Garage Door FAQs

While we suggest a certified professional undertake any major repairs, there are some steps you can take to maintain your door. They are:

1. Periodically lubricate your garage or overhead door track. Call us to determine the best methods for lubricating your specific door.
2. Clean the frame's weather stripping with vinyl cleaner and lubricate it once every other month with an appropriate product to keep the stripping pliable.
3. Inspect the rollers every six months and replace any that are worn or broken, or call us and have us replace them.
4. If you have painted door, periodically paint the exterior to help protect it from the elements.

Open the door halfway by hand (release operator first) and let go of the door. The door should pretty much stay in the same position, although some slight drifting may occur. If the door wants to drop or if it opens on its own the garage door springs should be adjusted by a trained and experienced garage door service technician. To avoid possible severe injuries, do no attempt to adjust the springs yourself without having the proper training and tools.

It is very likely that you have a broken spring that should be replaced by an experienced and qualified garage door service technician. If your springs (torsion springs) are on a shaft across the top of the door, you will see an approximately 2" separation in the spring. If your springs (extension springs) stretch along the track on the sides you will find that they are obviously in two separate pieces.

We highly recommend that you change both springs at the same time, since both springs have been under the same amount of stress each time the door has been opened and closed. Unfortunately a visual inspection of the spring cannot determine the further life expectancy of the spring. However, in many cases it will cost less to have both springs changed at the same time than if you only had one spring changed at a time. In addition, if you have extension springs on your door, the door may not balance properly with one new spring and one fatigued spring. Place a service order today to have both springs replaced and get your door back in proper working order!

With the garage door fully closed, simply pull the red release cord down toward the floor. Always take special caution whenever you release the garage door opener if the door is not in the fully closed position, since the door may want to slam closed when released. If at all possible do not release the garage door when open, except for emergency or security purposes and close the door with caution. Some older openers may not have a red release cord and may need to be released by pulling down a handle, a spring loaded clip, or even possibly unbolting the arm from the door and opener. If you do have an older door that is difficult to disconnect you may want to replace the opener with a new garage door opener that has an easy pull red release cord.

Measure the width of the actual finished opening and then the height. Garage door sizes are always shown and listed as the width first and then the height. In addition, many garage door dealers provide free in house estimates and will measure the opening for you while they are at your home or project site to determine the proper size.

At Olympia Overhead Doors, we believe that the installation of a garage door is not a do-it-yourself job. A garage door is the largest moving object in your home and because of the large number of small parts, installation of a garage door is highly technical. Connecting the springs can be particularly dangerous and proper installation is critical to the performance of your door. Professional garage door dealer/installers can typically install a door in a few hours and are careful to make sure safety requirements are met. Installations by most homeowners can typically span several days and cause much frustration. In addition, incorrect installation can void certain warranties, so we recommend a professional handle the job for you. One of the other services a professional garage door dealer/install can provide is the disposal of your old door, if you are replacing a door.

A garage door opening is very large. Insulated doors will help reduce the transfer of heat or cold air into your garage. This is important for a number of reasons:

1. If your garage is attached to your home, air in the garage can travel through the doorways to your living area.
2. If you use your garage as a workshop, your comfort will be a top priority.
3. If your garage is below another room in your home, air can travel through the ceiling of the garage into the floor of the room above. An insulated door will keep temperatures in the garage fairly stable to reduce the temperature fluctuation in the room above.
4. An insulated door is generally quieter and has a more attractive interior than a non-insulated door.

Steel doors may require less maintenance than a wood door. Olympia Overhead Doors steel doors are pre-painted with a factory-applied baked-on coating. We recommend an annual cleaning of the exterior of the door with a common household detergent and warm water at least one time per year. Olympia Overhead Doors wood doors are unfinished and need to be primed and painted or stained on all six sides of the door upon delivery. We recommend a visual inspection of the paint or stain on wood doors one time per year to confirm if another finish application is necessary.

In the event that an electric opener is installed, the top section of the garage must be reinforced with a strut or angle iron spanning the length of the top section. You will also want to make sure you have an outlet in the ceiling in the proximity of where the opener will be installed.

Yes, we will haul your old door away after the new door is installed for a small fee.

Olympia Overhead Doors recommends replacing your track when you replace your door because each brand of garage door has been specifically designed to work with a specific type of track. In addition, replacing your track is an inexpensive way to insure that your entire garage door system is as safe as possible. By replacing your track you also ensure that your door warranty will apply, in the event you have a problem.

An on-site inspection will be required. One-piece doors operate on a different track system that does not require the same headroom requirements of a sectional door. Depending on the construction of your garage, modifications might be necessary.

Yes. All our steel doors are pre-painted with a factory-applied baked-on coating that is suitable to be repainted. Most doors will accept a wide variety of commercially available latex exterior paints, when applied in accordance with the paint manufacturer's recommendations. Do not use oil-based painted.

Yes. Olympia Overhead Doors offers residential doors in widths between 6" and 20" in two inch increments and in heights between 6'6" and 14'. *

*Not all door models are available in this range of widths/heights.

Standard headroom applications require 12" to 18" of space between the bottom of the opening header and the unobstructed ceiling. However, there are a variety of special track options available that make it possible for many unusual garages to be fitted with doors. By using low-headroom track, it is possible to install a door in an area that has as little as 3-1/2" of headroom.

Other special track applications include:

1. Vertical lift track, for use in situations where the ceiling is extremely high and the garage door has room to lift straight up.
2. Follow-the-roofline track, which is used when the ceiling of the garage is pitched at the angle of the roof, making it desirable for the door to follow the same angle, thus providing additional overhead room.
3. Hi-lift track, which is used when the ceiling is unusually high, but the door must still retract to a horizontal position.

Many manufacturers us R-values to show the energy efficiency of their product. This number is calculated based on the thickness of the insulation and its chemical properties. Therefore, most of the published R-value numbers reflect only the R-value of a section, not of the installed door. A door's insulating capabilities can be greatly affected by the door's construction.

If an electric garage door opener has been installed on your door, it may not be necessary to have a lock. Most electric openers function as the lock, making it improbable that an intruder would be able to lift your door from the outside.

DASMA, the trade association for the garage door industry, discourages homeowners from attaching a lock when an opener has been installed, because too frequently, a child or other family member will accidentally lock the door. If someone then tries to open the door using the electric opener, the opener will pull against the lock causing the door to be damaged. If no opener is installed on your garage door, a lock is highly recommended.

The two types of springs used on garage doors today are extension and torsion springs. Extension springs are attached on either side of the door and stretch along the horizontal track when the door is closed. Torsion springs are typically located just above the top section of the door and are mounted to the header. They are wound springs and do not expand or contract when the door is moved.

Some homeowners prefer torsion springs because these springs offer more safety and provide better balance to the door for smoother operation.