Who gets their garage doors serviced every two years?

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Jase2985

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#2225153 26-Apr-2019 05:38

"have never needed those things adjusting"

thats incorrect, you have never known if they needed adjusting or not, you have just never had it checked or subsequently adjusted if it needed it.

just because something is operates fine doesn't mean its operating optimally.

at the end of the day its your choice what you do, given the fact at hand

Nate001

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#2225170 26-Apr-2019 07:42

Last month the door at parents house came crashing down as it was closing, and I mean it really came down FAST, lucking no body was standing near it. The spring had failed and the whole system became out of balance. Door was probably last serviced ~20 years ago...

Got the garage door man around and he replaced spring and gave the door a service, also said it should be done every 2 years. At minimum lubricate the springs and the rings can corrode together over time.

Azzura

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#2225322 26-Apr-2019 09:32

In 14 yrs...never serviced. Periodically, I'll check that the nuts and bolts are snugged.

One time --- Wife backed into the door when it was closed....bent it a bit (7yrs ago). Gave it a hip check and it popped back into form. It works on command ---I don't really care how efficient it is at doing it.

qwertee

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#2225401 26-Apr-2019 11:01

Goosey:

I spray the tracks, rollers and coils with silicone lubricant each winter.

I have done the same myself for the all moving part. Our house is about 10 years old.

Silicon lubricant is what was recommended.

I am thinking of having it serviced but again then there will be the advise that some parts might need replacing etc. Like that

dreadful feeling you get when you take your secondhand car for a WOF!

Shall be keeping an eye on this thread for my knowledge base.

FineWine

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Nurse (R)

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#2225421 26-Apr-2019 12:04

Had ours serviced in August last year by Dominator Tauranga as we had installed Expol Garage Door installation panels which of course altered the weight and balance. Believe it had never been serviced in its 18 year life.

Boy does it work smoother now 😀. The serviceman also showed us how and what to lube. But I think I will leave the coil spring adjustments to the professionals 😬.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

qwertee

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#2225427 26-Apr-2019 12:32

FineWine:

Had ours serviced in August last year by Dominator Tauranga as we had installed Expol Garage Door installation panels which of course altered the weight and balance. Believe it had never been serviced in its 18 year life.

Boy does it work smoother now 😀. The serviceman also showed us how and what to lube. But I think I will leave the coil spring adjustments to the professionals 😬.

How much did the service cost in total?

FineWine

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#2225532 26-Apr-2019 13:45

qwertee:

FineWine:

Had ours serviced in August last year by Dominator Tauranga as we had installed Expol Garage Door installation panels which of course altered the weight and balance. Believe it had never been serviced in its 18 year life.

Boy does it work smoother now 😀. The serviceman also showed us how and what to lube. But I think I will leave the coil spring adjustments to the professionals 😬.

How much did the service cost in total?

Apologies for not noting that info:

Labour to lube door, springs and chain pole. Resecure spring bracket to wall. Retention springs, resecure hockey stick bracket to door, tighten chain tensioner lock nut and reset limits/force = $35.75

Lubricants = $12.46

Service (incl callout) = $75.00

Time on site = 1½ Hr

GST = $18.48

TOTAL = $141.69

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

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qwertee

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#2225544 26-Apr-2019 14:07

Thanks

Seems reasonable.

Fred99

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#2225657 26-Apr-2019 16:15

Just a couple of points about sectional door maintenance and potential issues:

When they're set up initially, there should still be just a bit of tension on the cables (between the lugs on the bottom panels and the drums) when the door is in fully open position. If the springs lose tension and the cables are loose enough to come off the the drum, then you could be in deep strife, the door panels will drop askew, the wheels may come out of the vertical part of the tracks, hinges where the wheels slot could bend, the door will likely jam, if the sensitivity limit on the opener isn't right, the opener may rip the bracket for the opener hockey stick or rod off the door, or split the top panel where it's mounted. Fixing that is kind of a major job, and it's a common problem.

If you adjust the top limit for the door, so it opens a bit more than when it was set up, then you risk making those cables loose.

So - check those cables with the door open periodically, they don't have to be tight like a guitar string, but shouldn't be sagging too much and should be even both sides, spooled neatly in the grooves in the drum. The fix is to retension the springs, not a DIY job, and definitely don't try to DIY it by loosening the square head bolts on the drums to adjust the looseness out as many DIYers think is obvious - or you'll probably end up in deep strife (that is not the way it's done).

If the door is big and heavy (ie wooden clad, higher and/or wider than average), then don't even think about not getting it maintained as recommended. They can be finicky things at the best of times, and the bigger they are the more finicky they can be.

Jaxson

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#2225677 26-Apr-2019 16:38

It's the game of warranties.

To use them you have to follow the fine print, so you either make a call to commit to their servicing regime requirements, or don't.

We've claimed insurance when something went wrong with ours. That's basically what a warranty is really.

Beyond lubricating and ensuring things are in good order, I don't know if it would be worth the (assume $75 minimum?) cost every 2 years to pay for the warranty conditions?

Fred99

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#2225680 26-Apr-2019 16:58

I'm surprised insurance would pay for repair of damage caused by lack of maintenance. They don't tend to pay out for a new engine if you forget to change the oil in your car.

I doubt it's "fine print". Maintenance conditions/instructions are usually spelled out clearly. The requirements to service a door are fair and reasonable, even if obviously many people "get away with" not maintaining them. If you reckon that failure wasn't caused by lack of maintenance but by poor quality of materials or installation, then that's another matter. Most times it is poor maintenance. If the companies selling the doors tacked $150 on the price and offered a free check/service after 24 months or whatever, I'd wager they'd lose business, because of the way people think - they actually think that the cost of "free or fixed price servicing" for their cars is something the dealership pays for, not them.

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