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A Quick Fix for Safer Garage Doors

Do you remember back in the day, and I mean way, way back in the day, when your Grandpa was still cool? There weren’t automated garage doors or even garages for that matter, your Pops stored his automobile in a contraption they called a “carriage house.” It was a place you could use to store your horses, your hay and your car. That explains why everyone’s car reeked of horse manure. Fortunately for the newer generation, carports and garages were invented. But which is more beneficial…a carport or a garage?

Carport Vs Garage
A carport doesn’t have surrounding walls or a garage door; it only has a shield over the top of your car. So actually a carport is only really designed to protect your car from the rain and severe sun damage. But what about safety and security? What if your car gets stolen into in the middle of the night? Wouldn’t you at least want to know that you did everything you could to prevent it, like installing an alarm system and having a garage door that actually locks securely?

How Safe Is Your Door?
When securing your home you often tend to overlook the largest entry point, your garage door. You can lock and bolt every window and door of your home to keep your family protected through the night but what about that loose hinge on the garage door? The whole lock and bolt routine at night just seems totally pointless now, doesn’t it? So ask yourself honestly, when was the last time you checked if the torsion springs were working? Or the garage door openers?

Having a garage is comforting. There is comfort in knowing that your vehicle or vehicles (if you own more than one) are protected. But if not maintained and checked on frequently it can be more of threat than a reward. Shaky hinges, loose torsion springs and faulty openers can lead to tragic outcomes other than vehicle theft.

Garage door openers were designed initially for homeowners who lived in those regions prone to harsh, violent storms. The idea was to make it more convenient for the driver, so that you didn’t need to leap in and out of your car in pouring rain, wind or snow. An automated garage door saved on having to get in and out of your car in the stormy weather. It also meant you didn’t need to carry a second set of clothes in your boot for work, in case you managed to get yourself drenched.

Hazardous Outcomes
The craze of seeing a garage door go up and down all by itself left little children spellbound. How’s that for a contraption. And young children are curious, if they don’t know exactly how and why that door opens by itself they’re going to believe Harry Potter’s doing it. tragically, many childish explorations end in heartbreak because an average strength garage door can close with enough power to crush a child.

It cannot be emphasised enough just how crucial it is to have your garage door thoroughly checked out frequently. You need to do an extensive, detailed check of the complete counterbalance system. You need to inspect the cables, the springs, and the hardware. And don’t forget to lubricate all the hinges, brackets and rollers. Only once you’ve done all of that can you check if the reversing sensors are fully operational.

Reversing sensors come as a safety feature on most automatic garage door openers. It causes the door to reverse if it encounters an obstruction. A quick way of testing if your reverse sensors are working is to place a roll of paper towel under the door and lower it, if the garage door hits the roll it should reverse. If it doesn’t, you’ve got trouble.

A survey was run for 21 years between 1974 and 1995 and the results were shocking. During that specific time period more than 85 children, that’s 4 children each year, were killed or suffered permanent brain damage in accidents involving poorly maintained automated garage doors.

Quick Tips For Garage Door Safety

• Replace your old torsion springs. The procedure might seem tedious but it is well worth the effort. If your door has two springs have both replaced even if one is not worn out or broken.
• Perform frequent checks on your door cables. If your cables are threadbare and worn out they are at risk of breaking and the results may not be pretty. So rather replace them beforehand so that you are able to prevent a potentially dangerous situation.
• Have your door installed by an expert. No matter how much of a handy man you consider yourself to be, don’t ever try to install your garage door by using just the instruction manual, there are trained technicians who does these things for a living. If your door is installed incorrectly and could be a real hazard so rather play it safe.
• Containment Cables for Extension Springs. A containment cable should loop through each extension spring and should be connected to the wall or the ceiling at each end. A containment cable is like a reserve tank when your car has run out of petrol. It’s designed to hold on to the spring if it breaks to prevent accidents. This is a very effective safety precaution. If your door doesn’t have this feature, have one installed.
• Hands off the bottom brackets. Don’t attempt to fix the problem no matter how tiny it may seem. The bottom brackets on a garage door are connected to the springs and these brackets are under constant immense tension. Leave it to a professional to tend to.
• Maintenance! This is definitely the most important tip anyone can give you. Check your garage door regularly, see that everything is still intact and make sure the door is fully operational without any squeaks and chinks. Once you have the maintenance under control, the rest will be easy.

Garages and garage doors have certainly come a long way since the carriage house idea. Be thankful you weren’t born in the era where horse manure and engines were stored under the same roof. Garages have undoubtedly become a bare necessity for vehicle owners, and of course garage doors had to complement. Now, with the aid of time, technology and design, you can have a safe home for your car.

Author Bio:
Access Garage Doors has become synonymous with the premier wood custom garage door product in the marketplace for homes in America. Access Garage Door strive to bring their clients the highest quality, most exciting and best engineered designer door products on the market.

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