Your garage door plays a lot of different roles in your home. It helps keep your vehicles and other garage contents safe from would-be thieves. It keeps the weather outside and even helps keep your garage warmer during the winter. Sadly, however, garage doors are not impervious to damage. Having your garage door completely fail to open or develop major damage to its structure can impair its ability to serve your home and family. As such, you should aim to detect minor issues with your garage door while they are still easy to repair. The following are five signs that your garage door is in need of repairs sooner rather than later.

Rattling

When you open and close your garage door, it should move quietly along the tracks. If your door makes a noisy rattling sound as it opens and closes, this is a sign that it needs repairs. Your garage door repair company may need to just tighten a couple of screws or bolts. They may also just need to adjust the position of the tracks slightly. These are both minor repairs and should not be costly, but they can protect the door from future damage.

Hesitation to close

When you close the door, does it hit the ground, jerk back up a little, and then go down again? This could just be a sign that the door's height and spring tension need to be adjusted. It could also indicate that the sensors in the garage door are beginning to fail. A garage door company can easily replace the sensor. However, if you leave this problem unaddressed, you may come home one day to find that your garage door refuses to close entirely.

Rusty springs

The spring or springs that hold your garage door open are under a lot of tension. If one of these springs were to snap, it could easily cause a serious injury such as a lost eye, fractured skull, or even death. For this reason, it is important to seek repairs at the very first sign of wear and tear on your garage door springs. If the spring is rusty, it should really be replaced. Never attempt to work on the springs of your garage door by yourself. A trusted expert will have the experience and tools needed to remove the door from the springs safely and without causing a serious injury.

A cold garage

Does your garage always feel a little cold and chilly? The garage door may be missing some weather stripping, or the rubber gasket around its outside might be beginning to peel. Take a look at the rubber gasket along the bottom of the door, in particular. If this gasket is dry rotted, cracking, or pulling away from the door, loosen the screws that hold it in place. Remove the gasket and take it with you to a hardware store. Purchase a new gasket in the same size and shape, and install it by pushing it into position and tightening the screws.

If your garage door has a more complex weather-stripping system, such as a continuous piece of weather stripping that runs along all three sides of the door, you may need to have a professional replace this material.

Non-engaging opener

When you push the button to open your garage door, does the chain simply spin and spin without actually opening the garage door? You can sometimes remedy this problem by manually pulling the door all of the way up so that the chain re-engages itself in the opening mechanism. If this does not work, however, you may need to have one or more of the springs or bolts within the system replaced. A single missing spring or bolt can cause the door to disengage from the opener.

A fully functional garage door is important to keep your family and your home safe. If your garage door is behaving strangely or showing signs of wear, you can attempt to fix it yourself, but you should seriously consider seeking out a garage door repair service. such as Eudy Door Co., ASAP.