Why Garage Doors Fall off Their Tracks

Is one side of your garage door out of horizontal alignment? If so, don't just shrug it off. One day you may find it lying flat on the garage floor or on top of your car. It's a serious situation, especially if your door is heavy. Even house inspectors are reluctant to get near them. The Internet is full of web pages about people whose garage doors fell and landed on top of their cars which were parked inside the garage.

The Internet is also full of advice such as clamping a door so that it's horizontally level and then adjusting the cables so that they have equal tension. Or if the door has partially popped out of its track, they'll tell you how to pop it back in again.

The problem with both of the above pieces of advice is that they fail to address the underlying cause of the problem. Without doing this, the problem will simply return and possibly hurt someone the next time around. Five of these underlying causes are explained below:

• A broken garage door spring. A door left with a single good spring means that only one side is being held. Opening or closing a door that is cocked like this can cause the door to drop out of its track. This can also happen when one spring is significantly weaker than another. 

• A damaged lift cable. Old lift cables can wear over time and start to break a few strands at a time. This causes the cable to stretch which then causes your door to become misaligned. This continues until the cable breaks while the door is moving. 

• A buckled door panel. This can happen when backing your car out of the garage without first opening the garage door. This is a common mistake made by countless tired or distracted people. The buckled panel warps the door so that it fails to properly move in the tracks. 

• A damaged or warped track. When one of the tracks is damaged or warped, the door hangs up on the side of the bad track. This cocks the door and may pop it off its track. 

• Bad rollers. Rollers can wear out, drop out of the track, or seize up. Worn out or missing rollers mean that the door isn't attached to the track at those points. A seized roller can cause the door to hang up. 

Remember that a horizontally misaligned door won't stay that way forever when the door is in use. It will fail in some way. Hopefully the door will simply get stuck rather than drop off on top of your car or worse. Don't wait for that day to come. Contact Overhead Door Co of Lansing to schedule your garage door maintenance and avoid an emergency situation!

3 Questions to Ask Your Garage Door Contractor

Whether you are looking to install a new garage door or simply need your existing one repaired, chances are you will sooner or later start looking for a garage door contractor. And that's a great choice: with professional help, you can be sure that your installation goes just right, and your repair is done up to standards.

But going with a professional is not the only decision you need to make. Next comes a question that is just as important: how do you pick the right one for your needs? Here are 3 questions you can ask to make sure that's the case:

1) Do You Have a License?

The most important question to ask is related to the credibility of your potential contractor. Do they have any accreditation or memberships that hold them to an acceptable standard? Any contractor call themselves a professional, but only accredited ones can actually get the work done reliably.

2) What's Your Timeline?

Next, find out just how long the project would take. You may have a different idea than your contractor, simply because they know the scope of work better than you do. Especially if you are deciding between different contractors, this question can help you decide which one best suits your needs.

3) How About the Budget?

Finally, you should determine the cost of a contractor. The cheapest option is not always the best, but you also don't want to choose one that will charge twice as much to get you a new garage door as their competitors would. Always try to get a free estimate, which tries to help you plan your own budget better.

Choosing the best garage door contractor for your needs is a crucial part to getting the job done right. Fortunately, the above three questions can help you accomplish just that, getting you one step closer to that perfectly functioning, great looking garage door.

Overhead Door Company of Lansing is licensed and insured, and a member of many professional associations. Give us a call today to learn more about our services and how we can help you with your next garage door project!

Garage Door Service for Your Commercial Business

For many businesses, commercial garage doors help conduct daily operation, and make customer interaction easier. Depending on the type of business you run, the entrance to the garage is like the front door of the store; daily interactions take place there, deals are worked out, and customers leave happy.

But what happens when you need garage door service? What do you do when the part of your business most integral to servicing customers goes down and needs repairs?

You call an expert, of course. A professional in the industry with years of service can get your garage door back in business in as little as an afternoon, whether through upgrade or repair.

Why call a professional? 

A commercial garage door service is ready to handle any type of problem. They have the experience necessary to make the right decisions for your commercial business. They are also an expert at determining when it's time to replace, and when you simply need a repair, both of which can save you time and money.

Further, a professional garage door service can get your business up and running with no additional stress for you, which is why we recommend that you never try to fix a serious commercial garage door problem if you lack the experience. Instead, let a true professional deal with any problems your commercial garage door may have.

Does your business need a garage door upgrade? 

It is possible that the reason your garage door failed to begin with is because it is on its last leg. a common occurrence for those who use their doors often. Sometimes, after many years of fulfilling its part of the bargain, garage doors simply give up, and repairs aren't feasible.

In some instances, commercial businesses opt for an upgrade. Deciding on a new sectional door, high-speed door, or rolling steel and fire door can help propel your commercial business into the twenty-first century.

Need commercial garage door repair or upgrades? Overhead Door of Co. of Lansing is here to help! Give us a call today.

How to Open Your Garage Door During a Power Outage

Power outages are a fact of life. A storm, a fallen tree branch on a power line, a heat wave, or a work crew doing maintenance are typical reasons for them. Knowing how to use your garage door without power will come in handy in the event of a power outage or when there is an electrical problem with the door.

Manually opening the door must be done from the inside, so you will have to enter your home through another door and proceed to the garage.

First Step
Locate the emergency release handle. Garage doors are required to have an emergency release handle, which mechanically disconnects the door from the motor. The handle is usually red and at the end of a cord that's tied to the release lever of the trolley.

Second Step
After locating the red emergency release handle, pull it down and toward the garage door motor.

Third Step 
The door is now disconnected from the motor and you are free to lift the garage door using the door handle near its bottom. After opening the door, make sure it will stay in place before letting go of the handle.

Fourth Step 
When you're ready, manually close the door. If your door doesn't have an interior slide lock, you can re-engage the trolley attachment, which will lock the door. This is done by pulling the emergency release handle down and toward the garage opening. You may have to move the door a bit to get the tow bar arm properly positioned with the trolley for it to re-engage.

When The Power Returns 
If the tow bar arm isn't already re-engaged, then with the door in the closed position, push the close button and the trolley will move toward the tow bar arm and re-engage. A Word Of Caution During a power outage, the emergency release handle should only be used when the door is fully closed. Using the emergency release handle when the door is open may cause the door to fall to the floor if your springs are weak or not balanced.

Overhead Door Co. of Lansing is always available to assist you in the event of an emergency. Contact us today!

Garage Door Replacement is Ideal for Increasing Home Value

Fact: you can remodel your home and get most of your money back when you sell it down the line. Remodeling Magazine publishes a “Cost versus Value” chart each year, showing which home remodeling projects best increase the value of your home. Some projects can recoup you virtually all of the money you spend on the project, and garage door replacement is close to the top of the list!

According to Remodeling Magazine, replacing your garage door can recoup, on average, up to 88.4 percent of the cost of the entire replacement job. Who wouldn't like an 88% return on investment?!

If you’re thinking about replacing your garage door, here are some reasons why Overhead Door Company of Lansing is the best company to help you with the process!

Style Options Abound 
A brand new garage door can greatly enhance the overall beauty of your home. Ideally, you will want to select a door that reflects the overall “feel” of your home. Modern, Deco, or Craftsman style – there are hundreds of options available. At Overhead Door Company, we pride ourselves in our ability to help every customer find the perfect door to fit their budget and style preference.

Experienced Installation 
For decades, Overhead Door Company of Lansing has served central Michigan, offering the finest in residential garage doors and openers.

Qualified Service 
If something should go wrong, we offer 24-hour emergency and same-day service to meet your needs. Our technicians are highly trained and certified to provide you with the highest level of professional service.

Free Estimates 
We offer free estimates on new door installation. Contact us online to request a quote.

Does Your Garage Door Need to be Replaced?

Unless you’re a garage door expert like us, it’s hard to examine a garage door and figure out if it needs to be repaired or replaced. If it’s been extremely damaged by weather and is clearly broken beyond repair, then clearly it’s time to be replaced. But if it’s just been acting funny and could use some updates, then you’ll want to give us a call for a free estimate.

Typically, a garage door can be repaired easily if it isn’t too old. If one day your garage door just doesn’t work, don’t automatically think you need to replace it! Usually, it’s a simple fix that one of our experts can fix quickly so you can continue your day!

One of the big reasons people choose to replace their door rather than repair it is pure looks! The garage is a huge visual point when it comes to the house’s overall look. If you updated the rest of your home, it’ll look out of place if the garage door is outdated. We come across this a lot and it is the most popular reason to get an updated door. If you’d like to see our portfolio of garage doors that we’ve replaced, check out our portfolio on our website!

We recommend that you get a free estimate before deciding whether to repair or replace your garage door. We’ll let you know if it’s in your best interest to spend the money and replace or if your current door has a lot of life left.

Garage Door Options - How to Pick the Right One for You

Buying a new garage door can bring a lot of value to your home. Whether it’s because you are moving and trying to sell your home or because you think your garage door is outdated and unsafe, there are a lot of questions to be answered before choosing the right door. Buying a garage door is a larger investment than most other purchases and needs to be backed with some research. This type of shopping isn’t done too often so it’s hard to really know what you’re looking for.

Before you purchase your new door, you’ll need to know what type of door you’re looking for. You’ll figure this out by understanding what you use your garage door for the most. Are you looking to update the garage door just for curb appeal? Or do you use your door every day and need something that will last long? Or maybe you live in an area that gets hit with bad weather often and you need something that can last through a hurricane or bad storm.

After you answer these questions, you’ll be able to narrow down what type of door best fits your home. Here are the options that we offer here at Overhead Door Company of Lansing:

• Traditional Steel 
• Carriage House 
• Modern Aluminum 
• Wood Doors 
• Vinyl Doors 
• Insulated Doors 
• Wood-Lock Doors 

It’s not an easy decision and that’s why we’re here to help! If you’re not sure what type of door is best for you – just ask! We know which doors offer the best quality and which ones increase the most value of a home after it’s installed.