Do you wonder what it would be like to be hit with a ton of bricks from out of nowhere? Me, neither. Although seeing it in cartoons might have been amusing to me as a child, in reality to see such a thing would be horrific, and the farthest thing from those Saturday morning cartoons. This is why I feel that overhead door safety needs to be addressed and brought to the forefront of awareness. Your overhead door is not something that is necessarily what you think of in your daily life, but we here at Leo’s Overhead Doors feel very strongly about safety and quality when it comes to the operation of all overhead doors that we come in contact with on a daily basis.
Your overhead door might as well be a ton of bricks if those springs ever gave way and let the door come down in free-fall. Believe me, a garage door in free-fall is not something you ever want to encounter. It will crush anything in its path – you, your car, your children, pets, garbage cans, nothing that is under the door at the time will be spared. It is of monumental importance that your door be in good working order, lubricated, with parts and springs in optimal condition, as well as the opener and its safety components and connections, including photo eyes. All of these parts must be maintained, installed correctly, and in the right places for your safety and that of your family and possessions. The photo eyes of your door should be located no more that 6 inches off the ground to ensure its proper operation, and they have built-in fail-safes to let you know they are working correctly- usually a red or green light. The photo eyes interact with the ceiling mounted operator as well, so if the operator begins to act differently all of a sudden, it’s possible that the photo eyes are relaying a message to the opener indicating that there may be a problem interfering with the door’s safe operation. An overhead door technician should be called immediately. The overhead door itself should be balanced and lubricated. Your overhead door is engineered to operate safely if the hinges, cables, springs, drums, and other parts are in the correct places and in good working order.
Please call us at 518-274-4455 if you have any doubts at all about the safety and working order of your overhead door, or if you have outdated or improperly functioning/located safety equipment. Leo’s Overhead Doors will always go above and beyond to ensure all of our clients’ safety.