Sheltered doesn't mean maintenance-free
Hamilton is easy on a garage door. There is no sea spray to speak of, and NIWA calls it sheltered compared with the rest of Waikato. What wears a door out here is use: thousands of cycles of opening and closing, on springs that lose tension over time.
That makes a garage door service in Hamilton more about catching wear early than about rust. Book one on a schedule and small problems get caught. Leave it until something gives and it is a repair.
What a garage door service covers
Dominator's service book gives a good idea of what to expect. Its technician checklist covers lubrication, tightening the mounting points, spring tension, the opener's travel limits and force, the safety beams and door alignment.
It lists services at 12 months after installation, or 3,000 cycles, and again at 3 and 5 years. Its opener warranty depends on the first service and at least one every 2 years after it. B&D NZ's care guide has much the same rhythm for a sectional door, with roller doors and tilt door fittings every 12 months, and more often with heavy use.
Why springs tire
Garador says a typical garage door has between one and four springs and that it is natural for them to lose tension. B&D NZ says the same, and that new springs are set with a little extra tension to allow for settling.
As tension drops the door feels heavier and the opener works harder. Dominator's 10 Year Total Confidence Warranty does not cover adjusting or replacing springs for normal wear and tear, so this one tends to be on the owner. Never try to re-tension a spring yourself: Garador's words are "DO NOT attempt to adjust springs".
Repairs around Hamilton
Spring winds
NIWA puts 44% of the city's strong winds in spring, so a door with loose fixings tends to show it around then.
A quiet record
With about 17 days a year of gusts over 63 km/h, wind is less likely to be behind a fault here. Look first at wear, balance and adjustment.
Storm damage
A rare tornado does cause damage in Waikato, as in Cambridge in October 2008. If a storm has moved the door or its tracks, stop using it and send the job.
Between services
You can
- Run the door every month or so and listen for changes
- Wash the door with clean water and a cloth every 3 months, as Dominator suggests
- Wipe the guide tracks with a cloth, never grease or oil
- Keep the service records with the warranty papers
Leave to a door specialist
- Spring tension, cables and drums
- Travel limits and force settings
- Door alignment
- Replacing worn hinges, rollers or brackets
What we would do
Book the service for late winter, before Hamilton's windier months. Ask the door specialist to write down what they checked and adjusted, and keep that note with the warranty papers, because it is the first thing the next door specialist will want to see.