How Do Extreme Temperatures Affect Our Garage Doors?

Join us in this insightful discussion from Houston, Texas, where we talk about the effects of the winter's hot-cold variations on our garage doors. Learn how fluctuating extreme temperatures turn garage doors stiff and cause the springs to snap.

We are accompanied by Cody Johnson, a garage door expert from "Garage Door Doctor" who breaks down the intricacies of garage doors in winter. He talks about the frequency of loud pops and how the weather extremities adversely impact the functionality of garage doors.

Cody discusses the disruptions caused by the malfunctioning of garage doors due to temperature extremes. He explains how a broken spring system of a door, which could weigh from 150 to 900 pounds, can seriously inhibit your daily life activities. He also sheds light on other issues like swelling of the wood frame, causing the door to rub and get stuck, and plastic parts of contractor-grade openers breaking due to becoming brittle.

Find out how a preventive garage door tune-up and lubrication can save you from potential trouble down the line. Get to know about insulated steel back door solutions that can keep the garage warmer in the winter and cooler during the summer. Learn about the risks related to hardened or broken plastic gears that can cause the garage door opener to snap due to the frictions created by the cold weather.

Cody emphasizes the importance of getting a professional to ensure the smooth functioning of your garage doors before the winter arrives. Listen in to understand why this simple layer of protection can be a game-changer in dealing with the harsh winter extremities. Thank you for joining us!

 

Contact Cody and his team over at Garage Door Doctor to learn more about their services. Life is stressful enough – let Garage Door Doctor take the garage door worries off your shoulders.

 

https://www.garagedoordoctor.biz or check them out at www.checkapro.com.

 

Visit Us At -  Garage Door Doctor

 

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Here in Houston, Texas, we have a lot of hot weather, but every once in a while
in the winter, we get cold snaps.
And when we get the heat and the cold and the cold and the heat,
our garage doors don't like it. They become stiff.
The springs don't like it either.
They don't like the extremes going back and forth and they can snap.

(00:21):
So I brought an expert on to talk about this. Cody Johnson from garage door
doctor. Hey Cody, how are you?
Hey Jim, how are you doing? I'm living a dream. Thank you so much for asking.
So let's talk about wintertime. We get these cold snaps and in the winter generally
here in Houston, we can expect temperatures in the 50s and 60s during the day.

(00:44):
But sometimes we get lows that go down in the 20s or maybe even the teens for a period of time.
Can that affect the functioning of our garage doors? worse. Oh, absolutely.
It can affect it many different ways.
I kind of refer to it as a snap, crackle, and pop.
So if you ever hear that loud pop, it's the spring's breaking.

(01:07):
They do not like the extremes, either hot or cold.
And if your house is somewhere between three to five years old or maybe up to seven or 10,
if you hear a loud shotgun noise or a loud pop,
but the whole house kind of shakes you know uh run out
there and see if the spring is broken if not then call the cops
okay so but yeah the

(01:29):
you know the extreme cold it can break it
can break quite a bit of parts on on the doors and the openers um what we find
the most common is the spring the torsion system or the spring system going
which is you know the muscle of the door it's what makes the door a lot lighter
you could have anywhere from a 150 pound door to a 900 pound door if the spring bring breaks,

(01:49):
it's going to be hard to lift and the opener won't be able to do it.
So, you know, kind of think about that.
Um, you won't be able to get your car out, go to work, go to the store, take kids to school.
So that would probably be the most common thing. But the other things that we
find is that, uh, the wood frame around the door kind of swells and the door

(02:10):
rubs against it a lot more and it's getting stuck on there.
So, and then you can have doors off tracks because because of that and then
also, of course, a lot of these openers, the contractor grade openers have plastic parts, plastic gears.
So they're just stripping, they get brittle and they strip and break and there's
a lot more stress. Everything is stiff and kind of rough to push down.

(02:32):
One thing that you could do to prevent some of that is have us come out and
do tune-ups to it, lubricate it, make sure that door's running perfectly before
the extreme weather temperature comes to hit us.
Um, you know, and if it is a concern, we, we also have insulated steel back
doors that have like our value of a 19 as high as an R value of a 19, um, insulation value.

(02:55):
And we can keep those garages warmer during the winter and cooler during summer.
Yeah. Um, you know, I was thinking about the stress on the garage door opener
and on the spring when there is friction.
And so I was thinking about the cold weather and thinking about the people up north.

(03:17):
So picture this. You got a 60-year-old guy who's out there shoveling snow.
Now, if he was inside watching the football game, not a lot of stress on his heart.
When he's out there shoveling snow in the cold, he's more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke.
Same thing with your garage door right
if it's if it's cold all right there's

(03:37):
already an issue with the extreme cold weather
if you've got some friction there and the
garage door is not running well those plastic
gears which are cold could literally snap and break and of course that coil
which is under tension that there is designed to to really keep the door balanced

(03:59):
to go up and down and it's under pressure right that spring it's it's it's a
it's a coil most of them some are.
It's extreme tension they can hurt you and and so so it's it's a coiled spring
and it's up there at the top of the garage door when it's down you know just
look at it that's what most of us have right and it is it is like a ticking

(04:23):
time bomb it because when it does break and it will eventually break,
it goes bang, like Cody said.
And so in the extreme temperatures, there's more likely to be a problem.
So have Cody and his team come out, have them take a look at everything to make
sure that everything is running smooth before the cold temps.

(04:44):
Absolutely. I couldn't have said it better. All right. Thank you,
Cody. Appreciate it. Thank you, Jim.