How Extreme Cold Weather Can Damage Your Garage, and What You Can Do About It

All around the Northeast, homeowners prepare for the annual struggle of the Winter months. From snow, sleet, blizzards and freezing temperatures, the environment can have a drastic effect on your property.  Unlike the rest of your house which is mostly insulated and sealed, your garage is vulnerable to these extremes, which is why it’s so important to check and safely winterize your automatic garage door components properly.

Following are some situations you may find yourself in and how to prepare for them to avoid potential disaster.

You Can’t Open Your Garage Door, or It’s Slow to Move Under Its Power

There are many reasons why your automatic garage door may not open properly, especially in colder months.  Perhaps your opener has seized, or lubricant hardened and gunked up the tracks where your rollers are located.  What’s important to remember is that all modern garage door opener systems have a manual safety release for just such a situation so you’ll want to familiarize yourself with it should your door not properly function.

Check Your Springs

If the door is still difficult to move, you should check your springs.  Your garage door springs help relieve the tension from the weight of the door so that it doesn’t damage your opener or the user when manually operating it.  Extreme cold can make your springs brittle and susceptible to breakage, so if you hear a loud popping noise one day when your garage door opens or closes, chances are you broke a spring and needed to have it replaced by a professional.

Never try to force your door open when it’s frozen

Sometimes if your door still won’t open it could mean that it’s frozen to the ground.  If moisture collects under your weather stripping, this could turn to ice in freezing temperatures, making it next to impossible to open your door to any power.  What you want to do in this instance is remove the ice by carefully breaking it apart so that you don’t risk damaging your weather stripping.  Never try to force your door open when it’s frozen to the ground as this may cause more damage and more of a headache for you down the road.