ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GARAGE DOORS

Maintenance
Obviously your choice of material will determine the type of maintenance required for your garage doors. Werner offers this advice:
* Wooden doors require regular maintenance and a protective oil should be applied at approximately three-month intervals, depending on weather conditions. “We recommend that oil is used instead of varnish to avoid unnecessary sanding down of the door surface,” says Werner.
* Steel, aluminium, glass and chromadek doors are maintenance free in terms of exterior treatment .
* All garage doors should be serviced mechanically at least once a year.

All about automation
Convenience and safety are the primary reasons for automating your garage doors. Centurion Systems’ Adam Butchart explains what to look for when choosing an automation system:
* Compatibility. Ensure that whichever operator you choose, it is suitable for your door. Centurion’s XTrac has variable speed which makes it suitable for both tip-up or sectional doors. Centurion’s RDO operator is suitable for roll-up doors.
* Quiet operation. Newer technologies provide for a much quieter operation than traditional operators. Older technologies included the old bicycle chain-style, which pulled the towing arm of the door, driven by a static motor and a worm-screw drive – both of which become very noisy with use. Centurion’s XTrac operator has a revolutionary design where the motor silently crawls along a static chain. This provides for excellent longevity of the operator with minimal maintenance.

* Speed of operation. Greater speed equals more convenience and better security.
* Reliability of operation. Choose a system with battery backup – this will ensure your system continues to run in the event of a power failure.
* Adaptive anti-crushing control. This ensures that in the event of the door closing on someone or something, it can immediately react (stop and reverse).
* Safety beams. Ensure that the operator can have safety beams connected to it, which will prevent it from closing in the event that someone/something is in its path. Installing these beams is highly recommended, and if they are installed you can also activate another function called Autoclose. The Autoclose function allows you to open your garage door and simply drive off without having to worry about remembering to close the door. With the safety beams fitted, the operator can be set to close automatically after a pre-defined period.

Garage Door System Safety - An Automatic Decision

A Garage door is the largest moving object in the home. They are often operated by electric door operators. Proper installation, operation, maintenance and testing of the garage door and electric door operator is necessary to provide safe , trouble-free operation. An improperly adjusted garage door or electric operator can exert deadly force when the door closes. This could lead to serious injury or even death from being hit by a closing garage door or being trapped under the door.

Safety is everyone's business

A few simple precautions can protect your family and friends against potential harm. Please take a few minutes to read the following safety and maintenance tips. Refer to your Garage Door and Garage Door Operator  owner's manual for details specific to the model you own to check the operation of your garage door and garage door operator.