Fall Starts

As the world moves on in the calendar, another new season arrives.  Fall has recently arrived.  For many people, Spring and Fall are the times to check batteries in smoke detectors, check lights, do general maintenance, and clean the home and garage.  Fall especially is a good time to check things in the garage: check that the garage door is closing correctly and securely; check that everything still fits correctly and is ready for another winter.

Now for some parts of the country, the winter season is usually mild and not a real problem to worry about but those parts of the country are the exception.  Many parts of the northern parts of the country get varying degrees of cold and snow.  Other parts of the country don’t get as much snow but receive a lot more rain in the fall and winter.

Checking that the garage door is in good repair can help should any problems crop up over the winter.  It can show an insurance company that the homeowner or renter was checking things.  It gives a baseline for any claims of damage that might be incurred because of snow plowing or general damage due to the storms of winter.

Any time a garage door is opened, whether by manual effort or use of an automatic garage door opener, the moving pieces are given some stress.  Snow plows inadvertently banging into a garage door also cause some extra stress and damage to the garage door.  It may not be as direct as the damage caused if the homeowner were to take a baseball bat to the garage door.

By having an established baseline and knowledge of the garage door before the bad weather starts can also help everyone to identify just when damage may have occurred.  The sooner repairs can be made, the less expensive those repairs are likely to be.  If nothing else, making sure the garage door is operating correctly and closing properly in the fall can help the homeowner or renter protect not just the car but also protect any items being stored in the garage.

So using the start of Fall as a check point on overall home status is just good sense for all involved.  Making sure the garage door opens and closes properly in the Fall just might keep the homeowner or renter from receiving a nasty surprise come the Spring.  Now if the garage is actually used to keep a car out of the weather, the homeowner or renter should be aware of any changes due to snowplows.  Whether or not the garage door repairman is called, is a story for another time.