Home Run Inspections, LLC

We Cover All the Bases!

Serving the Oklahoma City metro and surrounding areas including Edmond, Yukon, Piedmont, Bethany, El Reno, Tuttle, Mustang, Moore, Norman, Midwest City, Del City, Choctaw, McCloud, Shawnee, Harrah, Newalla, Jones, and more.

Also Now Serving the Florida Panhandle metro areas including Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Miramar Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, Niceville, Shalimar, Freeport, Crestview, DeFuniak Springs, Panama City Beach, and more.

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Garage Door Maintenance

January 9, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog, On-Going Home Maintenance, Winter Home Maintenance/by Scott Price

Hinge Lubrication

During inclement weather especially, we tend to use our home’s vehicle doors more than we use our front doors. Most home’s front doors are pretty simple. A typical front door these days is metal clad with a wood interior. It swings on three hinges and locks with a locking handle and a dead bolt lock. Although all these parts need occasional attention, a decade can go by before you notice a problem. The solution is usually a lubricant or replacement of a relatively inexpensive lock mechanism.

Garage door maintenance is not so simple, and when it comes to repairs, they can be quite costly. As with many systems within a home, regular maintenance is the most affordable way to manage home costs. Neglected rollers can bind during operation causing extensive and expensive damage to not only the door but the door opener. And, this usually happens at the most inopportune time.

So next time you are making the rounds around your home on the weekend taking care of the “honey do” list, take a few minutes to apply some silicone lubricant to your garage vehicle door. I promise it will be time well spent. Here are a few steps to follow to get the job done without creating more work or problems:

Pick up some silicone spray lubricant the next time you are at a store with a hardware section. Pick up a cheap set of safety glasses if you do not have a pair already (it never hurts to have a couple).
Move your vehicles out of the garage and at least five feet away to avoid any over spray on your paint job.
Make sure you are not wearing nice clothes or your favorite concert t-shirt. Accidents do happen.
Have a disposable rag or roll of paper towels handy to clean up any overage spray.
With your safety glasses in place and the garage door down, attach the spray tube to the nozzle of the can and proceed to spray about a half circle of lubricant on each roller wheel in the tracks.
Spray a small amount in each visible hinge between each door section.
If you can, spray a line of lubricant across the usually black torsion spring above the garage door. (This may require using a small step ladder).
If your door opener has a chain, spray along the chain for a few feet. If you notice the track below the chain is dry or rusted, add a little along there for the guide as your door is lifting.
Lastly, raise and lower your door a few times to move the lubricant around each moving part.

There you have it! You probably just saved yourself $500 in repairs this year. Just add a reminder on your phone for next January and you can repeat the savings.

#homemaintenance #garagedoor #vehicledoo

Home Run Inspections, LLC

Oklahoma: 405-905-9175

Florida: 850-203-3239

We Cover All the Bases!

Serving the Oklahoma City metro and surrounding areas including Edmond, Yukon, Piedmont, Bethany, El Reno, Tuttle, Mustang, Moore, Norman, Midwest City, Del City, Choctaw, McCloud, Shawnee, Harrah, Newalla, Jones, and more.

Also Now Serving the Florida Panhandle metro areas including Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Miramar Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, Niceville, Shalimar, Freeport, Crestview, DeFuniak Springs, Panama City Beach, and more.

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Overhead Garage Door Maintenance

March 1, 2016/0 Comments/in Blog, Home Safety, On-Going Home Maintenance, Spring Home Maintenance/by Scott Price

Getting Started

Stand inside the garage and close the garage door. Pay attention to all the various moving parts — springs, rollers and hinges. Note the movement of the door parts and those on the overhead track system, as well as the garage door opening system. Overhead Garage Door Maintenance is going to address all of these moving parts.

First Step

Wipe away cobwebs, dust, grime and buildup on the door hinges, springs and other moving hardware. This can be down with a broom or a specialty tool you can pick up at your neighborhood hardware store. Climb a step stool, if necessary, to wipe away buildup or obstructions on the track system overhead, as well as on the rollers on the garage door track. Avoid ladders since getting too high off the ground will cause disorientation.

Lubrication

Squirt small amounts of silicone spray or a couple of drops of oil into the moving parts on the garage door itself, such as the hinges, roller pin, roller mount brackets, and springs, and cable drums. Open the door halfway and repeat the process. Open and close the door a few times to encourage the oil to lubricate moving areas. Spray additional lubricant if needed. Wipe away lubricant that drips using a clean rag.

Keeping on Track

Place the step stool under one of the tracks if you cannot comfortably reach or see the inner track area overhead. Open the garage door and spray silicone lubricant into the centers of the rollers that ride on the track on each side. Next apply some silicon lubricant to the center “J” track to keep it moving smoothly. Close and open the door several times to allow the lubricant to flow. Wipe away any drips to prevent collections of dirt and dust.

Your garage door should now be ready for many more months of smooth operation!

As with any home maintenance, always think safety. Safety glasses are recommended as well as following safety warnings on step stools and ladders used. Refer to any owners manual you have on your Overhead Garage Door for specific maintenance tips

Home Run Inspections, LLC

Oklahoma: 405-905-9175

Florida: 850-203-3239

We Cover All the Bases!

Serving the Oklahoma City metro and surrounding areas including Edmond, Yukon, Piedmont, Bethany, El Reno, Tuttle, Mustang, Moore, Norman, Midwest City, Del City, Choctaw, McCloud, Shawnee, Harrah, Newalla, Jones, and more.

Also Now Serving the Florida Panhandle metro areas including Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Miramar Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, Niceville, Shalimar, Freeport, Crestview, DeFuniak Springs, Panama City Beach, and more.

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Garage Door Maintenance

February 26, 2016/0 Comments/in Blog, Home Safety, On-Going Home Maintenance, Spring Home Maintenance/by Scott Price

The Spring

A common cause of garage door spring failure is rust. A buildup of rust increases coil friction on the moving spring. Combine that with the corrosive damage of the rust itself, and you have everything you need for early torsion spring or extension spring failure. A little garage door maintenance on your part can keep rust at bay and increase the life of your garage door springs. Every three months or so, spray on some silicone based lubricant, or add a few drops light machine oil (10, 20 or 30 weight), or better yet some 3 in 1 oil. This keeps the spring lubricated and prevents harmful rust buildup.

WD-40

You may be thinking why not WD-40? WD-40 is essentially kerosene and a carrier/spray. Nice for cleaning metal, loosening things up, etc., like a penetrating oil, but NO long-term lubricant properties. The “WD” in WD40 stands for “Water Dispersant”, which is what WD-40 primarily is, not a lubricant.

Talking Springs

Did you know that your garage door springs will let you know when they’ve about reached the breaking point? It sounds crazy but it’s true – if you know what to look for. While raising and lowering the door a few times, listen carefully for any squeaking noises. This is the sound of hinges that need to be lubricated. Your garage door hinges will generally need to be lubricated once a year. This is a great preventive maintenance tip to add to your spring cleaning to-do list.

Emergency Release

Part of garage door maintenance is to ensure you can open the door without power to the opener. To test this, with the garage door closed pull the red-handled emergency release cord(its a good practice to check this once a year and make sure other family members know how it operates). This disconnects the door from the opener, allowing you to open your door by hand.

Spring Strength

The next step is to lower your door all the way down, then raise it to about two feet off the ground and let go(making sure the path is clear or items or body parts of course). Good springs will prevent gravity from pulling down the weight of the door. Did your door stay in place with little downward slide? If yes, your springs are still working fine. But if the door feels very heavy and sags, your springs are showing their age and starting to wear. Contact your garage door contractor for a thorough inspection. Remember these springs are dangerous and repairs are best left to the professionals.

A little lubricant will do wonders in keeping the springs operating smoothly

Home Run Inspections, LLC

Oklahoma: 405-905-9175

Florida: 850-203-3239

We Cover All the Bases!

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Overhead Garage Door Opener

February 25, 2016/0 Comments/in Blog, Home Safety, On-Going Home Maintenance, Spring Home Maintenance/by Scott Price

Vehicle Door Opener

Remember when you were a kid and you came and went through the front door? Well, times have changed. Now so many of us come and go through the garage thanks to an often forgotten about convenience know as the Overhead Garage Door Opener. Like us, and everything else in your home, it too has a life span(8-12 years).

Components

Your overhead door is comprised of several different components including the motor, torsion or extension springs, rollers, roller brackets, and hinges that work in harmony to provide us access to our abode with a touch of a button. There is a trolley on the garage door opener rail that connects to the garage door itself by way of a “J” bar. It is called a J bar because it looks like the letter “J”. The trolley is pulled along by a chain, screw, or belt that the motor turns and operates. components need regular maintenance to continue operating smoothly.

Contrary to what most people believe, the garage door motor does not lift the heavy garage door. Most of the actual heavy lifting comes from the springs that are connected to the torsion system. The electric power only controls how far and how hard the garage door actually opens and closes.

Wear and Tear

Torsion springs simply wear out over time. How much time? Ten thousand seems to be the magic number – that’s the number of cycles the average spring will last. One cycle equals your garage door being opened and then closed. Going to work in the morning, then home again at night adds up to two cycles a day. That’s not so bad if you’re a bachelor hermit.

On the other hand, if your “significant other” runs errands during the day, if you have teenagers in and out of the garage, or if you have younger kids opening and closing the garage door to get their bikes and sporting equipment – you’re going to burn through ten thousand cycles a lot faster. An active family could easily use up ten thousand cycles in as little as a year.

Home Run Inspections, LLC

Oklahoma: 405-905-9175

Florida: 850-203-3239

We Cover All the Bases!

Serving the Oklahoma City metro and surrounding areas including Edmond, Yukon, Piedmont, Bethany, El Reno, Tuttle, Mustang, Moore, Norman, Midwest City, Del City, Choctaw, McCloud, Shawnee, Harrah, Newalla, Jones, and more.

Also Now Serving the Florida Panhandle metro areas including Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Miramar Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, Niceville, Shalimar, Freeport, Crestview, DeFuniak Springs, Panama City Beach, and more.

Schedule Your Inspections Online at:

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Garage Door Safety

December 1, 2015/0 Comments/in Blog, Home Safety/by sherineprice

The garage door is the largest moving object in a house. Its parts are under high tension. All repairs and adjustments should be performed by a trained garage door systems technician. To find a technician, visit the International Door Association website. If the garage door appears inoperable or out of plumb, do not attempt to operate the garage door opener. If the door appears plumb, you can perform some basic testing to ensure that your garage door is operating as it should.

Photo-Electric Eyes

Federal law states that residential garage door openers manufactured after 1992 must be equipped with photo-electric eyes or some other safety-reverse feature. If the garage door has an opener, check to see if photo-electric eyes are installed. They should be near the floor, mounted to the left and right sides of the bottom door panel. The beam of the photo-electric eyes should not be higher than 6 inches above the floor.

Non-Contact Reversal Test

This check applies to door systems that are equipped with photo-electric eyes. Standing inside the garage and safely away from the path of the door, use the remote control or wall button to close the door. As the door is closing, wave an object in the path of the photo-electric eye beam. The door should immediately reverse and return to the fully-open position.

Contact Reversal Test

This check applies to doors with openers when the opener’s force setting has been properly set, and when the opener reinforcement bracket is securely and appropriately attached to the door’s top section. If you’re concerned that a contact reversal test may cause damage to the garage door or its components, don’t do it.

Otherwise, begin this test with the door fully open. Under the center of the door, place a 2×4 piece of wood flat on the floor in the path of the door. Standing inside the garage but safely away from the path of the door, use the wall push button to close the door. When the door contacts the wood, the door should automatically reverse direction and return to the fully-open position.

If your garage door fails or is slow to respond to any of these tests, contact a qualified technician who can check for any necessary repairs or upgrades.

Home Run Inspections, LLC

Oklahoma: 405-905-9175

Florida: 850-203-3239

We Cover All the Bases!

Serving the Oklahoma City metro and surrounding areas including Edmond, Yukon, Piedmont, Bethany, El Reno, Tuttle, Mustang, Moore, Norman, Midwest City, Del City, Choctaw, McCloud, Shawnee, Harrah, Newalla, Jones, and more.

Also Now Serving the Florida Panhandle metro areas including Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Miramar Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, Niceville, Shalimar, Freeport, Crestview, DeFuniak Springs, Panama City Beach, and more.

Schedule Your Inspections Online at: