If you’re like many homeowners, the desire to do some spring cleaning in your house will eventually lead you to the garage. Once you get there, don’t stop with clearing away the junk that you’re storing where your car should be or straightening up loose tools and cleaning supplies – take the time to do some spring maintenance on your garage door as well. Your garage door performs an important function all year long, and once-a-year maintenance is not too much to ask to keep it in working order. Here are some things that you can do to make sure that your garage door stays in top condition. A garage door that’s improperly balanced will put additional strain on the garage door opener. That will reduce the lifespan of your garage door opener, and you’ll have to pay to replace it sooner. You can test the balance by disconnecting the door from the opener. Usually, you can do this by pulling the red emergency release cord that connects the two. Once you’ve disconnected the door from the opener, manually raise the garage door to the halfway point.

It should stay right where you put it. If it doesn’t stay still, it means that your springs are imbalanced or loose and need to be adjusted or replaced. Garage door springs are under a lot of pressure, and attempting to adjust them yourself can result in serious injury. garage door repair raytown moIf you believe your door is unbalanced, it’s time to call in a garage door repair professional to fix or replace the springs. sliding glass door chest freezerIf the door is balanced correctly, you can move on to the next task.review of linear garage door opener Your garage door rollers are the things that make the garage door go up and down smoothly. bi fold internal doors made to measure

You may be able to tell that you have a problem with them without even looking at them – if your garage door is making loud, squeaky sounds, that’s a good sign that your rollers are worn out. Even if you don’t hear a problem, though, it’s a good idea to take a look at them to check for chips, cracks, or other signs of wear.timber patio doors sydney If the rollers are squeaky or worn-looking, don’t worry – you can replace these yourself, and it won’t even cost you that much. auto glass repair cashbackYou can buy either metal or nylon rollers. lambo door kit 2010 camaroThe nylon rollers tend to be quieter, and you can get them for around $8. Before you start working, put the garage door up, use C-clamps to lock it into place, turn off the garage door opener, and disconnect the door from the opener.

This way, you can be sure that the door won’t close on your fingers. Once the door is safely in place, all that you need to do is remove the bracket holding the old roller in place, slide in the new roller, and replace the bracket. The way that a garage door works is pretty simple – it uses a system of cables, springs, and rollers to move the door up and down. If any one of those moving parts gets stuck, you’ll have problems with the door. That’s why you should lubricate all of the moving parts periodically. Check with your garage door professional to find out which spray lubricant is best suited for your door. You’ll need to spray the door hinges, the garage door track, and the bearing brackets in addition to the rollers, springs, and cables. If you have a chain drive or screw drive garage door, the chain or screw should be lubricated with white lithium grease. Garage door maintenance is pretty simple, and it should fit easily into your spring cleaning routine.

A quiet garage door that’s working correctly is the perfect complement to a newly cleaned garage. For more information on keeping your garage door maintained, check out a company like Crawford Door Company.Best direct-drive garage door opener A direct drive garage door opener is one that does not rely on a chain or belt to do its work. That could include older screw-drive mechanisms that were slow and noisy. While still available, screw-drive garage door openers have largely given way to chain-drive and belt-drive systems, but also to a new type of direct-drive opener that currently stands without significant competition. Unlike other types of modern garage door openers, which use a stationary motor that powers a chain or belt, this garage door opener's spring-tensioned chain is stationary, and the motor travels along the chain. The result is what users near-unanimously say is an extremely quiet operation. It's not uncommon to find reviewers who used to have a chain- or belt-driven opener say that this direct-drive system produces the least noise of any model they have owned.

Made in Germany, this garage door opener is sold under a couple of different brand names and model numbers, but all are identical. Depending on the retailer, you can find this opener as the Direct Drive 1042V001 (Est. $230), the Direct Drive 1042V004 (Est. $230), the Sommer 1042V001 (Est. $230), or the Sommer synoris 550 (Est. $230). Regardless of the brand/model number, because there is only one moving part, reliability should be excellent. The manufacturer notes that its technology has been tested by an independent European agency, TÜV NORD, and found to be able to operate over 80,000 or more cycles without needing maintenance. Sommer/Direct Drive backs that up by covering the entire garage door opener with a lifetime warranty; accessories such as remotes are covered for two years. Customer service gets more compliments than complaints, though, like most companies, it's not immune from the latter. Though these garage door openers can’t connect to the Internet, the feature line up is otherwise competitive with other top-of-the-line models.

You'll find two car remotes, a wired interior control pad, and safety beam sensors that will stop the door if they detect anything in its path. Like most modern garage door openers, rolling remote-control codes help prevent break-ins The 3/4-horsepower motor is more than sufficient for most residential garage doors, and it's rated to handle up to 550 pounds. This garage door opener is HomeLink compatible with newer vehicles, but older vehicles, might require a repeater module to comply with current HomeLink protocols. Though not included, the Direct Drive 4078V001 Wireless Keypad (Est. $35) is available as an option, and is included in a step up version, the Direct Drive 1042V003 (Est. $310), though that configuration doesn't strike us as a particularly good value. The Direct Drive garage door opener is not without some shortcomings, however. The most notable one is that the opener is slow compared to chain-drive and belt-drive models. That's a big deal to some, but not to most judging from the feedback.

For do-it-yourselfers, installation challenges seem lower than with other openers but are not unheard of. Some say that the rail that's included with the opener, and rated for garage doors 8-feet high or less, is not long enough and that an extension kit needs to be purchased. HomeLink and other programming headaches appear, even among owners who are happy enough with other aspects of the garage door opener to give it strong feedback anyway. Speaking of feedback, user reviews are stellar. hosts the largest number, well over 600, and users rate the Direct Drive 1042V004 offered there at 4.7 stars, with 96 percent saying that they would recommend their garage door opener to a friend. Sub-ratings are high across the board; notably, users rate it higher for ease of installation than other openers. We see less feedback at other sites, but no less satisfaction. , this garage-door opener is available as the Direct Drive 1042V001. Nearly 300 owners have weighed in and have rated the garage door opener a solid 4.6 stars.