Garage Door Sales & Service FAQs
Got a question? We’re here to help.
How often should the springs be replaced?
The industry standard is to engineer springs for 10,000 cycles – which is one fully open and closed movement of your garage door. For most residential homes, there are a minimum of two cycles per day – although often more. That’s why most homeowners see garage door springs last 8-12 years before needing garage door spring replacement.
Variables that can affect springs are your maintenance routine, the weight of the overhead door if you have multiple cycles in a day, and environmental factors like heat, cold, and moisture.
There is no way to tell when a spring will fail just by looking at it. We would need an electron microscope to look at the surface of each spring wire to see where small cracks develop over time!
For peace of mind, we recommend scheduling garage door spring replacement every 10 years or so to prevent your vehicle from being stuck behind a garage door unexpectedly from a broken spring.
Is there a maintenance plan that I can sign up for?
In 2021, Kooler Garage Doors launched our Golden Key Membership Club. This offers homeowners peace of mind and some great discounts. For a low monthly fee, our Golden Key Club Members receive:
- Priority on every service call
- Annual 25-point inspection & service
- Surge protector on their openers to prevent overloads from storm surges
- 10% off parts and 5% off full garage door replacements
- Replacement of the bottom rubber gasket every 2 years
- New quiet, nylon ball-bearing rollers every 5 years to keep your door gliding smooth
Homeowners can sign up anytime with a simple phone call to our office. For owners with custom wood-faced garage doors, we offer a small add-on to care for the wood on the exterior with an annual clear coat application and monitoring wood annually.
Should I be lubricating anything on my door?
We recommend lubricating your garage door at least once a year. Make it a part of your home’s winterization management. Use non-building, non-silicone lubrication and lightly lubricate:
- Ball Bearing Rollers
- Hinge Pivot Points
- Springs
- End Bearings
- The Radius of the Track
To see our how-to, visit Kooler Garage Doors’s YouTube station.
Can you adjust the door to make it “tighter” to the frame?
We sure can. There is an ideal distance from the frame where a garage door wants to live. Too close and there may be too much friction causing difficult operations, but too far away and there may be an open invitation to outdoor critters and cold winds. We’ll adjust the track spacing for your overhead door so it’s “just right”, ready to operate quietly and reliably for your home.
My garage door is oxidizing, what can you guys do to make it look new again?
Depending on the severity of oxidation, there are a couple of ways to address this unsightly aesthetic and restore the garage door’s look. The first step is to clean the door regularly. This is usually an annual washdown. If your garage door is new, doing this annually will go a long way to prevent oxidation on your garage door. Second, clean the door and then use an automobile type of body wax to restore the color and pop of your garage door. We recommend utilizing a light building type of material. The final option is a full repaint to gain a “like” new look and feel. Reach out to us and we can offer you our “How to Repaint Your Garage Door” Guide.
There is a room above my garage, and it is incredibly loud when I open the garage door. Can you guys dampen the vibration?
We generally can! Oftentimes, garage doors simply like to be tuned. Garage doors are large moving walls and generally, they can weigh anywhere from 200 pounds to 1,000 lbs. Moving this amount of weight does wear down parts and, over time, the vibrations cause items to break down and loosen. A garage door tune-up is the first step. After this, we can explore using a quality nylon ball-bearing roller—this is standard with Kooler Garage Doors’s new garage doors and can often make a huge difference in giving you a quiet garage door. The next option is to explore the opener as some slick machines are quieter than a whisper these days.
When the sun angle is low, my garage door safety sensors won’t work and I can’t close my door. What can I do?
This can happen and there are solutions. When the photo eyes do not operate, your overhead door will not close without you pressing and holding the wall station. Each safety sensor has an LED light to show it’s in operation. One side is ‘sending’ the signal (generally a yellow or red light) and the other side is ‘catching’ the signal (generally a green light). If the green light is not on, then there is something disrupting the signal. This may be an object, a misalignment, or an overload of the sun’s UV rays (easy to do in the mountains).
If you’ve cleared the path and think it’s the sun washing out the signal, you can do one of two things: Swap the side of the photo sensors (often this will be the fix) or purchase/fabricate (toilet paper rolls can work) a small shade that covers the afflicted side.
Is the R-value of the windows the same as the rest of the door?
The R-value for windows is not the same as the rest of your garage door. Windows carry little insulation value even when they are thermal paned glass. However, we sell and install insulated garage doors that can gain an R-18 value for our two-inch thick models (even up to R-26 for a three-inch thick model). When we add windows, they are more aesthetically desired than insulative properties.
Do the sensors for the openers require any maintenance?
Your garage door sensors themselves do not generally need maintenance. However, we do recommend maintaining your garage door and opener systems as they do work together and can either wear each other out or prolong one another’s operational lifespan.
How do I open my garage door if the power is out?
Every opener has a manual release option. While there are subtleties to each model, generally there will be a red pull cord hanging down from the opener. Once released, a properly tuned door will move up and down manually without wanting to fall.
My town requires homeowners to clad their garage door in wood. My warranty is void with the first screw I put in. If the door were to fail, who is liable?
Many HOA neighborhoods and mountain towns love to preserve the natural wood aesthetics for their homes. For a well-insulated garage door, this means we’re building a wood overlay on top of insulated, quality panels. Most garage door manufacturers will not continue to warranty their panels once nails, screws, or glues are used. They warrant their panel primarily from ‘rust’ for 10 years on average.
By choosing the overlay, we as Kooler Garage Doors, or you as the homeowner, take this warranty on. We have a great relationship with our garage door manufacturer, Raynor Garage Doors. And if something were to occur on your custom overlaid garage door that we built and provided, we would have your back.
How long can I expect my new garage door to last?
Garage doors generally have a lifespan of about 10 to 20 years. However, we tune up some beautiful 40-year-old garage doors too! Proper service and use are the main points to emphasize when talking about a garage door’s lifespan. Heavy use of a residential garage door will cause the door to wear out more quickly. A properly maintained garage door will outlive an overhead door that is neglected.
My old garage door looks terrible but it still works great. Can it be refurbished?
Garage doors can be painted; however, if heavily dented, the dents will still be present. It is difficult to impossible to remove dents that have occurred in a garage door.
How long does a new garage door installation take?
Our professional team of garage door installers takes roughly 2-4 hours for a full garage door installation. This may include the removal of an older existing door and variables may exist which would increase this timeframe. Generally, though, a full garage door project is a one-day or less deal.
How long is the warranty on my new garage door?
With Kooler Garage Doors, you know we’ll be behind your door to warrant our workmanship for at least 12 months and sometimes longer if we determine it is within our workmanship. You also get Raynor Garage Door’s quality and warranties on their garage doors for as long as you own your home.
Colorado weather can be pretty harsh. What can I do to extend the life of my new garage door?
We recommend tuning up your garage doors annually to extend the life of your garage door and garage door opener. This is the best way to catch items that have shifted during seasons and worn-out parts that can cause additional friction and stress. Consider joining Kooler Garage Doors’s Golden Key Club to have us care for your door and you no longer have to worry about scheduling maintenance.
I know you can install a new main garage door. Can you also replace the side door (for humans, not cars)?
We certainly have the capacity for this, and we will talk about this case by case. Reach out and let’s explore your needs and we can line up the best team.
Do you install pet doors as well?
If pet doors fit within a garage door panel, we can certainly install doors for our animals to access.