Garage Door Issues in Cold Weather

With the cold weather of winter approaching there is the potential for trouble with your Dunwoody, GA garage door functioning properly. As the temperature drops steeply overnight there is the potential for any condensation or rain to freeze, making the door or simply the opener hard to use. Simple problems that the door won’t open, or it is noisy may be indicators of some of these simple problems, and that they are in need of an easy fix.

First, if the garage door won’t open there are many reasons that this could happen, and it should be evaluated closely before you run screaming to a garage door company for the repair. You may want to check the joints for lubricant or grease and use the appropriate one in case it looks like the grease has become solid or clogged in the hinges or joints. From there it is also possible that the door has become frozen to the ground, that there is ice in the track or the tracks have fallen out of line due to the weather.

A few common situations that lead to the trouble with the garage door functioning properly. These include:

1. Frozen door threshold. Sometimes an overnight rain, followed by a quick drop in temperature causes a problem. When this happens, you should not use your garage door opener immediately, but check the weather stripping at the bottom of the door for ice. This can easily be solved from the inside by tapping the door lightly with a hammer to loosen the door from the ice.
2. A low battery in the transmitter. A non-insulated garage could become humid, and the remote left in your vehicle (inside the garage) could gain condensation on the battery. Possibly a sign of the need to change the battery, it could take a little testing to see what will work right away.
3. Condensation on the infrared security system. Also, with the humidity that may collect in your garage this can disrupt door function. Simply wipe the sensor, on each side of the garage door, with a dry cloth. This would likely cure the problem.

There can also be the problem with a creaky or noisy door, not reaching the floor easily or properly. A number of possible issues exist in the occurrence of this problem in cold weather as well:

1. Metal contracts in cold weather. This causes some of the noises and also leads to the door stopping on its way up or down. Springs and other metal pieces can seize up and a lubricant may be required. Lubricate the springs, hinges, rollers and other moving parts, usually with a silicone-based lubricant.
2. Broken gears or travelers on garage door openers. Given the cold weather the door may be frozen down, but it is likely the gears are rollers inside the traveler are not working appropriately with what has happened to the metal tracks. Something in the opener could also disagree with the gears, so a few different things need to be checked in this instance.
3. Excess grease or thickening grease. With trouble of the door traveling up and down in the cold, the problem can be as simple as grease thickening in a single spot of the track. This may make it hard for the door to function properly, making the door need fresh lubricant.
4. Wear or misalignment, warped tracks. The rollers may wear down or fall out of alignment inside the tracks. The tracks can also become warped during extreme temperatures or if there is damage.