Your garage door is the biggest moving part of your house, and winter is hard on it. Cold weather makes metal contract, thickens lubricant, and stiffens rubber seals, which is why so many garage doors break on the coldest mornings of the year. A little prep in the fall can save you from getting stuck with a door that won’t open when you need to leave for work.
Here’s what we recommend checking before winter hits in Rochester, MN.
1. Test the Door’s Balance
Pull the emergency release cord (usually a red handle hanging from the opener) so you can move the door by hand. Lift it about halfway and let go. A properly balanced door stays in place. If it drops or shoots up, the springs are out of adjustment or wearing out, and the extra strain can burn out your opener over time.
When you’re done, reconnect the door to the opener by running the opener through a cycle or reattaching the release.
2. Look at the Springs (But Don’t Touch Them)
Most garage doors use torsion springs mounted on a shaft above the door. Look for gaps in the coils, rust, or a spring that looks stretched unevenly. Springs are rated for a certain number of cycles, and cold weather is often what finishes off a spring that’s near the end of its life.
Important: Garage door springs are under extreme tension. Adjusting or replacing them without the right tools and training can cause serious injury. If something looks wrong, call a professional.
3. Lubricate the Moving Parts
Spray the rollers, hinges, springs, and bearings with a garage-door-specific lubricant or white lithium grease. Skip WD-40, which cleans parts but doesn’t lubricate them for long. Don’t grease the tracks. They should just be wiped clean, since grease on the tracks collects dirt and makes the rollers work harder.
4. Check the Weather Seal
Look at the rubber seal along the bottom and sides of the door. If it’s cracked, flattened, or has gaps, cold air, snow, and critters will get in. A worn seal can freeze to the ground and tear when the door opens, which is common during Minnesota winters. Replacing it is inexpensive and makes a noticeable difference in how warm your garage stays.
5. Test the Safety Reverse
Place a piece of wood or a roll of paper towels on the ground where the door closes, then close the door. It should touch the object and reverse. Then test the photo-eye sensors by waving something through the beam while the door is closing. The door should stop and go back up. If either test fails, the door isn’t safe to use, especially with kids or pets around.
6. Listen for New Noises
Run the door a few times and pay attention. Grinding, squealing, popping, or shaking are all signs that something is wearing out. These problems almost always get worse in the cold.
When to Call a Professional
Some things are fine to handle yourself, but call a pro if you notice:
- A broken or damaged spring
- Frayed or loose cables
- A door that’s crooked or coming off its track
- An opener that strains, stops partway, or reverses for no reason
- A door that feels much heavier than usual when you lift it by hand
These problems can turn into a door that won’t open at all, and some of them are dangerous to fix without the right equipment.
Get Your Door Winter-Ready
At Redemptive Outdoor Services, we install and repair garage doors throughout Rochester, MN and the surrounding area. A fall tune-up is a quick way to catch small problems before they become an emergency on a January morning.
Call us at 507-216-6586 or request a quote to schedule your garage door tune-up before winter.