Door Care

How Do I Maintain My Garage Door And Opener?

Routine Maintenance Can Prevent Tragedies

Take a few minutes to inspect and test your complete garage door system. Make monthly inspection and testing a part of your regular routine. Safety is everyone’s business. Make garage door and garage door opener safety automatic in your home.

Monthly Maintenance Checklist

Garage Door Opener

• Reversal Test
• Force Setting Test
• Additional Safety Devices

Garage Door

• Visual Inspection - Springs, Rollers, Pulleys, Cables and Track
• Lubrication
• Door Balance

Reversal Test

Make sure your opener has a reversing feature. If a reversing feature is not present, it should be replaced. Garage door openers are required by law to have advanced safety features which comply with the latest standards: Contact us for additional information. Test the reversing feature every month.

First, test the balance of the door (see “Testing and Maintaining The Garage Door.”). If the door is properly balanced, then proceed.

• With the door fully open, place a 1-1/2” thick piece of wood (a 2”x4” laid flat) on the floor in the center of the door.
• Push the transmitter or wall button to close the door. The door must reverse when it strikes the wood. (Note that the bottom part of “one piece doors” must be rigid so that the door will not close without reversing.)
• If the door does not have reverse, have it repaired or replaced. Have a qualified technician adjust, repair or replace the opener or door.

Force Setting Test

Test the force setting of your garage door opener by holding the bottom of the door as it closes. If the door does not reverse readily, the force may be excessive and need adjusting. See your owners manual for details on how to make the adjustment. Test the reversing feature after any adjustment.

Additional Safety Devices

Many garage door openers can be equipped with additional safety devices. Consider adding a photo eye or edge sensor as an extra measure of safety to prevent against entrapment. Keep in mind that adding more safety devices will not make an old opener meet current U.L. standards.

Make sure the additional safety devices, such as photo eyes or edge sensors, are properly installed and adjusted (see owner's manual).

Testing and Maintaining the Garage Door

Perform routine maintenance steps once a month. Review your owner’s manual for the garage door. If you don't have a manual, look for the model number on the back of the door, or check the lock handle, hinges, or other hardware for the manufacturer's name and request a manual from the manufacturer.

Visual Inspection

Look at the garage door springs, cables, rollers, pulleys, and other door hardware for signs of wear. If you suspect problems, have a qualified person make repairs.

Warning - Springs are under high tension. Only qualified persons should change or adjust them.

Garage door springs, cables, brackets, and other hardware attached to the springs, are under very high tension and, if handled improperly, can cause serious injury. Only a qualified professional or a mechanically experienced person carefully following the manufacturer's instructions should adjust them. The torsion springs (the springs above the door) should only be adjusted by a professional. Do not attempt to repair or adjust the torsion springs yourself.

A restraining cable or other device should be installed on the extension spring (the spring along the side of the door) to help contain the spring if it breaks.

Never remove, adjust or loosen the screws on the bottom brackets of the door. These brackets are connected to the spring by the lift cable and are under extreme tension.

Lubrication

Regularly lubricate the moving parts of the door. However, do not lubricate plastic parts such as plastic rollers and plastic idler bearings. Consult the door owner's manual for the manufacturer’s recommendation.

Door Balance

Periodically test the balance of your door.

• Start with the door closed
• If you have a garage door opener, use the release mechanism so you can operate the door by hand when doing this test
• You should be able to lift the door smoothly and with little resistance. It should stay open around three or four feet above the floor. If it does not, it is out of adjustment. Have it adjusted by a qualified service person.

I have a low ceiling in my garage. Will a garage door and opener work in my space?

Yes. A residential door requires a minimum of 4 1/2” of headroom space. Your system will need a low headroom extension track or a low headroom torsion rear track. For a garage door opener you will need slightly more headroom, about 6 1/2” minimum.

How can I get a new remote control for my opener?

Overhead Door Co. can provide you with a broad range of opener accessories from remote controls to wireless keypads. You will first need to determine if your opener is a newer model with CodeDodger® or an older model that does not have CodeDodger®. However, if your opener was manufactured before 1980, you have an analog type opener that we no longer carry remotes for and your system will need to be upgraded with a new receiver kit. These kits are available through your distributor. Please call our offices (780-451-0060 or 604-420-4411) to get a new remote.

Is my garage door opener safe?

Since 1994, automatic garage door openers are required to have infrared beams on either side of the door, six inches off the ground. Make sure that the lenses on each are clean and unobstructed. Test them by beginning to close the garage door and placing an object in their path. The door should pause, and some models will open up fully again.

If your garage door lacks this safety feature, replace the opener with a new, safer one that’s properly adjusted and complies with government standards.

Can my non-insulated door be insulated?

Yes, Overhead Door Co. has insulation kits available for installation.

What are the safety features of Overhead Doors and Openers?

The Self-Diagnostic Safe-T-Beam® System alerts homeowners of improper installation or malfunctions with its new self-diagnostic feature. With this system, a closing door will be reversed automatically when objects pass through its infrared beam.

Plus, by using its red and green LED indicators, our new system will send a self-diagnostic code to help you quickly identify problems and solutions.

Six-part Safety Package includes:

• Safe-T-Beam auto reversing system incorporating infrared beam and LED diagnostic lights
• Contact reverse feature stops and reverses door within two seconds of contact
• Timed reverse stops and reverses door if it fails to close in 30 seconds
• Adjustable electronic force sensitivity control
• Relay switch monitoring stops and reverses door if a control relay switch malfunctions
• STB monitoring system stops and reverses door if Safe-T-Beam system malfunctions

Can I program my car transmitter to the Overhead Door opener?

Both systems incorporate the Genie® Intellicode Access Security code into each product. With Intellicode®, both systems gain the security of a 4.3 billion combination rolling code and integration with Genie® operators.

HomeLink® is a factory installed transmitter option found in a growing number of automobiles. The HomeLink® transmitter is usually found on an automobile visor and is ready to open and close any Genie® garage door opener with Intellicode. There is no need to purchase additional transmitters.

…Convenience…Integration… Genie® provides it all!

Garage Door Safety

Because a garage door is a very heavy door that is made to go up and down, it is a very dangerous place for people of any age. Coupled with the fact that children usually play in or around garages and that most garage doors are equipped with electrical motors, and you realize that safety is important to be aware of in the garage. Here are some tips:

• Read the safety instructions that come with your garage door and door opener. Make sure that you know how the emergency release works and where it is located.
• To test the reversing mechanism of your door, place a 2 X 4 or full roll of paper towels under the door (beneath the infrared beams) and close the door. As soon as a little pressure is put on the board or roll, the door should pause and reverse. If it doesn’t, contact your installer or manufacturer for repairs.
• After testing the release mechanism, try opening the door manually with the door handles. It will probably only go up three or four feet, but it should be smooth and easy. If it isn’t, your door might be off balance, causing wear and tear and eventually accidents. Consult your door opener’s manual to find out how to balance your door or contact the installer or manufacturer.

Did you Know?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that there are over 10,000 hand and finger injuries, related to garage doors, that occur annually.

Make Sure Your Family Is Protected

Let’s face it. Kids are curious. They fool around with their friends and safety is the last thing on their minds. Some Common Accidents That Occur:

• Children ride on doors and get injured
• Fingers get caught between rollers and track; Hands get caught in a closing door joint
• A doors can push a child’s arm against the steel bracket; A child’s finger can get pushed against the steel track hole by the roller
• When installing or having installed a control button for the garage door, have it put high enough up that children cannot reach it. If you remove their ability to control the door, you immediately remove much of the danger.

Protect Your Family ... Insist on the Following Safety Features:

• Safety bottom brackets
• Pinch-resistant joints: The joints between door sections should come with shaped edges that push fingers out of the cracks as they close. Steel and plastic doors have this safety feature; however, wood doors have shiplap connections that can pinch down on fingers.
• Torsion springs that are easier and safer to install.
• Safety containment cables on extension springs.
• Warning labels for operator attachment and bottom bracket removal.
• Interior and exterior gripping handles for easier and safer door operation.

Another Way to Ensure Safety is to Keep on Top of Maintenance

• Parts can wear out and break over time and having your garage door serviced by a qualified technician once a year is a wise safety precaution.

Call the Overhead Door Company to have us perform an annual scheduled maintenance call to look after wear and tear items as well as replace worn out parts. These calls prevent surprise breakdowns and extend the life of your garage door system. Our certified technicians will keep your door in tip-top shape for a minimal fee, so you can have peace of mind that the door which is most used in the average home remains trouble-free!