Replacement garage door parts, garage door springs, parts and hardware.

Your convenient garage door parts source.

Have you inspected your Garage Door lately?
by Richard Aquino

The garage door is typically the largest moving part in your home and is probably used every day. With normal use, garage door parts can wear out and break, creating potential safety problems. There are a few light maintenance duties and inspections a mechanically inclined person can perform to ensure maximum safety and increase the life of their door.

Check the garage door springs, rollers, hinges and safety devices to be sure they are fastened securely and in proper working order.

Check the balance of the door by lifting it a few feet off the ground and releasing. The door should not travel more than a couple of inches in either direction. If the door drops to the ground then your garage door springs either need adjusting or replacing. When operated manually a garage door should go up and down smoothly.

In the event of spring failure extension springs can cause severe damage if they are not contained. If the door's springs don't already have safety garage door cables installed, now would be a good time to get them installed. Remember even the highest quality springs eventually wear and break.

Replace springs if they show signs of wear such as uneven gaps between the coils, bent or damaged ends.

Inspect the cables for fray. Replace frayed cables immediately. Check the pulleys for nicks or excessive wear that can cause damage to the cable. Replace worn pulleys if necessary.

Verify that the garage door tracks are level and plumb. Track should line up parallel to the door sections without binding. Ensure that the lag screws securing the garage door track brackets to the jambs are secure. Replace bent, missing or rusted lags immediately.

Tighten all hinge and bracket screws, bear in mind that garage door bottom brackets are under extreme tension when the door is closed and can cause serious injury if accidentally or deliberately loosened or removed. Replace bent or broken hinges. Check the door's rollers for excessive wobble and replace as necessary.

All garage door openers manufactured and installed after 1991 are required by law to have a reversing mechanism. Garage door openers manufactured and installed after 1993 are required to have photo eyes connected at the bottom of the track to trigger the reverse mechanism when an infrared beam is broken. A defective or improperly adjusted reversing mechanism on your garage door opener could cause damage, injury and possibly death. Check your door opener regularly to be sure that the reversing mechanism is in proper working order.

Lubricate rollers, hinge pivots, pulleys, torsion springs coils, bearings and the electric opener chain and sprockets.

With periodic inspections and maintenance the average garage door can safely provide many years of trouble free performance.

This sheet is reviewed periodically and may be updated. Visit www.dasma.com for the latest version.

Here are some helpful safety tips. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every safety precaution. Always consult your manufacturer's installation or instruction manual for safety information about your model.

FOR GARAGE DOORS

Replace Old Springs. Your garage door's springs are arguably the most important and most dangerous part of your door. Springs wear out. When they break, injury can result. If you have an older garage door, have your springs inspected by a professional technician and replaced if needed. If your door has two springs, replace both, even if one is not broken. This will not only prevent any damage caused by the breaking of the second spring, but also keep your door working efficiently.
Check Your Cables. Visually inspect the cables that attach the spring system to the bottom brackets on both sides of the door. If these cables are frayed or worn, they are in danger of breaking, which can cause injury. Due to the dangers associated with high spring tension, these cables should be replaced only by a trained technician.
Squeaky Springs? Springs can squeak and be noisy. This is caused by normal use and does not necessarily indicate a problem. Before calling a professional service technician, use a spray-on lubricant (recommended especially for garage doors). If the noise persists, call a professional garage door installer for service.
A Do-It-Yourselfer, Eh? Installing a garage door can be very dangerous and is not recommended for a novice. DASMA recommends that trained door systems technicians install garage doors. If you attempt the installation by yourself, be sure to follow the manufacturer's installation instructions carefully.
Safety Cables. If your garage door has extension springs, you need a safety cable that runs through the spring and secures to the wall or ceiling at each end. When your garage door is down, extension springs are under high tension. If the spring breaks, it may cause injury. A safety cable can keep that broken spring contained. If you have extension springs but do not have a safety cable, call your local dealer for a safety inspection.
Struggling Door? If your door does not go up and down smoothly, you may have an unsafe condition. Even older door systems should operate smoothly. If the awkward operation continues when the door is manually operated, you may have a spring system that is out of balance. This can cause premature wear and tear on other important door components. Spring systems are dangerous and should be repaired only by trained professionals.
Watch Your Fingers! Every year, many unsuspecting homeowners injure their fingers by placing them between the door sections to pull down on the door. According to DASMA Standard 116, if your door lacks pinch-resistant joints, you should have lift handles or suitable gripping points on the inside and outside of the door. Even if your door has an opener, the door must occasionally be operated manually. Never place your fingers between the door sections. If you manually open or close the door, use the handles or the safe gripping points!
Tamper Resistant Brackets. Since the bottom brackets on a garage door are connected to the door's springs, these brackets are under extreme tension. They should be adjusted or loosened only by a trained door systems technician. Many manufacturers now include tamper resistant hardware that prevents loosening of the brackets by a novice.
Use the Old Track? When buying a replacement garage door, some homeowners are tempted to save a few dollars by putting the new door on the old track. However, your old track may not fit with your new door, depending on the thickness of your sections, the weight of the door, the headroom required, the location of the garage door opener, and other considerations. The track and sections work together as a system. For maximum performance and long life, you should use the track that is designed for your specific door.
Regular Service. Your garage door is probably the largest moving part in your home and is typically used every day. Over time, parts can wear out and break, creating potential safety problems. Although you should provide monthly safety checks and maintenance to your garage door system, an annual visit from a trained door systems technician can keep your door operating safely and smoothly for a long time.
Man the Manual. Keep the owner's manuals for your door and opener hanging near the door for easy reference. Every model of door and opener has specific safety instructions unique to that model. Where is your manual?

FOR GARAGE DOOR OPENERS

Do It Yourself? Installing a garage door opener is generally easier and safer than installing a garage door. But improper installation can create a hazardous situation. DASMA recommends that a trained door system technician install your opener. If you do it yourself, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.
Not in Sight? Not Safe! When closing your automatic garage door with a push button or a remote control transmitter, you should always watch the door until it completely closes. Reason: Make sure no person or animal gets caught under a closing door. Take a few seconds to be safe.
Do You Have a Reinforcement Bracket? Some do-it-yourselfers neglect to install an opener reinforcement bracket to the top section of the door. Failure to do so can damage your door. Do-it-yourselfers should check the installation manual for specific instructions.
Get a More Powerful Opener? If your door feels heavy or requires two hands to open it, the door is probably out of balance and needs adjustment. A variety of problems can cause this, and if you try to fix it yourself, you could get hurt. Call a local trained door systems technician to diagnose the problem and offer a solution. The answer is not a more powerful garage door opener. Openers are designed to open doors that are properly balanced.
Sensitivity Training. Garage door openers are designed to reverse direction when a descending garage door meets an obstruction. If your door does not reverse readily after contacting an obstruction, the opener's sensitivity adjustment may be set improperly. This can create a dangerous situation. See your owner's manual for how to adjust your opener's sensitivity. DASMA recommends that a trained door systems technician perform this work.
Safety Reverse. Since 1993, all openers manufactured for the U.S. must include a second safety reversing feature such as photoelectric eyes. These are installed near the floor. Once the invisible beam is broken, the door reverses automatically. If your opener lacks a similar safety reversing feature, it's time to get a new opener.
The Six-Inch Rule. The photo eyes mentioned above should not be installed higher than six inches above the garage floor. If the eyes are installed higher, a person or pet could get under the beam and not be detected by the photo eyes.
The Five-Foot Rule. The wall push button for your garage door opener should be mounted at least five feet above the floor, out of the reach of children. Running under a closing door can be a deadly game. Teach your children never to play with opening and closing the door.
Do You Know Where Your Remote Controls Are? For the reasons just mentioned, keep the remote controls for your openers where children cannot play with them. Warn children of the dangers of playing with the garage door. For security reasons, be sure to keep your remote controls locked up. If you park a car outside your garage, be sure to lock your car so that potential burglars cannot access your remote control and gain easy access to your garage.
Rolling Codes. Some thieves are able to "record" your transmitter's signal. Later, after you're gone, they replay that signal and open your door. However, if your transmitter (the remote control) has rolling code technology, the code changes after every use. This renders the thieves' controls useless. Contact your garage door opener manufacturer or your local garage door dealer for more information.

Garage Doors More than Just Looks
by Christine Stander

It's been said over and over again that form follows function, but is that necessarily always the case?

The garage door has gone from being an object of function to an object that could very well define your home. More and more people in the US are spending more on the garage door as it's not just functional anymore; it's now a leading design feature of the home.

Form
Home owners have started to increase the spend on their garage doors as its surpassed mere functionality and has become a proud design feature of the home. The amount spent per square foot on garage doors has gone up more than any other room or part of the house. This is emphasized by the act that Architects are now turning to lead garage door suppliers and installers for advice to include the most popular garage door designs as part of their draft plans.

Function
The garage door is the largest moveable appliance in your home. It's not just about how it looks, but how it works. Or at least it should be.

The garage door is used to access homes more than the main entry door of US homes. This of course made popular after the creation of automated garage doors, where most home owners could conveniently drive right into their garage without having the hassle of stepping out of their car and manually lifting the heavy door.

Home owners no longer have to sacrifice convenience for beauty. At the touch of a button, an automatic opener opens your garage door and allows you to drive through and step into your home via an inter-leading doorway.

Style
With the amplified interest in turning the garage door into a design feature, the need to custom design garage doors have also increased. Discerning homeowners take much pride in having this option available to them.

There are many different styles of garage doors to choose from. One also does not always have to custom design from scratch as most pre-styled doors may be adjusted here and there to allow for a more unique look and feel.

Wooden garage doors still currently offer the largest appeal to home owners. They not only make your house look more high-end, but actually add value to the price of your home.

About the Author

Access Garage Doors has become synonymous with the premier wood custom garage door product in the marketplace for homes in America. Access Garage Door strive to bring their clients the highest quality, most exciting and best engineered designer door products on the market.

Do-It-Yourself Home Repair: Five Essential Tips for Multi-Thumbed Men

Not particularly handy? Does the very thought of household repairs send you into a deep depression? You may suffer from MTDBS: Multi-Thumb Dysfunctional Brain Syndrome. Researchers have just recently begun to chronicle this devastating disorder, and estimate it may impact as many as ten million American men. Scientists are quick to point out that MTDBS is not the same as being a klutz. "A klutz is physically unskilled, lacking dexterity and nimbleness. A person afflicted with Multi-Thumb Dysfunctional Brain Syndrome has a brain disorder that reduces their conceptual skills to the level of a young baboon. It's a much more serious complication," says Dr. Gertrude Steiner, Director of Physical Capabilities Assessment Laboratories.

Effective therapies are, sadly, still years away. Scientists must first isolate the specific genes, neural pathways and synapses involved in the disability and then devise strategies to assist those who are afflicted. In the meantime, men are not without hope. Dr. Steiner recommends that men suffering from MTDBS follow these clinical guidelines when confronted with a household repair:

1. Nod and Frown. When your wife recommends a home repair, immediately begin to slowly nod your head up and down. This conveys both acceptance of her as a person and expresses your thoughtful consideration of the project she's suggested. Next, with no more than a two or three second delay, begin to frown. If you have the facial dexterity, a frown that is more pronounced on one side is superior, as it expresses a more thoughtful posture. This frown conveys a sense of understanding that belies the underlying confusion that now grips your brain.

2. Make an affirming, though simple, statement of support, along the lines of, "Yeah," or, "Gee, sounds good." This sets up the initial escape phase of the project, distracting your wife with the quickness of your acquiescence. The next step is critical. Commit the Escape Phrase to memory: "Hmm, let me see what I can dig up online." Don't alter this phrase. It has been scientifically tested and proven. Next, take a deep breath, give a last thoughtful nod and, almost as an afterthought, softly state the Escape Phrase. Now, turn and head to your study, closing and locking the door behind you.

3. Research your heart out at home improvement self-help websites. If you become nauseated at their very sight, try doing your search utilizing only the light from a small desktop lamp. Print two copies of twenty-five or more sets of plans, ideas, sketches, drawings and supply lists. Randomly circle and highlight various sections of the first sets of plans, making builder-type notes on the pages: "Might need hammer," "Get glue" or "Screws - cool!" Wad up the other sets of plans, fill the trashcan to overflowing and then scatter the extras on the desk and about the floor. When your wife brings in coffee she won't say a word - it'll be obvious you're engaged in the serious business of weeding out the scam artists who dare call themselves craftsmen.

4. Stumble into bed well past midnight, sighing deeply with the weight of your responsibility. When your wife asks if you've got it figured out, tell her, "Sure. But, it's not going to be pretty. You and the kids better spend the weekend at your moms. By Monday, it should be fine." A note of caution is in order. Make sure the lights are out at this stage of the operation. Failure to do so may jeopardize the entire process as, under extreme duress, even the most capable of men find their customarily expressionless faces betraying them.

5. Dressed in tattered jeans and an old tee shirt, wave a hammer at your wife as she backs out of the driveway. Close the door, secure the chain and set the deadbolt. Tossing the hammer aside, move to the garage and deactivate the automatic door opener. OK, go ahead - smile as you saunter past the awaiting project, though still not quite sure what the finished product will look like. Detour through the kitchen, grabbing a cold one from the fridge as you pass, and through open the back door. "Bernie! My favorite carpenter." Point Bernie and his crew toward the project - then, step back and watch as the miracle of craftsmanship unfolds before your witless eyes.

Is there a cure in the offing for Multi-Thumb Dysfunctional Brain Syndrome? Scientists are skeptical. They do, however, look to significantly improve the functioning of sufferers. "Our goal," says Dr. Steiner, "is to remove the stigma of shame from men who now function at the level of young baboons." She says early results are promising and, "If all goes well, we may one day be able to offer these poor men the hope of functioning at the cognitive level of moderately intelligent chimpanzees." Godspeed, Dr. Steiner - Godspeed.

About the Author
Tim Anderson is a freelance writer who has a special interest in medical topics. Visit his blog at http://medicalmigrant.blogspot.com/