Winterizing Your Garage Doors

Some of the most common garage door repairs in Irvine are completely preventable with basic measures. Your garage doors are insulated for a reason. Not only do you run the risk of wear to the doors, but you risk cold air and moisture. Excess cold can make your home less efficient to heat, and moisture can damage your garage opener, affect items stored in your garage and lead to mildew and discoloration.

Examine, Protect and Replace Insulation

If the walls of your garage aren’t insulated, consider installing batt insulation or similar. Garage insulation should be replaced as often as you replace insulation in living spaces. Inspect all weather-stripping. Replace rubber seals as needed. Lubricant applied to weather stripping can help stave off brittleness and cracking. Caulk molding, and if the door isn’t a single piece, then caulk the bottom of panels where they meet the frame of the door.

Perform Upkeep on Doors and Hardware

The garage doors themselves as well as any hardware attached to them take a lot of wear and tear in winter from rain and other moisture alone. If wood doors show signs of brittleness, or metal doors have metal exposed, now is a good time to paint them. For hardware, clean them with a basic degreaser, such as dish soap, and then reapply a lubricant.

Give Your Opener a Tune-Up

Your garage door opener should be serviced by a professional on a regular basis. If it’s been a while since your last service call, now is a good time to schedule it. Otherwise, perform a basic examination of your opener. Look for misaligned tracks, chain wear and so forth. This is also a good time to clean and lubricate moving parts according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Consider a Unit Heater

It’s generally never cold enough long enough in this area to warrant a mini-split heat pump or the like for a garage. Nevertheless, it is recommended to add a heat source to a garage space during periods of unusual cold. A cost-effective way to do this is to have a unit heater on hand that is gas or electric powered and can be used as needed.