Advice
Garage door advice
Garage door advice from A Lift Garage Door: how springs, openers, cables and tracks actually work, what you can fix yourself, and what you should not touch.
Topics: Buying Guide · Cables & Tracks · Commercial · Installation · Maintenance · Openers · Safety · Springs
What A Spring Job Actually Costs, And Why Quotes Vary So Much
The price of a spring job depends on wire size, door weight, spring count, and whether the door got run after the break. Here is the whole cost structure, including what honestly makes a number go up once the tech is standing in your driveway.
Read OpenersGarage Door Will Not Close: The Checklist, In Order
A door that goes down and comes right back up has about a dozen possible causes, and they are not equally likely. Run them in this order and most people never reach the expensive end of the list.
Read MaintenanceThe Garage Door Maintenance You Can Do Yourself, And The One Thing You Cannot
Most of a maintenance visit is a rag, a socket set and the right can of lubricant. Here is the whole routine in order, and the one part of it that puts people in the emergency room.
Read Buying GuideChoosing A New Garage Door Without Getting Talked Into One
Two garage doors can look identical in a driveway and be a long way apart in what they are made of. Here is what actually drives the number on a quote, and how to compare two of them honestly.
Read SpringsHow Long Garage Door Springs Last, Counted In Cycles Not Years
One cycle is one trip up and one trip down, and a standard spring is rated around 10,000 of them. Divide by how often your door runs and you have your answer, plus what makes the real number come in lower.
Read SafetyPhoto Eye Sensors: What The Blinking Light Means And How To Fix It
Photo eyes are the most misunderstood part on a garage door and the easiest one to fix yourself. Here is how the pair works, what the blinking light means, and the one finding that gets reported before anything else.
Read MaintenanceWhat A $79 To $99 Tune-Up Actually Covers
A tune-up is the easiest service in this trade to sell as a vague good deed. Here is exactly what $79 to $99 changes on your door, and who does not need one at all.
Read OpenersChain, Belt, Screw And Wall Mount Openers Compared
Belt if somebody sleeps near the garage, chain if nobody does, wall mount if the ceiling is low. Here is the mechanism behind each one and the part you will eventually pay to replace.
Read Cables & TracksWhat Puts A Garage Door Off Track, And What To Do In The First Minute
A derailed garage door is not resting on anything. It is hanging off whatever is still hooked. What you do in the first minute decides whether this is a roller or a new section.
Read Buying GuideGarage Door Insulation, Honestly Explained For A Texas Summer
Whether an insulated door pays depends entirely on what is above the garage and what is beside it. Here is the honest version, including the retrofit kits and what they do to your springs.
Read SpringsTorsion Springs Or Extension Springs, And Why It Matters On Your Door
Look up: springs on a shaft above the opening are torsion, long springs along the side tracks are extension. Here is how each one lifts your door, what fails, and why one of them needs a safety cable it may not have.
Read OpenersWhy Garage Door Openers Die Early In North Texas
An opener that quits is usually the second thing that broke, not the first. Here is the force path, the heat and surge damage specific to our summers, and the honest line between repair and replace.
Read Cables & TracksCables And Drums: The Parts That Fail Second
A garage door cable costs less than a tank of gas and holds up one corner of a two hundred pound door. It almost never fails without warning, and the warning takes two minutes to find.
Read MaintenanceHow To Quiet A Loud Garage Door, From Cheapest Fix To Last Resort
Different noises come from different parts. Match the sound to the cause and most loud doors get quiet for the price of a can of lubricant instead of a new opener.
Read Buying GuideSteel, Wood Or Composite: What Survives North Texas
For most houses on this side of the metroplex the answer is insulated steel, and we will say why in one paragraph before explaining anything. Then the honest case for and against every other material.
Read SafetyGarage Door Safety When There Are Kids In The House
Break the photo eye beam with a broom handle, then close the door onto a two by four. Five minutes, no tools, and it tells you whether both of your door's safety systems still work.
Read OpenersSmart Garage Door Openers, Worth It Or Not
The honest case for a smart opener is short: knowing whether you left it open, letting somebody in without a key, and closing it from work. Everything else on the box is a feature list.
Read InstallationBarn, Shop And RV Doors On Acreage: What Changes
A fourteen foot shop door is not a house door made bigger. Here is what changes once the weight goes up, and the things a city installer misses on a property outside town.
Read CommercialRolling Steel Doors: How They Differ And What Actually Breaks
A rolling steel curtain coils into a barrel above the opening, so nothing hangs over your bay. Here is how the counterbalance works, what breaks in what order, and why the stopped bay costs more than the repair.
Read Buying GuideWhat Not To Overpay For On A Garage Door Repair
Openers replaced over a stripped gear, whole doors sold over one dented panel, new track that only needed adjusting. Here is the item by item breakdown, including the upgrades that really are worth the money.
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