Garage Door Repair Pros Ottawa » Garage Doors Life Span

Garage Doors Life Span

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Let’s talk about the Garage Doors Life Span – You know how long your roof lasts, or other smaller appliances like your toaster, but how about your garage door?

As one of the most reliable appliances, garage doors are typically expected to last a lifetime– but that cannot happen.

Although garage doors will not last forever, with the correct maintenance and consistent upkeep, it can last you and your family a long time– ideally 15 – 30 years.

What Affects My Garage Door’s Longevity?

Your garage door life’s length will largely depend on these five things:

1) Everyday Operation

Every time you use your garage door, a spring cycle is used.

Spring cycles are the number of uses a spring can take before it breaks, so if you use your garage door a lot, it will decrease your spring’s cycles faster.

2) Quality of Construction

When choosing the company who will make your garage door, make sure that you choose a company that can be trusted.

Before your transaction, ask for samples of their previous work or look them up yourself on their website.

A great garage door company will always have samples to show!

3) Door Quality

Closely related to the number 2 point, make sure that the materials you choose to be used are high quality if you want your garage door to last for a long time.

Low-quality materials tend to break, rust, and erode quickly, so consult with your chosen construction company regarding what materials should be used, but be ready to shell out some extra cash!

4) Frequent Upkeep and Proper Maintenance

If you want your garage door to last long, you should conduct checkups on it, typically once every three months.

For your garage door checkups, every three months, use your door manually to check whether all parts are running smoothly as they should be.

For upkeep, make sure that none of your garage door parts is dirty to the point of it affecting its performance.

5) Your Location’s Climate

Last but not least, you should be aware of your location’s climate and how it affects your garage door and the materials used.

Something to take note of is wooden garage doors are more susceptible to damage in colder locations because water exposure can make the wood swell, causing unwanted frictions and can lead to your garage door stopping and getting stuck.

6) Garage Door Springs

Despite it being one of the smaller parts of your garage door, springs are one of the main components that affect your door’s longevity.

Because the springs are the ones responsible for the trouble-free automatic opening and closing of the garage door, these are the parts that usually break first.

Ideally, a spring can handle a minimum of 10,000 cycles, or more depending on the amount of usage.

If you are willing to pay more than what is standard, there is a spring option that provides higher calibre service by lasting a minimum of 100,000 cycles or more depending on the amount of usage.

Below is the list of how 10,000 spring cycles translate to everyday use (approximately):

13 – 14 years for two times daily usage
6 – 7 years for four times daily usage
4 – 5 years for six times daily usage
3 years for eight times daily usage

As it has been said above, ideally, garage doors will last for 15 – 30 years, while your garage door opener can work well for 10 – 15 years.

It is good to keep in mind that commonly, garage door manufacturers offer a three-year warranty.