Normally the garage door springs are the most common part to fail. Usually they are rated for about 10,000 or so cycles or so. Spring replace is an area to be careful with as it is usually the biggest scam artists seem to prey on unsuspecting homeowners. So it's important to find a trustworthy company. A good rule of thumb is to lubricate your door and it's components annually (or up to twice a year), can help keep everything in order. You can also schedule an inexpensive tune-up with a professional.
This is a very important subject when it comes to Garage door repair and Garage door openers. The Garage door is the biggest appliance in the home and often the most neglected. Just like your car it requires lubrication and maintenance periodically to increase the longevity of both the door and operator. Another area of concern to pay attention to is the balance of the door, improper balance of the door leads to a cascading failure of everything else involved in the system including panel fatigue, hinge failure, roller failure, gear and trolley failure, circuit board failure.
This shows the importance of periodic lubrication and service every couple of years by a reputable company. You the home owner can check the balance of your garage door by closing the door (if the door has a motor then close the door with the motor and then release the door from the motor using the red manual release cord). Now open and close the door manually the door should open and close easily with little or no effort. If you have to force the door to open or close at any point in the cycle then you already know it is in need of adjustment, open the door half way and let go...if the door stays and was easy to open and close then the door is balanced if the door is heavy and closes when you let go then it is out of balanced and requires service by a reputable company.
All Garage doors regardless of the manufacture and with exception to the spring life are designed to last at least twenty years or longer but as stated in the owners manual only with periodic maintenance. (of course this is often not supplied with the new home and never with a used home). Your spring/s if they have not been changed since the home was built and was equipped with standard 10,000 cycle springs are going to be the next major expense you will be experiencing on your garage door and it is recommended that you have it/them changed before it breaks. Any good company will include a complete door service with the spring change.
To be fair your door may have some minor differences that can cange the cost slightly. Avoid the companies that give you a huge variance in cost, avoid giving you an accurate quote, Try to sell you a lifetime warranty. The lifetime warranty is designed to get a large cost up front usually five to seven hundred dollars for the initial repairs and will require service to be done annually at full price usually Ninty to One hundred and twenty dollars annually. This will add up to another Seven to One thousand dollars over the life of the spring for a total of Fourteen to Seventeen hundred dollars. you could have replaced your entire door twice for that cost.
Your garage door opener also requires periodic service, most common opener products have a open gear set and need to be re lubricated every couple of years to prevent gear failure. Word of advise when it comes to getting the spring/s changed, call at least Three different companies ask for phone quotes based on the width, height and compositon of the door and the type of springs like extension or torsion, for example a 16 x 7 steel door with no insulation and a torsion spring is very common. A reputable honest company will give you an accurate quote based on this information. Also read the reviews and look for complaints for the company you are leaning torwards using for reliability.
Naperville Garage Door Pro
