How often should a garage door be serviced?

A yearly professional service suits most homes. Book twice a year, or sooner, if the door runs many cycles a day, sits in a dusty or rural garage, or has started shuddering, hesitating or sounding different. In between, follow the maintenance schedule in your door manual.

What raises the frequency

• Heavy use, such as a garage that serves as the main entry to the house.
• Dust, field debris or trees overhead, which wear rollers and hardware faster.
• Rough weather that affects seals and lubricant.
• An older door or opener, or a door that has needed several recent repairs.

What you can do between visits

• Test the photo-eyes and the safety reverse as your opener manual describes.
• Keep accessible tracks clean and dry.
• Lubricate the parts your manual specifies, commonly every three to six months.
• Look at springs, cables and supports from the floor without touching or turning their fasteners.

Report anything that looks frayed, gapped, bent or loose instead of tightening it yourself.

What a service visit covers

A tune-up inspects springs, cables, drums, rollers, hinges, brackets and track; lubricates where the manufacturers specify; tightens hardware that vibrates loose; tests balance; and checks the opener's travel limits, force settings and safety reverse along with sensor alignment. If the technician finds a failed part, that repair is quoted separately before any work. For the opener on its own, see how often an opener should be serviced.

Read more

• Garage door tune-up
• Garage door tune-up tips
• Common garage door problems

Related questions

• What if I put lubricant on the wrong garage door part?
• What is the difference between a garage door tune-up and a repair?
• What if my garage door is still noisy after lubrication?
• Will a tune-up fix a garage door that won't open?
• Does lubrication actually reduce garage door noise?

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