The small town of Lake Villa, Illinois, has plenty of charm and community pride. The surrounding natural environment, made up of lakes and forest reserves, makes it a wonderful place to call home. However, elements of nature, such as the winter cold combined with humidity, can eventually cause damage to your home. One specific area you may not realize can wear down over time are your home’s garage doors.
Many homes in the Lake Villa area have garage doors. Yet, few people remember to properly maintain them until it’s too late. A garage door breaking down can be annoying at best and, at worst, dangerous. Our specialists at Overhead Garage Door want to ensure your garage stays safe and in tip-top shape. But perhaps you’re unsure when to call us for garage door repair or maintenance. Let’s break down some things to look out for, including how often you should have your garage door checked.
How Do You Know if Your Garage Door Springs Have a Problem?
New Garage Door by Richard Elzey is licensed with CC BY 2.0
Of course, it’s best to catch issues with your garage doors before they happen. But if you are experiencing a problem already, knowing which spring system is likely affected is helpful.
Suppose you have trouble opening your garage door because it feels heavy or difficult to open. Or, perhaps it won’t open at all. In that case, you may have an issue with your garage’s torsion springs. Issues with torsion springs can also prevent your garage door from closing completely, creating a small opening between the door and the floor.
On the other hand, maybe you noticed that your door seems off-balance, and the springs on the upper tracks of the garage door seem asymmetrical or oblong. That usually means that something is wrong with the extension springs.
Another possible issue due to the wear and tear of daily use is rust forming on the springs. If you observe rust on the springs, call us at Overhead Garage Door so we can help you maintain the springs so they can last longer. Also, if you have difficulty opening your garage door or notice that the visible springs are misshapen, we can take a look and make repairs before things get worse.
How Long Do Garage Door Springs Last?
Though there’s no specific hard and fast rule, there are general guidelines for how long springs on a garage door can last. If you only open and close your garage door about once a day, most modern springs can last up to 14 years.
However, households with multiple family members are more common, with people coming and going at all times of the day. In that case, when your garage doors open and close multiple times daily, they may only last up to seven years. So if you’re concerned that your springs may be reaching the end of their use, we can come by and inspect them to make sure everything is working correctly.
Why Call Us To Fix a Garage Door?
Unfortunately, many homeowners who try to repair garage door springs on their own end up in dangerous situations. Springs are delicate to work with, and control the heavy exterior door of your garage, so an accident can easily happen with one wrong move. Our technicians are professionally trained and have years of experience with all possible garage door spring breakdown, repair, and maintenance cases. Since we know that a garage door in need of repair can be an urgent situation, we encourage our customers to call us at 847-546-6600 to schedule an emergency repair if necessary.
We have been a family-owned and operated business serving the Chicagoland area since 1969, so we know what we’re talking about when it comes to garage doors. Our mission is to provide friendly, efficient, and professional service to our customers. We want to ensure your garage doors work as they should, your family is safe, and you’re back to your daily routine as quickly as possible. Besides being experienced with garage doors in general, our employees often specialize in a specific area of expertise, helping them quickly get to the root of your garage door problem.
How Do We Fix the Problem?
Our technicians are available 24/7 to help repair your home as fast as possible after receiving your call. The professionals we employ will always show up in uniform, with a photo ID, and thoroughly assess the problem before proceeding with a repair. Our quotes for service are usually very affordable.
Repairs can involve anything from simple maintenance work to replacing the broken springs. This is harder than it sounds, as not only does garage door work involve dangerous and delicate equipment, but not all springs are created equal. So, in addition to assessing the problem, our technicians will determine what kind of spring is needed for your particular situation.
What Can You Do Until Our Technicians Arrive?
If you can’t open your garage door at all, we highly recommend you don’t try to open it yourself, either manually or with the remote opener. One of our technicians will arrive quickly and resolve the problem safely. If you try to open it yourself, it may cause even more damage to the mechanism as it struggles to lift the door. Often, a broken spring causes all tension to be released, meaning the springs can no longer open the heavy door.
In general, if you’re ever in doubt about an issue with your springs, please call us first and don’t try to fix it yourself since garage doors frequently weigh over 500 pounds.
Perhaps you’ve noticed your garage door is starting to malfunction due to bad weather, an accident, or simply wear and tear over time. Or maybe you wake up one day, and the garage door refuses to open. If so, call Overhead Garage Door immediately so we can assess and fix the problem. Even if nothing is wrong, but you believe your garage door springs are nearing the end of their use, call us so we can perform the necessary maintenance.
Lake Villa residents who have recently purchased a home in the area or are planning to build one will be happy to know that we also handle garage door installations. Whether you need routine maintenance, urgent repairs, or new garage door installations, Overhead Garage Door is there for you.