• The 4 Most Common Garage Door Repairs For Homeowners

    Many homeowners consider their garage door’s creaking and groaning to all be part of owning a garage door and don’t consider the possibility that it could be an indication of something more serious. If your garage door has visible damage to the panels, is making loud noises, or simply doesn’t open or close, it might be time to hire garage door repair Pittsburgh PA professionals. Here are 4 common garage door repairs to be aware of.

    • Broken Garage Door Springs

    For manual garage doors, it is easy to notice when your springs are broken, as the door will be difficult to lift and will slam down when trying to close it. For automatic doors, the door won’t open at all. In order for you to manually open your door, you’ll have to disengage the emergency release and operate it manually.

    • Misaligned Sensor

    Automatic doors are equipped with two laser sensors located at the bottom of your garage door to prevent damage and injuries. If there is an object that disrupts the laser from beaming directly into the other laser, the door will not shut. If these sensors get bumped or become misaligned, the door will not be able to shut, reversing immediately or not operating at all. Sensors can be adjusted and realigned until they are lined up again, allowing the door to operate properly.

    • Dead Garage Door Remote

    For most, garage door remotes can last for a long time before the batteries need to be replaced. If your remote no longer operates your garage door, try replacing the batteries. If new batteries don’t fix the problem, you may need to replace the entire remote. If remotes get dropped, they are more susceptible to breaking. Try using the wall switch to see if your door will operate to determine if you need to replace your remote or if you have other, more serious problems.

    • Door Off Track

    If a door gets hit with an object or slams down too hard it is easy for your door to get off track. When this happens, you’ll need to hire professional garage door repair Pittsburgh PA to repair and perform maintenance to the door and track. In most cases, your door will need to be reattached to the rail, which you should not do yourself.

    The best way to prevent garage door problems is to perform regular maintenance. At Thomas V. Giel Garage Doors, we have experienced technicians who are trained in inspecting and repairing garage doors to ensure that your door continues to work time after time. If you find that your garage door isn’t working or needs maintenance, contact Thomas V. Giel Garage Doors today!

  • Tips on Preparing Your Garage Door for Summer

    With the cold winter months behind us, it is time to start thinking about summer and getting our homes ready for the warmer weather that lies ahead. Now is the time to start on some garage repair and maintenance to ensure that your door is in good working order.

    Winter’s icy conditions and cold weather can wreak havoc on garage doors, which is why it is imperative you perform necessary repairs and maintenance now that the weather has warmed up. While you might be tempted to ignore your garage door, because at face value it looks good and so far you’ve not experienced any problems, you’ll want to inspect and repair now to save money on costly repairs later on. Here are a few general maintenance and repair tips to prepare your garage door for summer.

    Clean the Door

    Garages are often the dirtiest spot in your home. They are the place where you store your car, tools, miscellaneous boxes and yard supplies. All of these things can collect dust, dirt, and grease, and carry the grime indoors.

    Your garage door is exposed to the elements 24/7, which means that it can be extremely filthy. This means that you are going to want to wash both the inside and outside of your garage door to remove the dirt, dust and anything else that has accumulated.

    Lubrication

    With the weather warming up, now is the perfect time to lubricate all the moving parts (rollers, tracks, hinges) on your garage door, along with the weather stripping. This will help to keep your garage door operating correctly and prevent any damage that might occur.

    You’ll want to avoid using any oils like WD-40, and rather use oil and lubricants that are specifically designed for garage door use instead. You’ll also want to make sure that you do not use too much oil, as any excess oil will attract dust and dirt which can wear out the various parts of your garage door. For exterior weather stripping, you’ll want to use a lubricant that contains silicone.

    Check for Wear and Tear on Your Door

    Perform a general inspection of your door. Check for cables that might show signs of fraying or wearing. If your cables are starting to show signs of wear and need to be replaced, you’ll want to contact your local garage door company to perform the garage repair. Additionally, you’ll want to check the hinges, ball-bearings, rails, and supports of your garage door to ensure that they are in good working order as well. If anything is loose or breaking, you’ll want to address those issues sooner rather than later to avoid a hefty repair bill later on.

    Check the Bolts

    Checking to make sure that the bolts on the back of the track of your garage door are tightened and in place is not only a maintenance concern but a safety concern as well. The last thing you want is for your garage door to fall and damage your car or injure someone due to loose bolts on the track.

    Check Springs

    Garage door springs should be free of rust. Over time springs will ultimately break, no matter how well they are maintained, but keeping them free of rust will help to prolong their life.

    When a spring does break it can shoot across the garage due to the high amount of tension that it is under. Some garage springs are contained in a tube, which means you don’t have to worry about maintaining them. If your spring does need replacing, do not attempt to replace it yourself. Instead, call your local garage door expert to replace the spring for you.

    Weather Stripping and Insulation

    Inspect all weather stripping and insulation on your garage door. You should clean and replace any that are damaged. Weather-stripping and insulation work to keep your garage dry, while preventing hot or cold air from entering and damaging items that you have stored in your garage.

    If you find that your garage door needs more than basic maintenance to keep in working properly, contact Thomas V. Giel Garage Doors today! Our team of dedicated professionals can return your garage door to working order so that you never find yourself with a garage door that doesn’t work. Perform your basic inspection and call us for all the repairs!

  • Repair or Replace your Garage Door Checklist

    Getting a new garage door is awesome! It opens quietly, provides light to your garage, and makes your house look spectacular. Despite that, over time your garage door will become sluggish, start to be louder, and may make you house look worse!

    We don’t want you to worry about all of that so we created a checklist so you know when it is time to get your garage door repaired, serviced , or completely replaced. This checklist will work with residential and commercial garage doors.

    Here is a picture of the checklist and a link to download below.

    Save this checklist and go through it every three months to make sure your door is running the best that it can. If you have any of the symptoms on the list, please give us a call! Our best deal is the Annual Residential Maintenance Program which services your doors once a year for 3 years and its only $198!

    Download the Checklist Now!

    Giel Garage doors serves the greater Pittsburgh area for all things garage doors. We do commercial and residential services.