Keep your small business in tip-top shape by caring for your commercial garage door

As someone who owns a small business that deals with construction or other services, you likely own a garage where you can keep track of equipment and tools. If that’s the case, you may have a commercial garage door that is 10 feet wide and 12 feet high. This is not the same as a typical residential garage door. Even if it’s used only a handful of times a day, like a home door, you still need to take proper care of it.

We’ll share with you the proper maintenance to undertake for a sectional door to make sure it works properly now and into the future. There are some things you can easily do on your own and others that should only be done by professional garage door technicians.

For many small business owners, the garage door is used numerous times a day. That makes it crucial it opens and closes without a problem whenever you need it to. The best way to be sure this is possible is by having a Preventative Maintenance Program, something we are happy to provide for you.

Visually inspect the garage door once a month

Once a month, at least, make sure to set aside a minute or two to inspect the garage door:

• Lift cables: take a quick look at the cables and check whether they seem frayed or as if they might break.
• Rollers: look at the rollers and decide whether any of them seem likely to fall out or if any look damaged and banged up enough that they no longer roll.
• Hinges: next up is checking the hinges; look and see if any of the screws seem to be coming detached from the area they are anchored at.
• Horizontal tracks: for this step, you want to make sure you are standing behind the door, take a look at the rollers to see if any of them are flaring out to the point where they could come off of the tracks.

Is your door one that you operate manually? If so, here are some other things you should check for:

• Try lifting your door while keeping in mind how heavy it seems. If it feels quite heavy, over 100 lb. (50 kilos) or more, something isn’t working the way that it should be.
• If you have a chain hoist on your garage door, does it still seem to weigh more than expected? That’s not a good sign.

For commercial garages with an electric garage door opener:

• What you want to do is find the red emergency release cord and pull it. After that, try raising the door with a single hand and seeing how easy or difficult it is. If it is troublesome to do, that often means there is a serious issue with the tracks or the spring system.

Rather than jumping into the specifics of the problems and how you can handle them, it’s best to talk to an Atlantic Windoor Ltd technician as soon as possible to have your garage door analyzed and repaired before anything worse happens.

Tips for keeping your garage door in the best shape for a long time

As far as regular maintenance goes, the most essential thing to do is ensure certain parts of the garage door are lubricated:

• What to do with metal components:
  • Rollers and hinges: Choose 5W30 motor oil or another liquid lubricant to handle your metal hinges and rollers. Every piece of metal that touches another piece of metal should be lubricated well. This helps prevent rust while also ensuring your garage door lasts.
  • The spring system (counterweight): This is another thing that should be lubricated with motor oil or similar lubricant. You can use a clean cloth to apply the oil to the top of the spring and then spread it along the rest of the spring. This will also help cut down on the noise that occurs when the steel rubs against itself.
  • As another tip, try to avoid using white grease. This is especially the case when working with the rollers. They are supposed to roll rather than slide on the tracks.
• What to do with parts made of PVC:
  • When it comes to weatherstripping, which can be found on the bottom of the door, along the exterior frame, and in between sections of the door, you will want to use a silicone-based lubricant.
• What to do if you have an electric garage door opener:
  • The manufacturers who create commercial jackshaft or central electric door openers make them in a way where there is no need to lubricate any parts or do any maintenance.

Not sure where to get the proper lubricants for your commercial garage door? Atlantic Windoor Ltd have access to both types of lubricants, for use with PVC and meal parts, which are made specifically for use with garage doors.

Caution: Things to avoid doing on your own

While essential maintenance can be done on your own, doing any repairs or replacements of defective parts should be handled by a professional. Doing these things incorrectly may lead to significant injuries. Avoid doing the following things:

• Broken torsion-type lift springs should not be changed.
• Frayed and broken lift cables should not be changed.
• Lift cables that are off of the drum or wrapped improperly should not be replaced.
• The hinge (bracket) at the bottom of the door should not be changed.
• Avoid trying to replace a garage door that has come off of its horizontal tracks.
• After being hit by a vehicle, do not put a garage door back in its place.

If you have one of these problems, you should seek out the help of qualified personnel, like our technicians. Experts should be the only ones who work to repair the spring system or other parts that are no longer working or malfunctioning. You can be seriously injured or even die if you handle these things in the wrong way.

If you are ready to learn a bit more about garage door maintenance for commercial businesses, you can take a look at and read this document.