freeze to the ground if the garage door has water sitting under it. The weatherstrip on the bottom of the garage door can freeze to the ground once the water freezes. One good way to avoid having your garage door not to freeze to the ground is to keep the snow from piling up against the garage door and keep the garage door opening clear of water. Cold temperatures can also cause the garage door window inserts to crack during the winter months.

Summer heat can also cause the weatherstripping on the bottom of the garage door to dry out and crack. The weatherstripping helps to insulate the garage door by blocking out the elements. The best time to replace the weatherstripping on the garage door is during the summer. Keep the elements out by having your garage door weatherstripping replaced once it cracks or drys out. 

Summer heat also effects the garage door window inserts. The window inserts are made of impregnated colored plastic, and some manufacturers do not use impregnated plastic for their garage door window inserts. Clopay uses impregnated plastic for their garage door inserts, those inserts can fade with time of extended amounts of sun exposure. This is also common of a garage door that has been exposed to a western facing garage door that has been up for a long period of time. In fact, just last year we had to replace out garage door window insert. The garage door faces the west, and has been installed for the past 10 years, the insert just faded over time and extended sun exposure. You can keep your garage door looking fresh by just replacing the garage door window insert.

The best ways to avoid expensive garage door repairs during the extreme temperatures is to have your garage door serviced once a year. Once a year we can check out the springs, opener, weatherstripping, oil the door, and make sure the garage door is in good operational use! Our service calls are not overly expensive, we only charge $79.00 to come to your home to ensure your garage door is in good operational use. The $79.00 service charge once a year is better than replacing the entire garage door from neglect!