Garage Door Safety 7 Safety Tips | Star Solutions Garage Door

Garage Door Safety: 7 Safety Tips around Your Garage Door

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Many people don’t give enough attention to garage door safety, but 20,000 to 30,000 injuries take place each year because of them. That should highlight the need for some awareness around safety. The garage door ranks as one of the most dangerous parts of the home. Some of the most common injuries include fingers or body parts getting caught under the door, the door getting lowered onto someone and injuries to those who repair the door. Let’s have a look at some safety tips that can save you from an injury.

Garage Door Safety

In particular, many of the injuries occur with children, and you should never let a child hang onto the garage door because of how this can hurt them or damage the door. The consequences aren’t worth it.

Conduct a Monthly Inspection

For a lot of people, they may not even think of this with their garage door, but one of the best ways to improve safety comes from inspecting the door once a month. Look for signs of wear and tear. In this way, you can fix the problem before it has the opportunity to fully materialize into an injury. Look at the pulleys, the springs, the cables and the rollers to ensure everything remains in working condition and won’t malfunction.

Any damage to the cables, springs, rollers or pulleys shouldn’t be repaired via the do-it-yourself method because of how this requires the careful attention of a specialist to prevent injuries. These parts have been wound tightly, and they have a lot of tension behind them. Should one of the components break, it could cause serious injury to anyone in the vicinity. You must have an expert because they know how to do this safely.

Take the Garage Door Opener with You

One of the most common ways that criminals have broken into homes comes from them stealing the garage door opener. Once they have the opener, they don’t have to come in through the front door because they can use the garage door safety opener to enter through the garage. Because of its size, you can store this in a backpack, a purse or a pocket and lower the chances that it will get stolen.

Educate Your Family

Especially small children need an education not to play around a garage door in operation. Remind your children not to keep their hands or fingers near a garage door repair that is closing. In addition, they shouldn’t have loose clothing near it because this can have equally devastating consequences. A little awareness around this issue can go a long way to protecting your family.

Beware of the Garage Door’s Age

Garage doors over the age of 25 years old can start to endanger those who use it because of how the wear and tear can cause them to malfunction. If you have a garage door over 25 years old, you may want to contact Star Solutions Garage Door in Jenkintown, PA. They can inspect the components and bring your garage door up to date.

Never Depend on the Sensors

Even if your garage door has sensors on it that prevent it from closing if someone is underneath it, you should never rely on this. Technology can malfunction. Most modern garage doors will have a black box located closer to the bottom of the garage door. When the sensors don’t align properly, the garage door won’t operate.

Still, cases have happened where the sensors malfunctioned and the door closed on someone who thought they were safe. Every month or so, you may even want to inspect the sensors. You might clean the lenses with a soft cloth because dirt and spiderwebs can build up on them. This keeps the eyes from malfunctioning. If you believe that the sensors aren’t working, call a professional get the sensors because to work.

Prepare for Emergencies

Let’s say something happens and someone gets caught under the garage. How do you respond to this situation? You should learn the emergency release feature of your garage. It will usually be found in the owner’s manual of your product. People should always know this because of how you never know if someone would get injured by the door. The faster you can respond, the better their chances of survival and non-permanent injury. Understanding where the emergency release is at will keep you and your family safe.

One of the greatest safety measures that you can take for a garage door is to make sure that you have photo-eye sensors, and check periodically to make sure that they work. Many times, the injuries that come from garage door can be serious because people get crushed by them. Never let a child play games during an operating garage door, and don’t let them dash underneath an operating garage door. This poses a great danger to your child.

Garage Door Cable Snapped | Star Solutions Garage Door

Garage Door Cable Snapped

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Never postpone repairs after the garage door cable snaps. The longer you wait, the more the damages can add up. Garage doors have cables on each side to lift and lower the garage door. Over time, wear and tear can take their toll. If you see fraying cables, you may want to replace them before they snap. Having the cables snap always feels traumatic because it makes a loud noise. Dealing with them before they snap keeps you from having a scare.

Don’t Use the Door

When one cable breaks, the full weight of the garage door goes on the other cable. The strain can make the garage door lift unevenly or not at all. Extra weight on the remaining cable can cause that one to snap as well. Hearing the garage door squeal or if it looks crooked could indicate that the garage door has had one of the cables snap.

Signs of a Broken Cable

You can spot a broken garage door cable because you will see a couple possible signs, such as:

All signs like this warrant calling in a garage door professional who understands how to operate on garage doors. They can replace a broken cable safely.

Why Garage Door Cables Snap

You have a few things that can cause garage door cables to snap like normal wear and tear, water damage, cold climate and issues with other working parts. Like any working part on the garage door, the inner mechanics start to wear down over time. They might break because of rust that forms on the cables. Replacing both the cables and the springs on the garage door will cost you anywhere from $175 to $450. In some cases, you may have to replace the drums and rolls of the garage door along with the springs and cables. However, that isn’t common.

How to Make Your Cables Last

Proper maintenance can go a long way to making your garage door cables last as long as possible. You have to oil parts like the springs and cables regularly to keep rust and corrosion from taking over your garage door. After some time, you will want to replace older parts with newer ones. When one part of the garage door doesn’t work well, the rest of it won’t do as well either. Inspect your garage door at least once a year.

Some of the areas where preventative maintenance can make a big difference include:

  • Tightening the bolts and screws

  • Lubricating the components

  • Garage Door Cable Snapped

  • Adjusting the spring tension as needed

Important to note: Never do anything with the spring tension yourself. A garage door springs holds a ton of pressure behind it. Someone unknowledgeable working on the spring could suffer a severe injury if it breaks.

What to Do if Your Cable Broke

Don’t open the garage door if you busted a cable. Leave it closed and call Star Solutions garage door in Jenkintown. We have the expertise and equipment to fix your garage door. Garage door springs usually last between seven to nine years, and the cables will usually go a little before that time frame. Many times, when a garage door professional replaces the cables on your door, he will replace the springs at the same time. The two go hand in hand. Don’t use the garage door if the cables have broke because it can cause further damage to the door. In particular, if the garage door was at full height and the last cable snaps, it can send the garage door slamming into the concrete, causing expensive damage to your garage door.

Why Do They Have Cables?

The cables on a garage door exist to open and close the garage door. They place the cables inside the springs to keep the spring in place if they snap, but the cables will often break before the springs. It serves as your warning sign. If the springs snap without the cable to hold them in place, they can shoot right through a wall. The high tension behind the spring has proven dangerous. Springs like this have to lift a 350 to 400-pound garage door, which puts their contents under extreme duress. You have had people who died when they didn’t install the spring correctly.

Garage Door Cables Critical to Health of Door

After you push the button, the cables will either move up or down through the pulley system. The cable gets wound or unwound through the pulley system. How the cable gets used will depend on the type of garage door needed. If the garage door uses torsion springs, then it will have torsion cables to loop from one end to the other.

The garage door cables keep the springs in place, but that doesn’t mean it will always do that. In some cases, the spring snaps and the cable was incorrectly positioned. The broken spring comes flying off without a guidance system. You should even take a damaged cable seriously because it means that the cable will soon snap. The cables used will depend on the weight of the door with stronger cables used for heavier doors. When you check your cables, look for frays or kinks. You should contact a professional as soon as possible at the first sign of damage. Beware of how lubricants can attract dirt to the cable and cause damage over time.

Don’t do anything with a garage door that has a broken cable. Leave it alone and contact a professional as soon as possible. One broken cable will transfer the burden of all the weight to a single cable, which increases the risk that it will break. You want to leave it as much as possible so that it doesn’t break before you can have a professional replace the cables. While small, they make up an integral part of the garage door.

Local Garage Doors Repair | Star Solutions Garage Door

Local Garage Doors Repair

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Are you in need of garage door repair? Many issues arise with local garage doors repair after several years. The average garage door lasts between 10 to 15 years, but its lifespan depends on several factors, such as frequency of use and how well you maintain the door. Here at Star Solutions garage door, we remain a local garage doors repair company committed to the highest standards of repair for our customers. We can handle a variety of common issues that you might encounter, such as:

Why Choose Us?

Fast, reliable, affordable and local, Star Solutions Garage Door understands how a garage door malfunctioning can cause issues for anyone. Our team of carefully handpicked experts have the knowledge and experience to resolve your garage door problems quickly and effectively. We have the necessary tools to local garage doors repair so that they stay fixed. All our staff receive training, bonding, licensing and insurance to guarantee top-notch garage door services.

You can fall back on our customer-backed guarantee that our technicians will perform the services to the highest standards of the industry.

Local Garage Doors Repair

Having repair work done by an experienced local garage doors repair company can make all the difference when it comes to the ROI on your property. Having a dysfunctional garage door can lower the home value. Realtors say that work done on a garage door can improve the home value by four percent. Not only that, but the garage door serves as curb appeal to potential homebuyers. The garage door looks like one of the largest things on the home, and people will see it. Newer garage doors can lead to energy savings because they don’t use as much electricity. One research study from Clopay Building Products learned how they could save 71 percent with new energy-efficient garage doors.

When Trouble Strikes, Call Us

Don’t work on the garage door yourself. In particular, don’t work on the garage door springs because the danger posed can lead to serious injury or death. Garage door springs have a lot of tension behind them. Someone who works on them without knowledge could cause the spring to break, which can cause severe injury. Unfortunately, we receive many calls after the fact that someone worked on a garage door spring and suffered a severe injury. You need to have professionals do it, and we understand how to work with the springs without getting injured.

Good Maintenance Avoids the Need for Repairs

Proper maintenance lowers the need for a lot of repairs. You don’t have to worry as much about an expensive unscheduled repair. Taking good care of the garage door ensures that it lasts as long as possible. The things that you can do to maintain your garage door include:

Taking actions for maintenance will lengthen the lifetime of your garage door. You won’t have to call in the professionals as often to have it fixed. Untreated minor wear and tear can lead to bigger problems over time.

When Should You Replace a Garage Door?

How do you know when to replace your garage door? First, look at the age of the door. In some cases, you could benefit more to have the garage door replaced over using the older door. As we said, the newer doors have energy savings, but it even goes beyond that. A newer door may even cost less than having an old garage door repaired.

To determine whether you should replace or repair a garage door, first look at the extent of the damage. Do you have minor, moderate or severe damage? Minor damage means chipped or fading paint or a large crack. However, minor means the damage sustained is purely cosmetic. You can still get incredible value from repairing the door, rather than replacing.

Investment in the Home

Moderate damage goes beyond the cosmetics, and it could entail damage to the structural integrity of your door. This could mean that nature’s elements get inside, or it could mean that thieves and intruders can break in through the garage door more easily. In many cases, you can still repair moderate damage. Severe damage means that the damage caused has stopped the garage door from opening and closing like it normally would. In some cases, what looks like severe damage could stem from a simple problem. You may need to simply replace the springs or buy a new battery. Having a technician examine this will give you the best results because they can offer up solutions. If you wanted a replacement, you can still find many available options that won’t blow the budget.

Local garage doors repair cost ranges anywhere from $147 to $341, depending on the region and the type of repair needed. The national average sits at $223. Again, this varies depending on the type of repair needed. If you need an expert, call Star Solutions in Jenkintown, PA. Getting repairs done could be seen as an investment in the home. Even if the garage door only sustained minor damage, you could think of it as a type of maintenance to avoid bigger expenses when a major piece of hardware breaks. Many times, when you don’t fix the problem, it becomes a much bigger one.

Dented Garage Doors in Jenkintown | Star Solutions Garage Door

How to Deal with a Dented Garage Door

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If you have a large dent in your garage door, you will most likely have to replace it. This can cost you around $75 for a basic repair, but it can cost you anywhere from $150 to $400 total if you have to replace a panel. Steel and aluminum don’t require much maintainance, but they do dent easily. It could suffer a dent for any number of reasons, such as a bike bumps the door, or you have a basketball that bounces off the dented garage door.

Fix a Small Dent

You don’t always have to hire a professional to fix a small dent. How do you begin? First, you will wash the area surrounding the dent with warm water and soap. You let it dry. This ensures that you eliminate the dirt and grime in the region, which can present a problem as you go to get the door undented with sanding and other steps in the process. Next, you will place a wooden block over the dent and tap it with a mallet. This evens out the dent in the dented garage door.

You will sand the area to even out the surface of the dent and make it less visible. After the putty dries, you will sand it down to give it an even appearance. Finally, you apply the primer and let it dry. Next, grab a paintbrush and add a fresh coat of paint.

When to Call in the Professionals

You have cases where you might dial the number of a professional garage door company because you have too big of a dent in the door. With a bigger dent, you might try to first eliminate it with your own methods, but if it doesn’t disappear, call Star Solutions Garage Door in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. With most dents in a garage door, you can repair them. However, you may need a professional to get rid of it.

Why Fix the Dent in a Garage Door

Think of what presents itself front and center with a home. When you go to look at a home, one of the first things that you will see is the dented garage door. Dents in a garage door can have a dramatic impact on the value of the home. Garage door springs replacement ranks as one of the highest returns on investment, according to Remodeling Magazine. With some dents, you can take them out, but you have others that you can’t take out, and this can lower the curb appeal and value of the home.

Steel vs. Aluminum

In general, you can repair aluminum far easier than what you can repair steel. In fact, you might approach getting rid of a dent differently, depending on whether you have a steel garage door or an aluminum garage door. You would use the method mentioned above to handle a steel garage door. How do you handle a dent in aluminum?

In general, these dents will usually be easier to fix. You begin the process in the same way as with the steel garage door. You will first wash the area with soap and water. However, you will use a heat lamp, a lighter, tinfoil and a can of compressed air. First, you scrub the dented area to clean the dirt and grime. This makes the rest of the process easier. You will wait 30 minutes to an hour for the water to dry. You will hold the heat lamp and the lighter flame over the tinfoil for around one minute.

Dented Garage Door

This puts the heat over to the dented area. Next, you will remove the tin foil, and you will spray it with a can of condensed air evenly. Because of a sudden change of temperature, this causes the aluminum material to reverse the dent. Eventually, you will see it return to its original position to look like new.

Important to Note: Doing either methods to get rid of the dent in the dented garage door may not work if you have too large of a dent. In cases like that, you may have to call in a professional.

What Works

Whatever method you choose, you want it to eliminate the dent. This depends on the intensity of the dent, and in some cases, you may find it worth the cost to call in a professional because they can do this with ease. A professional can look over the garage door to determine if further repairs are needed. For example, you might call in a garage door professional to fix an annoying grinding noise and have the dent repaired at the same time. In some cases, you might have them assess the garage door to determine if any further action is required.

Here at Star Solutions Garage Door, we can repair the dent that you may have gotten from a rogue baseball or a child’s baseball bat that struck the right place in the door. You don’t want this to have a negative impact on your home value because a garage door can add anywhere from $8,000 to $14,000 on a home. The better your garage door looks, the higher the value of the home. When you have dents in the door, it can also impact who comes in to see the home for the sale.

Garage Door Drive Openers in Jenkintown | Star Solutions Garage Door

Garage Door Drive Openers: What You Need to Know

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No matter what type of garage door drive that you choose, it will perform the same actions, but you might be wondering which garage door drive opener to choose. Should you choose the belt drive, or should you choose the chain drive? Maybe the screw drive or the jackshaft drive? Some of the ways that the they will differ include how they get built, their strength and amount of noise emitted. If you’d like to learn more, please check us out at Star Solutions Garage Door in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.

Building of the Door Drives

Whether you choose the belt drive or another choice, all choices use rollers and the chain pulley system. That means that when you tap the button for the garage door, it will either open or close. You might say that in all cases, the drive will act like the transmission in the car. In other words, it’s essential to the working of your garage door.

Garage Door Drive Openers

The attraction to the screw drive opener comes from its simplicity. It has the fewest moving parts, and you can maintain this one the easiest. The one thing to understand with these doors is that they tend to be more sensitive to temperature fluctuations. In those cases, they will require more-not less maintenance.

On the other hand, the jackshaft garage door drive differs in that it has been mounted on the wall, right next to the garage door. As the torsion bar turns, it will either open or close. It uses springs to raise and lower the garage door.

The Strength of the Garage Door Drives

You may find yourself wondering which of the garage door drives will have the highest strength. In general, chain drive openers will rarely if ever fail. They’re some of the best garage opener drives because of the strength behind them. Because of its design, you have metal to metal, however, and you will need to oil it to keep it in working condition and ensure that it stays aligned. For those who don’t take care of chain drive openers, they may start to feed on the chain, which is a big problem.

You might also have other materials that run through the rubber as a way to reinforce it. The belts have also come a long ways in that they tend to be much stronger than what we had previously had for belt drives openers. Still, this type of garage door drive openers  won’t lift a door made from heavy wood as easily as some of the other types.

Garage Door Openers

Many jackshaft garage door drive openers have become favorable because of the security. They’re strong in terms of security, and many times, after closing, it will automatically use a deadbolt for additional security. In addition, their computerization tends to be some of the most robust out of all the opener types. The one thing about jackshaft garage door drive openers, however, is that they tend to cost a lot more.

Screw drive openers are strong because they use fewer working parts. Especially when you use fewer moving parts, that will have the advantage in that it doesn’t break down as often. That is one of the things that homeowners have favored with this type of garage door opener is that it can last longer than many of the other choices. Still, you shouldn’t neglect lubrication for it because all doors require some level of maintenance if they will continue to work properly.

Heavier garage doors, however, can be a disadvantage when it comes to the screw drive because of how this can put too much strain on the screws and cause some problems. Screw drive openers have one noted advantage in that they can open the garage door faster than many of the other choices because of how you have fewer moving components to get from point A to point B.

Which Garage Door Opener Operates the Quietest?

If you had to say the quietest garage door openers, it would most likely be the belt drive openers. That one is often considered the standard choice, and it doesn’t generate as much noise when you open it. Especially if you have someone in the house who works late hours, you may not want them waking you up as they come in.

Meanwhile, the chain drive opener works fine as long as you maintain it well, and it can also depend on the brand. With any of the openers, you will find that they open and close more quietly when well maintained. Screw drive openers aren’t as quiet as belt drive openers, but they do a decent job of remaining silent.

Garage Door Springs

Continue with the garage door maintenance inspection by activating the garage door openers. The garage doors springs replacement should be stretched now. Approach them with caution. Verify if anything looks unusual, such as an imbalance between the sides. If you notice any issues with your residential springs, work with professionals on a solution. These springs are under constant pressure.

Local Garage Door Reapir

Now, on to the subject of the jackshaft openers. You have a top-notch choice here that ranks right up there with the belt opener, but you’d most likely still choose the belt opener over the jackshaft. With that said, the jackshaft still opens quietly enough if your garage door connects closely to another bedroom. You might still find this choice valuable.

Hopefully this highlights the type of garage door drive openers available to you as a customer. You should choose one based on the purpose and your requirements. Our staff at Star Solutions Garage Door can help you to identify a good choice through looking at your budget and requirements. Understanding these things can ensure that you get matched up with the right garage door that will fit your needs.

Garage doors springs replacement | Star Solutions Garage Door

Garage Doors Springs Replacement

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If you have a rollup door in the garage, there’s a huge spring that hangs just above the assembly. Referred to as the torsion spring, this part takes on the weight of the door as it lifts and lowers several times a day. It makes sense that the spring will fail at some point. The tension involved is extreme, especially with garage doors weighing 200 pounds or more. Learn what to do if the torsion spring fails so that everyone is calm and collected.

What to do if the Torsion Spring Fails

There are practical reasons why a garage door springs would break though none of them seem to be O.K. First, wear and tear. Either the spring was made from poor metal or the quality of the garage door spring was weak. A torsion spring operates on spring tension and when the spring cannot withstand the tension then the spring usually gives.

This kind of break of a tension spring is normally a problem in large industrial garage doors that need to withstand repeated high amounts of tension thousands of times a year. Secondly, as mentioned earlier if the amount of tension found in each garage door springs on the door is in an unbalanced state then this may be a cause of the spring breakingsooner than it would under normal conditions.

Garage Doors Springs Replacement

When the springs on your garage door springs are damaged in some way, the use of your garage door may become very difficult or even impossible. The items that are currently in the garage, including your car and other essential items, may remain trapped inside the garage. If the springs broke and left the garage door openers, the security of all garage contents may be at risk.

You can see how important your door’s springs are and how critical it is to let a skilled repair professional tackle this project for you. If you believe that your springs are broken or if you are not sure why your garage door is not working properly, we are available to help. We provide a fast response, competitive rates and quality work, so contact us today for the repair work that your garage door needs.

Garage Door Springs

When a garage door maintenance issue arises and the homeowner doesn’t have the DIY knowledge or skills to repair the garage door it is safer to call in the experts than to put someone in the family at risk of being harmed or hurt. If it is critical that you need to access your garage or your car, then many professional garage door repair have 24 emergency services, since they understand being locked out of a garage or needing to get in is essential to hoe safety and would respond as needed.

Lastly, a garage door repair expert has all the tools and experience to repair any type of garage door and you can have confidence in their professional help when a garage door need arises.

Avoid Panic

A failed spring in your garage produces a loud bang when it finally snaps. On carriage-style doors, there are relatively small springs that line up vertically along the sides. Torsion springs are much larger, however. They’re confined within a housing so that a break doesn’t cause damage to the surrounding environment.

You’ll hear a loud “bang” when the torsion spring fails. Don’t panic when you hear this sound. It’s startling so carefully look in the garage after the sound occurs. The spring may look bent or even cracked. Every failure produces a different reaction.

Inspect the Garage Door Springs

Older properties have garage door springs that are stretched in a vertical position on either side of the opening. Take a look at these springs when they’re in a relaxed position. Examine them for these features, such as:

• Broken spring sections

• Rust

• Bent components

Continue with the garage door maintenance inspection by activating the garage door openers. The garage doors springs replacement should be stretched now. Approach them with caution. Verify if anything looks unusual, such as an imbalance between the sides. If you notice any issues with your residential springs, work with professionals on a solution. These springs are under constant pressure.

Ask About the Torsion Springs

From rollup to carriage garage doors, every opening has unique mechanisms to move the heavy objects. You might be familiar with a modern part called the torsion spring. This large spring hangs above your door in a horizontal position. It pulls your door up and down through high tension cables.

This spring has a relatively short lifespan of around seven years. Don’t attempt to perform your own garage door repair in this instance. These garage doors springs replacement are even more difficult to install when compared to the old-fashioned, vertical designs. A local professional can install the spring and adjust the cables as necessary when garage door maintenance.

Contact the Professionals

Contact garage doors springs replacement specialists who understand torsion springs. Modern doors have this construction, which requires training and experience on the part of the service personnel. Professionals who’re unfamiliar with torsion springs may not have the tools or technique to safely install the new assembly.

The best way to ensure a safe repair is by hiring the company that installed the door. They’ll be familiar with the model, parts and your physical property. Remember that you won’t be able to use the garage until the spring is replaced. Any items within the space, including vehicles, will have to wait for the professionals.

Garage Door Broken Springs

Broken springs are a common problem on many garage doors. Garage doors springs replacement and repairing it can be dangerous for do-it-yourselfers. Garage door spring are under a great deal of tension. When it comes to broken garage doors springs replacement, the team of professionals at Star Solutions Garage Door have the training, years of experience and all the right tools to quickly, safely and easily remove the broken springs from any brand of garage door.

Local Garage Door Expert

If you have any concerns about garage door repair, contact Star Solutions Garage Door today. Our staff is thrilled to answer your questions and schedule appointments. Put your household and family first so that the door is always safe to let you in and out of the property.

Garage Door Maintenance | Star Solutions Garage Door

Garage Door Maintenance

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A standard, garage door might pull 200 pounds of weight several times a day across 365 days a year. When you stop to think about this mechanism, the garage doors is actually an engineering marvel. Taking care of it is typically put on the back burner, however. Prioritize the door as you maintain the rest of the house. Homeowners should have a solid, comfort level with the door’s operations so that any future issues don’t become overwhelming problems.

Inspect the Door’s Operations

Before you start with any maintenance tasks, take a close look at the door’s operations. Stand outside of the door. Activate the opener. Watch the door open and close. You’re looking for these features, including:

• Smooth movement in both directions

• Door remains level throughout the travel

Garage Door Maintenance

Repeat this process while standing inside of the garage too. Maintained door should only require minimal adjustments.
If there’s considerable problems with the door moving into position, calling the professionals for an appointment is the best course of action. A broken spring or other issue might be involved.

Adjust the Sensors

Your garage door openers comes with sensors that are typically installed on either side of the door’s opening. Take a close look at each sensor. They should have LED lights that tell you if they’re properly positioned. If the door has issues with consistent lifting and lowering, the sensors may be slightly out of position.

Follow the opener’s instructions for sensor adjustments. Ask a friend to help you with one side of the door. Most garage door maintenance adjustments require you to point the sensor in a particular direction in order to calibrate the system. The electronics tell you when the alignment is ready.

Inspect the Garage Door Springs

Older properties have garage door springs that are stretched in a vertical position on either side of the opening. Take a look at these springs when they’re in a relaxed position. Examine them for these features, such as:

• Broken spring sections

• Rust

• Bent components

Continue with the garage door maintenance inspection by activating the garage door openers. The garage door broken springs should be stretched now. Approach them with caution. Verify if anything looks unusual, such as an imbalance between the sides. If you notice any issues with your residential springs, work with professionals on a solution. These springs are under constant pressure.

Ask About the Torsion Springs

From rollup to carriage garage doors, every opening has unique mechanisms to move the heavy objects. You might be familiar with a modern part called the torsion spring. This large spring hangs above your door in a horizontal position. It pulls your door up and down through high tension cables.

This spring has a relatively short lifespan of around seven years. Don’t attempt to perform your own garage door repair in this instance. These springs are even more difficult to install when compared to the old-fashioned, vertical designs. A local professional can install the spring and adjust the cables as necessary when garage door maintenance.

Tune up the Mechanical Components

One of the simplest tasks that you can perform as a homeowner is lubricating the mechanical components. Every few months, use approved lubricant on chains, rollers and other moving parts. By lubricating these items, you prolong the system’s lifespan. Paying to replace garage doors otherwise is a waste of your hard-earned money when lubrication adds years to the parts.

Ideally, use a spray lubricant so that it can find its way into the tiny crevices. The lubing session also gives you a chance to look at the parts on a regular basis. If a screw is slowly pulling out from a hinge, you can quickly tighten it. Tightened and lubed parts will keep your door operating at peak levels.

Garage Door Openers

Garage door repair processes should also include a look at the opener. Use a ladder to access the opener. Tighten it into its socket. It tends to vibrate out over time. Little bit of warmth is normal, but hot conditions mean that the motor is working too hard. A professional may need to verify the situation.

Try out the Emergency Release

Most garage door installations, including carriage garage doors, have some form of emergency release. This release is typically in the form of a pull cord between the door and opener. During your inspection, follow these steps to check the release, including:

• Pulling on the cord

• Watch the disconnect from the opener

• Reattach the disconnect

• Test the opener with the door

This entire scenario should be seamless. No loud noises or issues with disconnection should be apparent. If the mechanism doesn’t work as well as it should, contact your garage-door professionals for a service call.

Clean With WD-40 Tracks

If you have a rollup door, it has metal tracks for the rollers to move with seamless ease. These tracks can build up dust and debris over time, however. Take some time out of your schedule to garage door maintenance wipe the tracks. With the help of a ladder, carefully inspect the metal and rollers. Don’t place any strain on the tracks by leaning your weight on them. If there’s been problems with a smooth motion, the professionals will need to adjust the metal as necessary.

Local Garage Door Expert

If you have any concerns about garage door repair, contact Star Solutions Garage Door today. Our staff is thrilled to answer your questions and schedule appointments. Put your household and family first so that the door is always safe to let you in and out of the property.

Tune Up | New Garage Door Cost | Star Solutions

How Much Does a New Garage Door Cost?

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Perhaps you have decided to do a remodel, and you wonder how much a new garage door would cost. You want to learn the cost to factor it into your plan. One of the essential and overlooked parts of the home, the garage door affects the overall style of your house. Because of this, you want to choose a door carefully.

Pricing Varies

On average, the national cost of a new garage door will clock out at around $1,068, but you could pay anywhere from $730 to $1,422. That takes installation and the new garage door into consideration. Usually, you won’t see a service provider that posts the prices because they like to advise their clients ahead of time. In addition, they can look into some of the concerns that you might have.

Most of the time, they will dispatch a technician to look at the garage and give an estimate. They will consider the subtle things that have an impact, and they will look at what will look the best for your home. While you have an average of what you could potentially pay, you could pay up to $4,232 for a higher end garage doors repair. It depends on the quality of your home. In some cases, you want to pay more because of how it will look off to have a cheaper garage door on an expensive home. You can’t underestimate resale value.

In general, the bigger the garage door bought, the higher the cost. If you have a bigger garage, you can expect your pricing on the higher end of the spectrum.

Materials

You can buy garage doors in a number of different materials. Every material will come with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Some of the potential materials include:

  • Wood

  • Vinyl

  • Steel

  • Faux wood

  • Aluminum

  • Fiberglass

  • Copper

  • Glass

When you go to buy a garage door, consider the R-value. A higher R-value is better because of how it saves you on energy costs. It will save you cash for when your electric bill comes, and you will get a return on the value of your garage door.

Wood

You can buy a wooden garage door in a series of styles, and some of the styles will give you awesome curb appeal. This material does, however, require a lot of maintenance because wood rotting is a real issue with these doors.

Vinyl

Vinyl garage doors don’t require too much for maintenance. In addition, you can’t dent or break them as easily as some of the other choices. The downside comes from the limited color choices, and the material can get costly. Vinyl can cost you anywhere from $1,000 to $2,600.

Steel Garage Door

Steel garage doors have the advantage of price on their side. You can pay anywhere from $750 up to $3,000, depending on your individual needs. Along with cost, you don’t have to worry too much about maintenance, and you can buy these doors in a number of styles and with or without insulation. However, steel garage doors dent easily.

Faux Wood

Faux wood or wood composite garage doors give you the advantage of painting and staining the door. In addition, this door won’t rot or split like with wooden garage doors. The disadvantage comes from cost and a need for high maintenance. These doors cost anywhere from $750 up to $6,100.

Aluminum Garage Door

You have long-lasting finishes with aluminum, and it resembles steel but costs less. With aluminum, you have a high chance of it denting easily even more than steel. Aluminum garage doors will cost you between $700 and $2,000.

Fiberglass

Fiberglass has a huge advantage of not rusting. You can also paint fiberglass, and it resists dents and feels more lightweight. The variety of design options also works well for this style. The biggest con comes from how this material breaks easily, and it doesn’t work well in colder climates like in Philadelphia.

Copper

The greatest advantage of a copper garage door comes from its longevity, and requires a minimal level of maintenance. You can also withstand long-term wear and tear. Not to mention, copper garage doors look highly appealing aesthetically. The downside is that copper will age over time from the weather, first turning brown and eventually green.

Garage Door Glass

They designed glass garage doors with the intentions of complementing a modern home. Most people say that curb appeal becomes one of the key advantages. These doors spruce up the look and feel of your home. It sports class and elegance. In addition, it adds some natural lighting to your garage, and you can buy the glass in different tints. The biggest disadvantage comes from the cost. You will pay an average of $1,500, but it can easily skyrocket to $4,500. Some people avoid this choice because of its potential vulnerabilities to burglars. Nevertheless, this depends on the tint. We’d typically recommend a darker tint with this choice.

As you can see, a garage door will differ in cost based on what you have chosen for it. The style, garage door type, R-value and materials chosen will all play a role in the cost. In general, it will average you around $1,068, but this depends on a number of factors. If you’d like to learn more, contact Star Solutions Garage Door in Jenktown, PA. We can help you to find a garage door that will put the confidence in your step. Not to mention, we can help you to add the personal touch to your garage door.

modern steel garage door | Star Solutions Garage Door

Modern Steel Garage Door vs Garage Door Wood

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Replacing your garage door is one of the highest valued home improvement ventures you can complete. You’re dealing with cost compared to the overall value of a quality garage system, which will protect some of your most valuable assets, your vehicles. Garage doors are profoundly reasonable things when you have an entryway to your home through your garage; this entryway should be as secure as your front door.

Models and Brands

There are various models, brands, and designs for carports and garage doors, which range from basic to even technologically advanced. The features of the garage door aren’t usually what’s essential. Star Solutions garage door can have all of the new-fangled gadgets attached and be controllable to your phone. Still, if the materials made from is flimsy, all of those technological security advancements mean nothing.

Quality Level Material

Therefore, you need a garage door made from durable and quality level material. The materials used to design and install your garage door are essential to ensure efficient insulation and protection features are suitable for your home. Older models of garage doors and older houses with the same garage door from its erecting have an average lifespan of 10 to 12 years. If your home garage comes from before that time, then it’s time to consider a new garage door.

Garage Door Installation

Garage door repair and garage door installation companies can assist you in finding the best garage door for your new garage door needs. There are a variety of brands, models, designs, and features available for garage doors, but the best security feature is their materials. A durably designed garage door provides homeowners longevity in use and a protective barrier between themselves and the outside elements.

Garage Door Materials Best for Security

Like section entryways, carport entryways made of a vast range of materials, both faux and natural. Homeowners have a wide selection of materials and styles accessible to them, so it’s typically not an issue to locate the ideal entryway for any circumstance. Picking the right material for your new garage requires a blend of practical, cost, and tasteful contemplations.

Common Garage Door Materials

Genuine or fake, the wood look will in general be the most famous for traditional garage style. When it comes to the best garage door material designs, steel and wood are the most popular for secure and durable selections.

Modern Steel Garage Door vs Wood

Garage door installation and garage door repair can be a profitable project for any responsible homeowner to undertake. For a secure carport and entryways to your home, it’s important to choose durable and long-lasting garage door materials. The most durable and secure materials for garage door installation are wood and modern steel.

Garage Door Repair

Garage door repair and replacements are speculations of an investment you need to be sure you are content with, and the project should add value to your home. Modern steel garage door and wood garage doors are regularly the two well-known alternatives to traditional vinyl and fiberglass garage doors, because of their longevity and provided security to carport entryways.

Differences Between The Two Garage Door

The most significant differences between the two garage door materials are their price and insulation capabilities. Both wood and steel are heavy duty and reliable building materials in themselves, and their abilities for garage door security is superior to any other materials used to manufacture even some popular garage brands.

Wood Garage Door Pros and Cons

Regularly, steel tends to be a superior cover than wood. However, there are wood entryways accessible now that do contain a protection. An all-around protected steel entryway will help keep your garage cooler in the mid-year and hotter in the winter; steel is excellent for insulation.

Pros

  • Beautiful and traditional choice for style

  • The thicker the material used, wooden garage doors aren’t easily damaged

  • Some are fireproofed and treated

  • Energy Efficient

  • Increases home value

Cons

  • More expensive than Steel and other material garage doors

  • Difficult movement transition and needs professional installation

  • Heavy and bulky designs need automated door technologies

  • Modern steel garage door

Modern Steel Garage Door Pros and Cons

The most significant difference between the two is the insulation capability of both the wood and steel garage door materials. Insulation is one of the most important purposes for upgrading or replacing an outdated or damaged garage door and door frame system.

Pros

  • Durable and long lasting

  • Steel Garage Doors come in a variety of designs

  • Steel Garage doors can be made to mimic wood features

  • Superior insulation capabilities

Cons

  • Thin steel garage doors are prone to damage and denting from impact

  • Steel is prone to rusting over time

  • Modern steel garage door

Insulated Garage Doors

A professionally insulated home saves responsible families on energy costs. There are insulated wood doors, designed and created with insulation materials to reinforce temperature regulating enclosing features modern steel garage door.

We’ll insulate garage doors determines the difference between warm winters and cool summers, by reinforcing circulation of temperature flow by effectively capturing airflow in the enclosed room.

New Insulated Garage Door

Due to the amount of material needed to create insulated garage doors, they tend to be more sturdy and stronger in composition than uninsulated material structures. Insulated garage doors typically derive from thick wooden materials or layers of steel, which reinforces the stability of the security structure.

Non-Insulated Garage Doors

Uninsulated entryways are frequently utilized for isolates carports or in gentle atmospheres. Uninsulated carport entryways are made of a solitary layer of steel. Similarly, as the name recommends, no protection is utilized. You’ll spare two or three hundred dollars by picking an uninsulated carport entryway, however very little over the long haul contingent upon your atmosphere.

They look shabbier, which can negatively affect the general look of your home’s outside. Uninsulated carport entryways are not as alluring as insulated and material protected garage entryways.

Enjoy your New Garage Door

Most garage designs aren’t technically advanced doors that provide heated features, but the garage door you choose still affects the energy efficiency of your home. Building materials and protected insulation technologies for garage doors improve efficiently and have advanced with technology.

Nowaday’s door designs offer technology integrations and elements not found five to 10 years ago. No matter if you’re upgrading, repairing, or replacing your current garage door installment, keep in mind the many features and durable materials available for responsible and secure homeowners.

Summary

No matter the garage door design you choose to adorn the end of your driveway, it’s essential to ensure the quality, security, and durability of your preferred style of a garage door. Star Solutions Garage Door should match the exterior design of a homer and highlight the same features as the front door located in the same viewpoint.

Get creative with your garage door replacement project, and involve a professional for the best possible design and efficiency outcome for your home.

Fixing Garage Doors

Fixing Garage Doors and Maintaining

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A garage door is a simple machine with very simple functions. Its purpose is to allow you to keep your car sheltered inside instead of being exposed to the outdoor elements or in sitting in your driveway.  While the main function of the garage door is to open and close, plenty of mechanics are involved to make things work properly. For example, there is a lot more going on when you simply press the remote control to open the door.

Garage Door Repair

What would you do if your car was outside and the door would not open to let you in? Or worse, your car is inside the garage and the door won’t open to let you get outside? You would find yourself in a tough situation in this case. To ease your mind, below are some of the warning signs that indicate you may have a faulty door in need of a good garage door repair.

Fixing Garage Doors

Now that you know a little more about fixing garage doors and the problems that might occur, it is probably a wise idea to have a professional come out if you notice any of these signs or problems occurring on your door. A garage door repair can be a simple repair if it is taken care of as soon as a problem begins. Delaying repairs can make the problem worse and end up costing more money. If you suspect problems with your garage door, call a garage door professional today to alleviate any personal or property damage and to keep your garage door in good working condition.

Worn or Torn Faulty Springs

While every garage door is vulnerable to deterioration, the springs that keep the door suspended in the air allow the garage door to function properly. There are two springs on top of the garage door that work together ensuring the weight of the door can easily be lifted without any problem. Garage Door Repair Cherry Hill. Consequently, using the door over and over is going to put wear and tear on the springs, allowing them to weaken from the continual tension.

More concerning is that one spring becomes damaged and forces the entire load of the door on the other spring. This occurs often when you only raise the garage door partially open instead of all the way open. Although some feel that it is saving time to drive in with the door partially open, it is wearing your garage door springs down in the long run.

Garage Door Broken Springs

Garage door broken springs are very dangerous and a major concern because the door may not operate properly. All the weight of the door depends on those springs, just as the weight of your vehicle depends on having a good suspension on it for safe driving.

Garage door broken springs, regardless of how hard you try, will not allow you to open or shut the garage door. When this happens, you must call a professional fixing garage doors repairman to repair the springs on the door. Trying to repair the problem on your own may lead to worse problems, such as loss of your life, personal property, or even a loss of limb. Finding parts to repair the garage door can be fairly simple, but making mistakes due to lack of knowledge repairing it can cause major problems.

Decay Prevention

If you have a wooden fixing garage doors, prevention of decay is imperative. Nice wooden doors will do the job protecting your home and vehicle from the elements the same way metal doors do, but they do become distressed by the elements. Weather can weaken the stability of the garage door due to the changes in temperatures and weather conditions over time. If not taken care of, wooden doors can quickly rot or become deteriorated due to termites.

If you notice holes or cracks in the garage door, consider it internally damaged. You might not notice as much damage from the outside, but the wood inside can become soft and weak due to humidity, rain, and cold weather.

Garage Door Professional

Even if the outside paint job looks great, wood internally can become soggy and spongy due to termite infestations or water damage. You might not notice much of a problem until you see the garage door sagging. Once the door begins to sag, it can scrape the ground and become less responsive to the door controls.

Once wooden doors have deteriorated through humidity or weather, mold infestations can occur. Mold can quickly spread throughout the inside and outside of the door if not cautious. You would know this if you see dark, foul smelling patches on the outside of the doors and walls.

If your door is compromised by any of the above causes, you should call a fixing garage doors professional to fix the door. If by chance you discover a termite infestation, a professional exterminator should also be contacted before the door is considered a complete loss.

Unwarranted Noises and Sounds

This should be more of a no-brainer, but if you hear unusual sounds or noises coming from the garage door, it needs inspection as soon as possible. In many cases, it can be something as easy as needing some lubrication or grease. Grease and lubricants permit the metal pieces to work smoothly together without friction. Without the grease, the metal pieces rub together causing grinding and damage. The stress due to the grinding can be the whirring or loud noises coming from the door.

Simple Repair or Maintenance Performed

As soon as you see or hear something strange going on with the garage door, it is wise to call a fixing garage doors professional to come out and inspect the door. Some of these issues are quickly remedied with a handy set of tools and a quick service call to fix and keep your garage door in good working order. Letting these issues linger on can cause more damage and money in the long run.

Garage Door Upgrade

If you live in an older home, you might have an older model of fixing garage doors that needs repairing with a fixed code or key. You might also have a lot of interior and external damage on an older door due to vehicle bumps or children’s toys running into it. Garage Door Repair Philadelphia.

Damaged Garage Door

An older, damaged garage door is not aesthetically pleasing and can lower the value of your home. This is a good reason to consider upgrading and replacing the old garage door for something new. Older garage doors, much like old technology, are more difficult to diagnose and repair. Parts are harder to locate. There are a few things you can do to check your garage door before calling for repairs.

Inspecting the Cables

First, the cables that run on the inside of the garage door need inspecting. If you see frayed or broken cables or worn out spots of cable hanging down, call a garage door repair professional to look at the door. Any of these issues can cause the door to quickly break, and this could lead to fatal accidents or injuries to anyone or anything around the door.

Inspecting the Rollers

The rollers are an important function of the garage door. When looking for a faulty roller, check that they are smooth and quiet. If they make noises that sound like they are grinding or strained, they might simply need a bit of lubrication. Remember, it is not advised you try to repair a broken roller on your own, but immediately call a garage door professional if you see no improvement after greasing the rollers. Remember, any grinding or strange noises do mean that something is wrong.

Inspecting the Hinges

Check out the hinges on the door and see if anything is dented, cracked, or broken. If so, it does need immediate garage doors springs replacement. Having a faulty hinge on the door is dangerous. Fixing Garage Doors. A broken hinge, or even a dented hinge, can majorly affect the functionality of door movement.

Broken and dented hinges also create a lot of pressure on the door, which could end up causing more problems. Broken hinges need an immediate repair before things get worse and the costs of repairs rise. Locksmith in Philadelphia. Waiting too late could mean an entire new garage door. There are a few other things you can check if your garage door is not responding properly.

Handheld Remote Problems

There could be something wrong with your remote control or the control panel that executes the orders from the handheld remote. This could possibly be the case if there is a slight delay after pushing the button from the garage door remote until the time the garage door openers. Additionally, the door should close immediately without a delay in action. If there is a delay that becomes longer and longer, it is best to call a garage door profession to come out and inspect the door.

Remote And The Control Panel

Additionally, if there is no response from the handheld remote and you have already replaced the batteries, something else is going on. There are several reasons for the disconnect, but a major cause is a poor connection between the remote and the control panel. First, make sure nothing is blocking the garage door that would keep it from closing. Next, see if there is a problem with the remote or the control panel. If the problem is just the remote, a quick replacement can fix the problem immediately.

Tracking System

Almost all doors operate on a track system. The door operates between the tracks around both sides of the door. If the door comes off the tracks, it will cause problems. Fixing Garage Doors.