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Garage door parts and components

At Colorado Overhead Door Co., we believe that it is important for our customers to be familiar with some of the parts and components on their garage door. Knowing basic concepts about your garage’s components can save you time and money if you ever have a garage door issue that might be an easy repair. Plus, if you have a basic idea of the different parts of the garage door, it can be easier when talking to a professional.

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Garage door anatomy and terminology

There are over 65 individual structural and operational components in a modern garage door that work together to make your garage door function properly. Let’s take a look at some of the basic garage door parts.

Sections: A group of panels – most common a steel on sectional door design – reinforced with tiles interconnected with hinges and rollers. You can replace a section without having to replace an entire door.

Track: Guides a section to raise or lower a garage door. Garage door tracks are on both sides, and there are two sets of tracks: vertical and horizontal. The curved part of the track is referred to as the radius.

Rollers: The rollers are connected to the tracks, they guide your door when it opens and closes. Together, tracks and rollers allow a garage door to move up and down.

Top brackets: Structured supports in the upper part of a garage door that provide for attachment of lifting cables. The brackets along with the hinges hold a garage door together. Anytime they get loose or damaged; they need to be replaced.

Bottom brackets: Fixed supports at the bottom of a garage door that provide for attachments of lifting cables.

Hinges: Attach and provide support for sections of garage doors. These allow the garage door to roll up or down.

Close up on Installing Garage Door. Garage Door Post Rail and Spring Installation / Assembly. One of the most important parts of assembly for Garage door opener motorized device.

Cable drums: Grooved drums on the torsion spring shaft that allow lifting cables to wind when garage doors open. Along with the cables, they work hand in hand with the springs to keep your garage door balanced as it opens and closes.

Torsion springs: Does the heavy lifting; it raises and lowers garage doors via cable winding on drums.

Extension springs: They are made to stretch or extend when there is a force applied. Extend along both horizontal tracks to assist in raising and lowering the garage door.

Operator hanger: Hold together the horizontal track to the ceiling for added support.

Emergency pull cord: When pulled, the motor is disengaged and allows the garage door to be lowered or raised manually.

Electric operator: Enables the garage door to be raised or lowered mechanically.

Operator rail: Garage doors generally either have a chain, belt, or screw drive.

Rear track hanger: Links the horizontal track to the ceiling for added support.

Bearing plate: Joins to the header to support the spring and shaft.

Sensor: Detects the presence of an object by using a light transmitter. If the beam is blocked, the garage door will not close. These must be properly aligned for a garage door to operate.

Even though the details above represent a nice overview of important garage door components, refer to your garage door owner’s manual for details specific to the model you own.

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Colorado Overhead Door Company

Contact us! Our team of experts will give you their professional opinion once you decide to update or replace your garage door. Together we will help you determine which options are best for you. By calling Colorado Overhead Doors you can get rid of all your garage door headaches. We provide door replacement and repair for the entire Front Range. We are widely known for our high-level workmanship for the last three decades. We always offer the best prices, and all our employees are professionally licensed.

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