Cold weather has set in and it’s here to stay. Like most things, your garage door and operator may not work as well in extreme temperatures. The Door People at Overhead Door Company of Olmsted County are here to help your troubleshoot your door problems no matter what the temperature is outside. Here are a few tips that can help you ensure your door runs smoothly this winter:
- Preventative Maintenance – we recommend having routine maintenance performed on your door once a year. While we can’t always predict when a spring is going to break, we can adjust tension, detect fraying cables, improper wear on hinges, and make routine adjustments to keep your door in balance. Routine preventative maintenance often wards off large, costly problems from occurring.
- Make sure your operator is working properly – Your operator is the device that is installed near the ceiling of your garage or building. It’s important to make sure that your operator is not having to work harder than it needs to. For example, if your door is frozen shut, chances are you’ll hear your operator working to open the door, even though it’s not moving.
Circumstances like this can burn the motor out of your operator or damage the gears, and that’s what we want to avoid. If we’ve had precipitation and it has built up around the bottom of your door, do your best to clear the ice or snow away from the bottom seal BEFORE using your operator to open your garage door. - Check your brush weather strip or vinyl weather strip and rubber seal –If you look around the perimeter of your garage door, you’ll probably notice either weather strips of brush or vinyl that are in place to help keep warm air from escaping outside. There is also a rubber strip at the bottom of your door, also known as astragal, which is designed to seal your door properly for the same reason.
Your garage door is generally the largest opening and moving object in your home. When we have extreme temperatures, we want our customers to be able to keep the warm air, which you’ve already paid for we might add, inside! Many of us use our garage space for different reasons including work, storage, hobbies and even entertainment purposes or living spaces. Making sure that your door is sealed properly is a great step to take to make your garage space efficient and economical.
You can often tell if any perimeter seals need to be replaced if you notice it’s hard, brittle or you see openings around the perimeter of your door. Overhead Door Company carries a variety of brush weather strip, vinyl weather strip and rubber bottom seal. If you’re ready to replace these, give us a call. We’d be happy to help you find the correct size and kind of weather strip that best accommodates your door.
- Mason City, IA | 641-424-4114 | 225 18th Street SE, Mason City, IA 50402
- Olmsted County, MN | 507-281-6872 | 406 37th Street NE, Rochester, MN 55906
- Albert Lea, MN | 507-373-4435 | 77893 209th Street (East of the Trails Travel Center), Albert Lea, MN 56007
If all else fails and this weather takes its toll on your overhead door and these tips don’t seem to do the trick, don’t hesitate to contact us to request service. That’s what The Door People of Overhead Door Company of Olmsted County are here for. We also provide 24/7 emergency service for homes and business. To reach our emergency service after business hours, call:
- Mason City, IA | 641-430-9570
- Olmsted County, MN | 507-273-5007
- Albert Lea, MN | 507-383-4855