You can paint a steel or aluminum garage door, as long as you use an acrylic latex paint.
After you scrape away any loose paint and clean the door with a degreaser, begin painting with an acrylic primer for best adhesion. Follow with the final top coat after the primer is dry.
Newer high quality garage doors come with two baked final top coats and should last about 20 years or more, while your newly painted garage door should last about 10 years.
More: How to Paint a Garage Door from a paint manufacturer's perspective. Learn More
The original manufactured quality influences how long a garage door is useful in years.
In general, garage doors last about 15 years; however, those higher quality doors of 45mm gage steel with polyurethane insulating foam insulation should last 20 to 30 years.
Garage door openers last 10 to 15 years and overhead garage door torsion spring failure rate depends on the number of open-close cycles (see below).
Regular garage door maintenance and lubrication will extend the life of your garage door.
Using garage door terms, a single cycle corresponds to one opening and closing of your garage door. And anticipate a broken torsion spring to occur around 10,000 cycles.
Regular maintenance and lubrication of the spring and moving parts every six months may extend the cycle usage, as long as the right lubricant is used (don't use WD-40®, but an approved garage door Teflon or lithium-based spray).
More: How to lubricate your garage door Learn More
By the way, if your torsion spring breaks, do not attempt to replace the spring yourself.
There have been cases of do-it-yourselfers getting injured trying to figure out how to wind high-tension torsion springs (both springs need to be replaced and tightly wound to a standard even though only one breaks).
Leave the job to us, the professionals who know how to get the job done safely, with special tools and training at hand. See our Services page.
Screw drives are the most power-driven of the drives, capable of lifting heavy garage doors quickly. They have fewer moving parts, so there may be less maintenance. They are less noisy than chain drives.
Belt drives, among the best openers on the market, use a rubber belt system. They are dependable and virtually silent, that is, if you happen to be in a living area adjacent to an attached garage. They tend to last longer than other garage door openers.
Chain drives are rugged, economical, reliable and the dominate opener drive system on the market. Because of the noise generated when opening and closing, chain drives work fine for detached garages. But if you want to hear the garage door when it's being opened especially in a household with children then this cost-effective opener drive would be appropriate in an attached garage.
This is a question we receive when someone is considering new home designs with options for one wide two-car garage door or two single garage doors.
Most exterior designers maintain that two single garage doors add balance and curb appeal to the home's architecture.
And we recommend two single garage doors over a single double garage door because if a door repair is necessary, you can get one car out of the garage. Plus there's less air flow with two single garage doors.
Take into account the kind of vehicle you want to park in your garage. You will need to make sure with your designer that there's enough space on each side and the end for storage space. Allow for vehicle door swing and space for a side access door, if needed.
Finally, the bigger the garage interior, coupled with an enhanced exterior design will also add to your home's resale value when you decide to sell.
Choosing between a garage door with windows or not depends on if the positives outweigh the negatives.
The garage door window positives include better curb appeal, natural light brightening the garage during the day and it's a plus for people who work on garage projects during daylight while keeping the garage door closed.
Negatives involve less privacy (because even high windows can be tempting to prying eyes), and there's a reduction in energy efficiency.
The experts at Kent Garage Door Repairs understand the vital aspects of garage door service, repair and installation. We approach each garage door issue for you with a workable solution at an affordable price.
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