Chances are you live in a home that was tract built in a subdivision and your overhead garage door and garage door opener like many other items in your home were purchased by your home builder. It’s generally a safe bet that the builder hired the least expensive garage door installation company that he or she could find and that the garage door and automatic garage door opener purchased were nothing more than builder grade.
The garage door companies that install overhead doors on new construction homes usually have poorly trained technicians and in order to be the cheapest therefore the most desirable garage door company to the builder they cut every corner possible. The corners get cut on the quality of the garage door and opener as well as the installation. Now here is the good and the bad news.
Even a builder garage overhead garage door installation can last many years if the garage door and automatic opener are properly installed.
One of the key areas and often the most overlooked portion of a garage door installation is the track alignment or track relationship to the garage door itself. Many garage door repairs are precipitated by the improper alignment of the garage door tracks over the years of operation causing hinges, bearings, garage door sections and rollers to prematurely wear out. Improper track alignment can cut the life expectancy of your overhead garage door and opener by half.
An overhead garage door that was installed out of plumb is the cause of over half of the premature garage door repairs that we do. It’s important for any garage door to be installed level and plumb regardless of whether the opening or the floor is level. Assuming the garage door has been installed level the spacing between the edge of the garage door panels and the track should be a steady ½” to 5/8”, this allows the door to roll freely with minimum resistance and will prolong the life of all the moving components.
Any time you have your garage door repaired ask your garage door repair company to check the alignment of your overhead door track.
