#6 of Top 10 Projects for New Home Owners

With the real estate market as it is, the foreclosure and short sale homes aren’t as “move-in-ready” as the others. Under the circumstances, I know more than a handful of friends who’ve taken advantage of the killer real estate deals, but have had to put in some good ol’ elbow grease to get their new home back to livable conditions.

Thankfully, on their website, The Family Handyman magazine has outlined the Top 10 DIY Projects for New Home Owners. The steps to maintain and tune up your garage door are shown below, but if you want to see step-by-step photos and the remaining nine tips, read the full article here.

Before you start, be sure to heed the following cautions:

1. Unplug the automatic door opener so it can’t be activated.
2. If the door is open while you’re working, clamp a locking pliers onto the roller track below a roller to keep it from dropping.
3. Never remove a lift cable while a door spring is under tension. If released, it’ll cut like a knife.
4. Never attempt to adjust or release the tension on an overhead torsion spring. This is a job for garage door professionals only.

Step 1 : Inspect your door’s hardware:

• Tighten the nuts and bolts – Because your door moves, the hardware can loosen. Inspect and tighten all roller brackets and the bolts that hold the rails to support the brackets.
• Inspect the rollers for wear and tear – Nylon rollers tend to crack or chip when they deteriorate, so defects should be easy to spot. On steel rollers, the bearings wear and the wheel begins to tilt like the one shown. Buy replacement rollers at a hardware store and install them by removing and reinstalling the roller bracket. Caution: Do not remove the bottom roller bracket. The cable attached to it is under extreme tension.
• Inspect the lift cable for wear – Look for broken strands. Damage is most likely to occur where the cable attaches to the bottom roller bracket, where it’s most exposed to moisture. Clear away the gunk from this area with an old toothbrush so you can check the condition of the cable. Since this cable is under high tension, don’t try to replace it yourself. Call a garage door professional to replace it.

Step 2: Maintain springs, chains and seals:

Lubricate the chain or the screw on your opener annually with white lithium grease. Spray-on versions are available at most home centers. Lubrication will make the opener’s operation smoother, quieter and extend the life of both chain and opener.

Note: Some screw openers do not require lubrication. Check your Owner’s Manual.

• Lubricate the springs – Coat the overhead torsion springs or the extension springs mounted above roller tracks with a lubricant/ cleaner like WD-40. Don’t wipe off the excess. All springs will eventually break because of metal fatigue and/or corrosion, but this annual maintenance will prevent corrosion. Note: Replacing springs is a job for a professional. If one spring breaks, both should be replaced
• Replace the weather seal - Replace the weather seal on the bottom of your door if it’s brittle and worn. On wood doors, remove the old seal with a flat pry bar. Install the new seal with the wide angle of the flange to the inside of the door. Use 1-in. galvanized roofing nails to attach one end of the seal, then pull it across the door and nail the other end. Next place a few nails in the center. This technique will help you keep the seal aligned as you go back and place nails every 3 to 4 in.
• Test the balance of your door – A properly balanced door is less likely to crush someone or something and keeps your door opener from working too hard. First, disengage the opener from the door by pulling the opener release handle (see opening photo). Then lower the door about halfway. A properly balanced door will hold the halfway position without assistance. If the door rides back up, the springs are under too much tension. If it falls, the tension needs to be increased. Adjusting the spring tension is tricky and dangerous. Call a garage door professional to perform the service!
• Test the auto reverse feature - Test the auto reverse feature of your automatic opener by placing a 2×4 directly under the point where the opener is attached to the door. The door should reverse direction within two seconds after coming to a stop. If your door opener doesn’t have an auto reverse feature, buy a new opener.
• Install lift handles - Install a lift handle on both sides of the door. Make sure the handle will clear the top of the door frame; otherwise, you may need a lower-profile handle or your door may need adjustment. If there’s a handle, you’re less likely to pull down on the spaces between sections, a habit that results in hundreds of crushed fingers every year.
• Bolt the cable to the bracket - Mount an extension spring containment cable on extension spring- type doors by bolting one end to the bracket at the front of the upper rail.
• Feed the cable through the spring - Feed the cable through the extension spring and bolt the other end to the upper support bracket. Make one full loop of the cable around the bolt and secure it with a fender washer and a locknut.

Step 3: Test to ensure safety

The Family Handyman states that each of these tasks should take 10 minutes or less. If all else fails, call Handyman Connection and we will help get your garage door in working order in no time.

Visit our website at boise.handymanconnection.com