Simple Repair and Maintenance Tips for Long Beach Garages With Water Damage
After heavy rain, a little water gets into your garage. In most cases, the water dries quickly and the garage door will not have any damages. If you have a wooden garage door, it will be more vulnerable to damage after a flood. The wood absorbs water and changes in size and shape. If the moisture surrounding your garage door absorbs water, it swells and takes up the clearance between the door and the frame. This can in turn cause the door to stick into place. Here is all you need to know about dealing with Long Beach garages after water damage.
The Effects of Water on a Garage Door
You need to check the door after a period of rain. If you fail to correct water damage immediately, pests and mold may grow and form on the garage door. If you are able to correct water damage fast, the garage door can go without the need for repairs or replacement. During times of minor flooding, the damage on the garage door will be insignificant if you dry out the door within a day. In most cases, only a few panels will be affected by the water.
Failure to dry out the door may cause several issues that may necessitate door repair or replacement for Long Beach garages. These issues include:
• Increased Garage Door Weight – Wood soaks up in water and increases in weight. The increased weight strains the garage door opener Long Beach. A damaged garage door opener means that your door will have challenges opening and closing. If the door creaks and fails to open or close as swiftly as it should, then it may be already too heavy.
• Freezing Shut – A garage door can freeze shut during winter. This occurs when there is water between the floor of the garage and the rubber seals of the garage door. A frozen garage door fails to open, and you have to wait until the ice melts. As that happens, the wood panels of the door may continue soaking in water. After the ice melts, the water that collects underneath the garage door continues to cause damage.
• Warping – After soaking in water, garage door panels may warp. This impacts the door’s ability to open or close. If only one panel warps, the others will be misaligned and this throws the garage door off balance. The door fails to open or close correctly, and this makes it a safety hazard. Your garage door starts at the buckle when it starts to warp.
• Rust – The hinges and other components of the garage doors Long Beach can rust when exposed to water. This happens when the garage door is not prepped for the rainy season. When materials rust, they affect the opening and closing of the garage door and may also shorten the life of some of these components.
Garage Door Inspection After a Flood
After a floor or heavy rain, you need to check the garage door for any damages. Check for holes, cracks, and dents that may cause water to soak into the door. Also, check that the door is not warped. If some of the panels have signs of warping, you will need to have these replaced to ensure that all other panels are aligned.
If you treat your wood often, it will only need drying out and is good to go. During an inspection, check for any dents and cracks that need fixing. Check the seals and ensure they are tight with no gaps between the door and the ground. This way, water will not continue getting into the garage and affect the garage door.
Test the operation of the door to ascertain there are no extensive issues that need addressing. If the door is out of balance, call a professional for a tune-up. If the weather seals are damaged, you need to replace them after repairs on the door. The weather seals sustain damages from the friction that comes with repeated use. Replacing the weather seals protects your garage door in the future.
Protecting Long Beach Garages From Water Damage
Depending on the orientation of the home, some Long Beach garages may be susceptible to flooding. You can protect your garage door from flooding by following a few tips below.
• Install Garage Drainage: Garage drainage reduces the chances of garage flooding. You only need a simple trench drain in front of the garage that directs wastewater away from the garage. Cut a simple channel on one side of your driveway and place a U-shaped PVC or steel pipe. All the water should go into the home’s main sewer line.
• Keep Weather Seal Tight – The weather seal attaches to the garage floor and not the garage door. The threshold seal ensures that water does not flow into the garage and does not cause any damage. Even with the threshold seal, you still need a drain that keeps out the water.
• Replace Damaged Garage Door – In some instances, the garage door sustains so much damage from floods and heavy rains that you may need to replace it. This happens mostly with doors rated low for extreme weather. In such instances, pick a new garage door with a high rating for flooding and extreme weather.
Perform Garage Door Maintenance
After garage door installation, you need to ensure that the garage door components are in good working condition at all times. Your garage door needs a tune-up just before the rainy season to prepare it for flooding. Start by checking the gutters. If they are dirty, clean them. If there are no gutters, install them to direct rainwater away from the garage. Ensure there is no way for rainwater to flow into the garage.
A professional can help you assess the readiness of the door for the rainy season. They inspect the various components of the door, including the weather seal, dents, and cracks, rusting, warping, and many other conditions.
Further, they check the safety features of the garage door. When the safety features are intact, you and your family will be safe in case of flooding or any other dangerous situation. The features they test include the automatic reverse feature, which ensures your door can reverse when it senses an object along its path. You can also test this feature by placing a solid item, such as wood, on the door’s path. If the door reverses before it closes, then the feature is operational.
Check also that the photo eye sensors are in good working condition. These photo eye sensors need to be aligned for them to work. When they are in good working condition, they will show a light that indicates alignment.
Through regular maintenance, it’s easy to get your garage door ready for the rainy season.
