Every commercial and industrial business should make it a point to inspect and maintain their garage doors at least once a year. It’s a practice that enables you to identify and resolve issues before they get severe and require major, costly repairs.
The ideal time to perform yearly maintenance varies based on the business. We’d recommend doing it prior to anticipated periods of heavy use — when doors will be opened and closed frequently. The right time may be before the busy season kicks into high gear or before winter when the doors will be an area of focus to keep cold air out and warm air in. To help you out, we’ve put together an annual commercial garage door maintenance checklist.
Perform a Visual Inspection
To start, perform a visual inspection of each of your commercial garage doors. Open and close the door a couple times, and watch and listen for issues:
- Does the door move smoothly up and down, or does it rattle or jerk?
- Does the door squeak, squeal or make a grinding sound?
These are easy problems to fix. To prevent a door from rattling, use a wrench to tighten any bolts or brackets that are loose. To eliminate squeaking, apply a low-temperature grease on the chain of the opener and spray a lubricant on the springs, hinges, rollers and tracks.
Check the Weather Stripping
Next, go outside and take a look at the rubber weather stripping. Look for cracks, splits or missing pieces on the bottom section of the stripping that creates a seal with the floor. If you see any, replace the strips to keep rodents and insects out and prevent annoying wind whistling. It’s a good practice to inspect the exterior door seals at this time as well and replace them if necessary.
Test the Garage Door Balance
To extend the life of your garage door opener motor, test the door balance. Start by pulling the release handle to disconnect the opener. This will enable you to lift the door manually. Raise it up about halfway. If the door doesn’t move when you let go, the balance is good and the door is safe. If it does move, the door is out of balance and unsafe.
An unbalanced door should be fixed, but only by a professional. The cables that raise the garage door are under high tension and can cause severe injury to anyone who improperly tampers with them.
Test the Safety Features
No commercial garage door maintenance checklist is complete without testing the safety features of the door. These include the infrared sensor and the safety reverse mechanism. To test the infrared sensor, push the button on the remote to close the door and wave something in the path of the sensor. This should cause the door to stop and open back up. The reverse mechanism can be tested by placing a piece of wood on the ground in the path of the door. When the door touches the wood, it should reopen. If the door fails either of these safety tests, it needs to be serviced.
If your doors passed all these tests, you’re good to go! If not, address any issues as soon as possible. For problems you can’t resolve on your own, contact a professional service technician for assistance.