Like everything else in this world, your garage door has an expiration date. These vary in each individual case based on things like usage, size, material, how often it’s been serviced and the weather that it is exposed to.
Each type of door shows different signs of wear and tear and indications that it’s time to replace it. Now these are only a guideline, and in many cases can be repaired, however, in the long run, may be uneconomical and only a temporary fix.
The Key Signs of Wear on Roller Doors:
- The nylofelt Stripping on the side of the door is peeling off
- The door is rolling up evenly often and tends to get stuck
- The door is heavy and unbalanced despite recent servicing and tentioning
The Key Signs of Wear on a Tilt Door and its Fittings:
- The inside frame is rusted and starting to break
- The tilt door is jamming or scraping on the sides of the door
- The cladding is worn, or coming away from the frame
The Key Signs of Wear on a Panel Door:
- You’re finding you’ve been having various issues with the hardware including springs, drums, hinges or tortion pole in a short period of time.
- The door seems to be coming out of the tracks repeatedly, despite attempts at adjusting the tracks.
- The door is beginning to become very jerky during operation, regardless of having it serviced.
Again, these are just guidelines. There is no hard and fast rule about when you need to replace them (outside of them completely not working), however, if you’re finding that your door is doing some of these things, it may be more economical to replace the whole door. It is not uncommon for people to spend $500-$1000 replacing various bits of hardware to try and fix their door, only to end up replacing it within a couple of years anyway.
Be smart with your money and contact the professionals for advice if you’re uncertain about the best way to proceed with your garage door.