How does My Garage Door Actually Work?
Q: I'm curious; how does my garage door actually work?
A: This is where the garage door terminology can become confusing for many homeowners.
There are numerous parts and components that all work together to ensure your door opens and closes easily.
Here's a list of hardware components below that help make your garage door work:
HINGES
The hinges should be double-hinges, since they help support the weight of the door when it's opened. The hinges are what allows the door sections to remain in place as it's opened and closed.
SPRINGS
Garage doors utilize a counterweight system to make it easy to open and close the door with one hand. The spring is part of this system and looks like one giant coiled spring that is normally located above the door. Some doors also have secondary springs used over the door tracks and are common on heavier doors.
LIFTING CABLES
These cables are attached to the spring system and aid in opening and closing the doors.
DOOR TRACKS
The door tracks are what allows the door to be opened out of the way, either horizontally or vertically.
DOOR ROLLERS
The door rollers are small wheels that roll inside the door tracks as the door is opened and closed. For quieter door operations, nylon style rollers are better than galvanized steel rollers.
For the steel components and parts on the garage door, the thing to remember is the lower the gauge of steel, the thicker it is. For instance, a 14-gauge door track is thicker than an 18-gauge door track.
Come see our garage doors in action, up close and personal in our Garage Door Canada showroom within April 2019 to receive 20% off any Richards-Wilcox garage door of standard model and size!
For further questions about garage doors, door parts and components or assistance in selecting a new garage door, visit our showroom today!