Get Your Garage Door Ready for a Cape Cod Winter

Cape Cod winters are hard on garage doors: freezing damp, salt in the air, and the odd nor’easter that tests everything at once. A little attention in the fall keeps a door from failing on the coldest, busiest morning of the year. Here’s a short checklist.

Before the cold sets in

• Lubricate the moving parts. Cold thickens old grease and stiffens dry hardware. A fresh coat of proper garage-door lubricant on the springs, rollers, and hinges keeps everything moving and slows the salt-air corrosion that never really stops here.
• Check the weather seal. The rubber strip along the bottom goes brittle and cracks. A fresh seal keeps out drafts, blowing snow, and the critters looking for somewhere warm.
• Listen to the door. Grinding, squealing, or straining now will only get worse in the cold. A noisy door in November is a broken one in January.
• Test the balance. Pull the manual release and lift the door halfway. If it won’t hold its position, the springs are tiring. Better to handle it now than during a storm.

Seasonal and second homes

If your Cape home sits empty part of the winter, a door that hasn’t moved in weeks can seize or refuse to start in a deep freeze. A fall tune-up, plus opening the door now and then if you can, heads off the frozen-shut surprise.

Want it done for you before the weather turns? Rick will inspect, lubricate, and adjust the whole door at one fixed price. Call (508) 563-6266 to get on the schedule, anywhere from Sandwich to Brewster.