Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Denver, Colorado knows you want your garage door to last. With average use, your garage door will go through around 40,000 over a 25 year lifetime. As the largest moving element of your home, you want your door to last those 25 years – for convenience as well as safety to your family. You need it to stand up to regular wear and tear, as well as harsh weather and damage from bumps and collisions. This is where you need to be aware of the basics of garage door hardware specs. Let’s take a look at the key components that you need to check for top quality.
Struts
Mainly used on doors over 14 feet wide, struts reinforce the integrity of the garage door panels. They span the width of the panels and help provide support when the door is open. On a double-wide door, your door should have 3 struts.
Hinges
Good sturdy hinges are critical to smooth operation of your door. Cracked or detached hinges will cause buckling during opening and closing. This not only makes for poor operation, but can cause damage to the panels over time. You should only be using 14 gauge, full hinges, not half. Double doors should be equipped with double hinges at the ends.
Springs
Your torsion springs are under a high level of tension. Most are designed for 10,000 full cycles of use. However, you can ask for stronger springs designed for 20,000 or even 25,000 cycles. You’ll see the torsion spring located just above the opening of the door. It looks like a long, tight coil of metal. If you notice any damage or rust, call a service technician right away. Do NOT attempt repairs yourself.
Cables
Along with the springs, the lift cables are under a lot of stress. The springs provide counter-balance, but the cables are the primary lifting system. You should make sure that these cables are at least ⅛” in thickness.
Tracks
There are two pairs of tracks in your garage door system: vertical and horizontal. The horizontal tracks should have 2” x 2” horizontal steel angles that are 13 gauge in thickness. This will keep the horizontal tracks from buckling.
Both the vertical and horizontal tracks should have a 14 gauge thickness. This is the spec for light duty commercial doors, and will add a lot of life to your garage door system.
Anchoring Plates
Wall anchoring plates will also help strengthen your vertical tracks. They should not only be bolted to the wall, but welded to the vertical track.
Rollers
Rollers typically come in steel, nylon, or nylon-covered steel. Steel rollers are the strongest, and covering them in nylon drastically reduces noise during operation. Whichever material you decide on, you should be sure to get 10-bearing wheels.
Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Denver, CO has you covered when it’s time to evaluate your garage door hardware specs.If you’re experiencing problems, call us today and we’ll help you get back on track fast!
