Why Garage Door Safety Is Important
Garage doors are funny. We use them every day – most days, anyway – and we tend to think nothing of them. This is understandable. It’s just something we kind of, well accept. However, a garage door is comprised of a variety of mechanisms and parts. This is true for most things in life, but a garage door is slightly different because if not properly secured and managed, it can be incredibly dangerous. If you aren’t careful, you could find your car getting damaged as you drive through the door one day, or you might get injured while walking through it. These injuries can be excruciating and, in some cases, fatal. That is why it’s imperative to make sure every component of your garage door is in top shape, and that there is nothing that needs to be replaced or fixed. Over the span of a garage door’s lifetime, it is inevitable that certain components will become weaker. This is an inevitability, as the parts naturally weaken due to rust and general age. However, this being the case, many of the crucial components may eventually fail or become damaged in some sense. Most garage doors in this day and age have sensors that can detect objects that may be obstructing the garage door or blocking it. This is a safety precaution, and these sensors are advantageous. They are called electric eyes, and by using them, you can prevent a lot of the potential dangers that come with a garage door. Depending on the age of your garage door, you really should be paying attention and seeing if everything works well and if everything functions the way it’s supposed to. Inspecting your garage door on a regular basis is very important, and by doing so, you can save yourself a lot of time and money. If you do encounter an irregularity or something that just doesn’t feel right with your garage door, call a professional. I know. I know. It’s tempting to just “do it yourself,” but garage doors are very complex pieces of equipment and, without the proper care and understanding, it’s very easy for them to either become even more damaged or to injure you. There is a security benefit to regular inspections, too. By performing these checkups and making sure that each component is working the way it should, you prevent theft of any valuables you may have in your garage. You see, each one of those components work together to ensure that the garage door works the way it’s supposed to and that the security is top-notch and fully functional. Regular wear and tear on your garage door can unavoidably lead to the need to repair and to replace the individual components of your garage door. If you have an older garage door, it might be time to call an inspector who specializes in this field, so that they can inspect it for any potential damage to the internal and exterior elements. This allows you to prevent further damage and injuries and accidents which could lead to a loss of time and money. Not to mention the fact that having a stronger garage door that has been kept up to date and safe leads to an increase in the market value of your home. In the end, regular maintenance of your garage door consists of a variety of simple things that will ensure that your garage door is the safest and most secure that it can be. Regular tightening of the nuts and bolts Lubrication of the cables, pulleys, and rollers Regular adjustment of springs Regular adjustment of the door opener Tightening of the chain on a regular basis Making sure to set the limit switches regularly Lubricating the drive mechanism Doing these things on a regular basis and making sure to see a garage door specialist for regular inspection is crucial to the safety and security of your garage door and the garage as a whole. Remember, these pieces of equipment can last a long time, but only if you take the necessary steps to make sure that it does last. Safety is very important. Garage doors can, if not well taken care of, be very dangerous to operate. Make sure to regularly check to see if your garage door opens and closes properly. If things don’t seem to work they way they should, give us a call at (707) 644-5537 and we’ll schedule a service appointment.
Garage Door Security Tips
Securing your garage is an excellent idea. This goes without saying, but many people don’t choose to secure their garage for a variety of reasons, and this just ends up leading to problems down the road. In our garage, we often store our bikes and cars and a variety of other things that we use regularly. Some of us store lawn mowers and power tools and a wide variety of other valuable items. If this happens to be the case, then it is even more essential that you secure your garage and garage door; making certain that no one can break in easily and take off with your valuable possessions. To make sure that your garage door is safe and secure, we’ve compiled tips that we will go into detail about. Each one can be applied with just a little effort, and it would be wise to do so. Use Motion Detecting Lights The light fixtures that are in and around your garage are very nice and all, but for upgraded security, it is wise to have these things called motion detecting lights. You can probably guess what these are, but basically, these lights emit infrared waves that detect things like body temperature and any motion or movement. When these things are detected, the light turns on. This light stays on for a specific period and then it shuts off. If motion is detected again, the light turns back on. Keep Your Opener with You Or In A Safe Place This is only logical, but make sure to keep the garage door opener – the key, really – with you at all times to make sure that no one can access it or open your garage door without you knowing about it. Too many people make poor attempts to “hide” the garage door opener that they own, but these attempts are often futile since they can easily be found and used. Therefore, try to keep your opener with you or in a safe place. Purchase and Use A Garage Door Sensor This is a very simple tool that you attach to your garage. Once that is done, you’ll take the second part of the kit which includes a little monitor that flashes a light telling you if your garage door is closed or open. Most burglaries come from the fact that people accidentally leave the door open. So make sure that your garage door is closed and that no one can actually get in. Purchase an Automatic Garage Door Closer You can easily find one of these at your local Home Depot or hardware store, and installation is generally quite simple. It does require a bit of wiring, but it’s not too complicated. If you look up “how to install an automatic garage door closer” on Google, you can find some excellent and quite simple tutorials that will allow you to do this almost effortlessly. One of the biggest benefits of having an automatic garage door closer is the fact that you can set a timer which will shut your garage door after it has been open for a certain amount of time. It’s best to set it for a rather short period. Cover the Windows of Your Garage Some good curtains that you are unable to see through should do the trick. The darker the better. Just make sure that, while walking by, you can’t see inside. If you can’t, then that means no one else can. Add Extra Precautions for The Service Door In any garage, the biggest weak spot is the service door. This is the door that you can find outside of the garage; it’s the entry door. Just like any other exterior door in and around your home, it should have a standard deadbolt, along with a heavy-duty strike plate. That way, if someone chooses to break in, they will find themselves having to put quite a bit of effort into that endeavor. Be Sure to Close the Door I know this is common sense but make sure to close the door after you use it. Many people forget to do this, and while it is understandable, it is best to check and make sure that the door is closed properly. In the end, just use common sense and make sure that you have the right locks and your door is shut.