Don’t let the door hit you on the way out ... really
Safety is crucial when it comes to operating and maintaining heavy garage door
My garage is my favourite room “in” my home.
Some people have a meditation or yoga room — I have my garage. To me, it’s the same thing. I can go out there, have a beer, and Zen out for a bit.
Recently, I learned that June is known as Garage Door Safety Month — and at first I thought that was pretty ridiculous. Why does it seem like we have a special day or month for just about everything?
You name it, there’s a day for it. But the more I thought about it, the more I like it.
Why? It’s a good opportunity to break down a very specific topic about our home, and do a deep dive into it and learn something new about it.
So when we’re learning about garage door safety, what are we talking about?
I think of two things: the way it protects our homes, and the safety precautions we take when we use it.
HOW DOES IT LOCK?
If your garage door has a hand-held unit opener, keep it out of plain sight in your car. For those of you with keypad entries, keep the code secret.
It should be between your family, and maybe a trusted neighbour who checks on things while you’re away.
To me, a digital smart lock for the garage door makes sense.
You can control access right from your phone and provide temporary access to any guests who need it, then revoke it once they’ve finished what they need to do.
Even with a safe, secure garage door, you can’t cheap out on the door that connects your garage with your home.
This door needs to be as secure as any other main entryway. That door better have a multi-lock system including a strong deadbolt and strike plate.
Keep that door locked at all times!
In case someone does breach your garage door, you want to keep them out of the main house.
SAFETY FIRST: CHECK THE SENSOR
Did you know that each year thousands of people are injured by an automatic garage door? Even sadder, most of the severe injuries are to small children.
You don’t let your kids run around the pool, you shouldn’t let them play around the garage door area either.
Teach them that it’s not a toy. Think about it: this is a major, heavy piece of machinery. If you get caught by it, it’s going to hurt.
Hopefully, the safety sensor is in place and working properly. You should see them attached to the garage door track.
When the door is closing, if it senses a person or animal moving through its path, it should reverse course. But if it’s not working properly, someone could be caught unaware and seriously injured.
Set your garage door to close. Grab an object from your garage and place it in the path of the sensor to test it.
The door should sense it and reverse — if not, call a pro to replace the sensors — they may have gone faulty.
Regardless, even if the sensors are in tip-top shape — do not try to beat the door. Be on the proper side before you trigger it to close.
CAN YOU FIX IT YOURSELF?
The door itself isn’t the only cause of harm to homeowners.
Sometimes the track itself is in need of a little maintenance, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can really hurt yourself.
Fingers can get caught in the rollers, you may accidentally cut yourself on a spring, or find that the metal tracks have rusted in spots, or developed otherwise sharp edges.
We can start safely by doing a visual inspection of the garage door.
Look for signs of wear and tear around the track, roller, springs, plus any cables or wires.
A lot of homeowners love to do their own projects — for some it’s a source of pride, and for others, it’s out of necessity.
I’m not going to say you shouldn’t take care of the maintenance on your own, but if you do, proceed very carefully.
Read the owner’s manual, familiarize yourself with all parts and components of the door, and wear the proper safety gear.
At the end of the day, I’d hire the pro just to be safe.