While you're shopping for a new garage door there are a few things you should know.
We've all heard the old saying "They just don't make things like they used to". Well the same holds true with garage doors. Domestic steel prices have sky-rocketed over the last decade. Under economic stress the garage door manufacturers have continually been under competitive pressure to find ways to lower production costs.
They've done this by designing garage doors with less and less material. By using lighter gauge steel, less braces, thinner parts, plastic rollers and smaller springs they have managed to actually lower the initial cost of the door to your local dealer.
The average American home owner uses their garage door approximately 8 times a day or between 2500 and 3000 times (cycles) per year. DASMA (the "Voice" of the industry) has set the minimum standards for manufacturing at 10,000 cycles. If you do the math the standard basic garage door will begin to fail sometime shortly after the 3rd year of use. To prove this point you can visit every manufacturer's website and find out that their Basic entry-level door only carries a warranty of 1-3 years on the operational hardware. Now, one would begin to wonder why they offer a 10-15 year warranty on the door sections but only 1-3 years on all the moving parts? Because they know that, without a doubt, the moving parts will begin failing sometime after the 3rd year!
Why don't garage door companies tell you this?
Aftermarket garage door repair is big business. In California alone, aftermarket garage door repair is a $230 Million dollar business per year and growing. The most common and expensive parts to replace are the springs and rollers. The average cost to repair broken garage door springs and worn out rollers is around $250-$350. Many companies charge as much as $400-$500 and up for this service once they get to your home. So, if you purchase one of these Basic Garage Doors with the minimum standard springs and light-weight hardware, you can expect to spend a lot of money about every 3-4 years just to keep your door operational. And many of the companies out there, who announce they have the cheapest garage doors in town, are counting on your future repairs as a big part of their business.
So, what's the solution?
While shopping for your new garage door, consider your needs. If you are expecting your garage door to last a long time, ask your dealer how much extra it would cost for a pair (2 on a two car door) of 50,000 cycle springs. Each spring should be 32 inches or longer. If the springs are in the 20-25 inch range, they are not longer cycle springs. The cost difference should be around $50. Also, ask for ball bearing rollers...roughly another $70. If you purchase a non-insulated door, tell him you would like a strut on every section. This will add extra solid bracing on each section and protect your door against high winds. This should cost about $75 more. Finally, ask your dealer to provide you with a labor warranty that matches the door warranty (in writing) just in case anything should ever fail. This should not be a problem if they use the better hardware, install it correctly and stand behind their workmanship.
So, for under $200 more, you can end up with a door that will last 15-20 years or more before you ever need to spend another penny. Most would consider this an excellent "investment"!
Call On Trac Garage Door Company Today...And Get It Done Right!
855-466-8722
OnTracDoors.com
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