Preparing Your Garage Door for Summer: Essential Tips
7 min read
Getting Your Garage Door Summer-Ready
As temperatures rise across the Greater Boston area, your garage door faces unique challenges. The combination of heat, humidity, and increased use during summer months can accelerate wear and expose hidden problems. Taking time now to prepare your garage door for summer will prevent unexpected breakdowns during your busiest season.
Understanding Summer's Impact on Garage Doors
Summer weather affects different garage door materials in distinct ways. Steel doors can expand in extreme heat, potentially causing binding or sticking. Wood doors are susceptible to humidity-related swelling and can develop gaps when they dry out. Even aluminum doors, while more stable, can have their seals and weatherstripping degraded by UV exposure and heat.
The garage door opener isn't immune to summer challenges either. High temperatures in an uninsulated garage can cause the opener's motor to overheat, especially during frequent use. Lubricants may thin and lose their effectiveness, leading to increased friction and noise.
Essential Summer Preparation Steps
Inspect and Replace Weatherstripping
Start your summer prep by examining all weatherstripping around your garage door. Check the bottom seal (also called the astragal) for cracks, gaps, or hardening. A deteriorated bottom seal lets in hot air, insects, and moisture, reducing your garage's comfort and potentially damaging stored items.
Examine the weatherstripping around the door frame and between door panels. Replace any sections that are cracked, brittle, or no longer making proper contact. Quality weatherstripping not only keeps the elements out but also helps maintain a more stable temperature inside your garage.
Clean and Lubricate Moving Parts
Heat accelerates the breakdown of lubricants, making summer the perfect time for a fresh application. Start by cleaning the tracks with a damp cloth to remove dirt and debris. Don't use lubricant on the tracks themselves.this can actually cause the door to slip or bind.
Apply a silicone-based or lithium-based lubricant to all moving parts: hinges, rollers, springs, and the opener's chain or screw drive. Avoid WD-40 for this purpose; while it's great for cleaning, it's not a long-lasting lubricant. Pay special attention to the torsion spring, applying lubricant along its length to reduce friction and prolong its life.
Test Safety Features
Summer often means more activity in and around the garage, making this the ideal time to verify your safety features are working properly. Test the auto-reverse function by placing a 2x4 flat on the floor in the door's path.the door should reverse upon contact. Clean the photo-eye sensors with a soft cloth and verify they're properly aligned.
Check the manual release mechanism to ensure it operates smoothly. In a power outage during a summer storm, you'll need to be able to open the door manually.
Inspect for Pest Entry Points
Warmer weather brings increased pest activity. Inspect your garage door carefully for gaps that could allow mice, insects, or snakes to enter. Pay particular attention to corners and areas where the weatherstripping meets the frame. Seal any gaps with appropriate materials or replace damaged components.
Addressing Common Summer Issues
Sticking or Binding Doors
If your door begins sticking in summer heat, it's often due to thermal expansion. For steel doors, check that the tracks are properly aligned and have adequate clearance. Wood doors may need to be planed slightly if expansion is severe. In most cases, simply ensuring proper lubrication will resolve minor sticking.
Opener Overheating
If your opener seems sluggish or stops working during the hottest part of the day, overheating may be the culprit. Improve garage ventilation by installing vents or a garage fan. Avoid prolonged door operation during peak heat, and ensure the opener's light bulb isn't generating excessive heat.
Faded or Peeling Paint
Summer sun can quickly fade garage door paint, especially on south-facing doors. Touch up any peeling or chipped areas to prevent moisture damage to the underlying material. Consider using high-quality exterior paint with UV protection for longer-lasting results.
Professional Summer Tune-Up
While many summer prep tasks are suitable for DIY, an annual professional inspection ensures nothing is overlooked. Our technicians at South Boston Garage Doors perform comprehensive summer tune-ups that include spring tension verification, hardware tightening, balance testing, and safety feature calibration.
A well-maintained garage door operates more quietly, lasts longer, and provides better security and energy efficiency throughout the summer season.