What’s the harm in having an old garage door? It’s still functioning, and it doesn’t look terrible. Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Ft. Worth, TX wants you to know the potential costs of an old garage door. Check out the problems that you may getting ready to face if your door is getting old.
Inconvenience
In the beginning, an old garage door can simply cause inconvenience. Warped tracks can create a lot of noise during operation. Faulty sensors can cause the door to stop midway and reverse. Older openers can become less reliable. You may find yourself having to push the button over and over.
Also, newer technology for garage door openers can interfere with openers from before 1993. So if your neighbor has a newer opener, there may be signal interference causing your garage door to open when they open theirs. These are not dangerous issues, but can certainly be annoying.
Environmental damage
An old garage door can also lead to damage to your stored items inside. Bad seals can allow rainwater and runoff to seep in. This in turn leads to water damage. Water can damage your stored items, the garage floor, and even the walls.
A buildup of rust on an old garage door will lead to poor operation of your garage door. If left unchecked, this can end in the possible failure of the door itself. Now we’re beginning to get into the serious costs.
Security
The older a garage door is, the more susceptible it is to break-ins. As door materials deteriorate, they get brittle and easier to break. The bad seals we mentioned earlier and the resulting rust and warping can prevent your door from aligning properly. This means that the tight fit into the frame is gone, allowing easier access for crowbars and the like.
As garage doors age, dings and dents can accumulate, preventing proper operation of the various parts. One such part is the lock. If they lock itself has become worn, you may find yourself not using it on a regular basis. Similarly, if the slide latches for the lock have become bent or impeded by other damage, you may have given up trying to lock your overhead garage door. This presents a great risk in your home’s security.
Risk of damage or injury
The torsion springs on a garage door are subject to a tremendous amount of tension. They have to counterbalance the entire weight of the door, which can weigh up to 300 pounds. This means that a failure of one or more of the torsion springs can be catastrophic.
At best, it could fail, dropping the door and doing damage to the door itself. It could also drop the door while your vehicle is under it, either entering or exiting. Even worse yet, it could drop the door on a person, resulting in injury or death. It’s also possible that the spring itself could cause damage or injury as it flies off its mount.
In the same way, the door’s cables pose a risk as they age. Through rust or general wear and tear, these cable could potentially fail. If they do, the results would be exactly the same as above.
Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Ft. Worth, Texas values your safety and security above all else. If your garage door has reached the end of it’s 10-12 year life cycle, give us a call. Our professional customer service representatives will answer any questions you have about choosing your next garage door. Our trained installation technicians will expertly install your new door.
