A guide to choosing and maintaining garage doors

Most homeowners tend to ignore the importance of garage doors. However, if the garage door is in front of your house, it must blend well with the looks and overall appeal! Hence, you should be picky about choosing a garage door. The first thing people notice when they pull up in front of the house is the garage doors! Many manufacturers offer garage doors in Melbourne for reasonable rates. However, before opting for a garage door, it’s best to have a good idea about the various types of garage doors that are available.

Types of Garage Doors

• Sectional Garage Doors: As the name implies, these Garage Doors have panel sections with hinges. As the garage door opens or closes, the wheels at the edge of each panel roll inside. These garage doors require low maintenance and are made from steel. The garage door can additionally have window panes, textures, colours or insulation, according to the customer’s preference.

• Roll-Up Garage Doors: These types of garage doors are usually good for commercial spaces. Such garage doors are for areas with limited ceiling space. Roll-up garage doors can withstand heavy usage and help in preventing rust, freezing and corrosion.

• Slide to the Side Garage Doors: These garage doors can bend to one side of the garage, sitting parallel to the wall. They have lower trolleys that work with slight slopes in the floor or ceiling. There is a built-in retractable motor for automated operation of the garage door.

• Side-Hinged Garage Doors: These garage doors swing open and closed from a hinged frame on either side of the opening. They resemble large barn doors made of wood. However, steel doors are also available these days. Various manufacturers widely offer side-hinged garage doors in Melbourne.

• Tilt-up Canopy Garage Doors: The tilt-up canopy garage doors are of one solid piece. They have a hinge mechanism to tilt up into the garage. Canopy garage door sits parallel to the garage ceiling.

• Tilt-up Retractable Garage Doors: The tilt-up retractable garage doors lift up and into the garage. These garage doors require more space than canopy garage doors.

Tips for Maintaining Garage Doors

• Look for jerky movements, grating or scraping sounds.
• Inspect the tracks and make sure they are free of debris and rust.
• Tighten up any loose bolts of the garage door, if found.
• The rollers of the garage door should be inspected and replaced over time.
• Inspect the cables and pulleys on the garage door.
• Keeping the rollers well lubricated to reduce stress on the rollers and door openers.
• Check for the proper balance of a door.
• Repair or replace the weatherstripping of the garage doors.
• Clean and paint the garage door.

Safety Tips for Garage Doors

• Don’t let children play around with the garage door controllers.
• Learn on how to use the emergency release feature of garage doors.
• Never place your fingers between door sections.
• Don’t leave the garage door partially open as it may impact the security of the house.
• Avoid leaving the remote control of the garage door in the car or with a parking attendant as it may be a security risk.