Tips to extend the life of your garage door

Do you want some statistics? Here are some.

People love to crunch numbers and ponder statistics. For many, this helps make the subject more clear. On average, a garage door will last about 30 years. If you have torsion springs, they tend to last about 20,000 cycles. If you have the older extension springs, you can cut that figure in half. Garage door springs have a life cycle but unlike other parts, it is not counted in years but in actual cycles of use. A cycle equals one opening and one closing. With regular, daily use, a garage door opener should last between 10 and 15 years. Remember; these numbers are only estimates. With a little bit of maintenance and effort you can extend these figures quite a bit.

A little maintenance goes a long way

Don’t let the word maintenance scare you! We are not talking about a lot of it. Bear in mind that lack of maintenance not only contributes to lower life cycles for your garage door and its parts but it also makes it look worn and shoddy. Let’s say that your springs have not been maintained and one of them has snapped. Your home’s garage door will look slightly tilted and off balance from the street. The same goes for chipped paint or a missing garage door panel. As seen from the street, this can make your property look undervalued and it gives the impression that you have let other parts of the home fall into slow decay too. This can lower your property values and result in a fine from your homeowner’s association. If your home happens to be for sale, a poorly maintained look will result in lower offers or even none at all! Buyers will assume that if the garage door is not maintained, neither is the rest of the house and they’ll either pass altogether on the sale or offer a lower amount as they will need some of their money to bring the house up to a better standard.