Commercial Garage Door and Overhead Door Repair

Types of commercial doors

Commercial doors cycle far more than homes

A home garage door might open four to six times a day. A busy loading dock door can do that in an hour. That is why commercial springs, cables and operators wear out faster, and why spring sizing matters so much. Springs rated for the real cycle count cost more up front but last much longer, which matters when a broken spring stops a shipping schedule.

Forklift and truck impacts are the other big cause of commercial door calls. Bollards and track guards at dock doors are inexpensive compared with replacing bent sections and tracks after every hit.

Rolling fire doors need yearly testing

Many warehouses, schools and commercial buildings have rolling steel fire doors that stay open during normal use and close automatically when a fusible link melts or the fire alarm triggers them. The national fire door standard, NFPA 80, calls for fire door assemblies to be inspected and tested at least once a year, and for rolling fire doors that includes a drop test to confirm the door closes fully on its own.

Your fire marshal, insurer or landlord may ask for written records of those tests. Ask the company you are connected with whether it performs fire door inspections, since not every overhead door company does.

Loading dock equipment

• Dock seals and shelters close the gap between the trailer and the building, keeping out weather and holding in heat or cooling.
• Dock levelers bridge the height difference between the dock and the trailer bed. Hydraulic and mechanical levelers need regular inspection.
• Bumpers protect the building wall and the door from trailers backing in. Worn bumpers lead to cracked walls and damaged door jambs.
• Track guards and bollards keep forklifts and trucks off the door tracks, one of the most common causes of dock door damage.

Many overhead door companies service the whole dock position, not just the door. Mention any equipment that needs attention when you call.

Operators and safety devices

Commercial door operators are heavier-duty than residential openers and often run on dedicated circuits. They also need entrapment protection, such as photo eyes or a reversing edge, set up for how the door is used. A technician should test the safety devices every time they service the door, and you should never bypass them to keep a door running.

Planned maintenance for businesses

Many businesses schedule a technician to inspect and adjust their doors on a regular calendar, often every three to six months for high-use doors. It is usually cheaper than emergency calls, and it gives you a written record of the doors' condition, which landlords and insurers may ask about. Ask the company you are connected with whether it offers a maintenance schedule for the number of doors you have.

What to have ready when you call

• The type of door (roll-up or sectional) and approximate size
• Whether it is stuck open, stuck closed, or partly open
• Any visible damage, and whether a vehicle hit it
• The brand on the operator motor, if you can see it
• Access hours for the building

Storefront gates and shutters

Rolling security grilles and solid shutters protect shop fronts, pharmacies, bodegas and counters overnight. They take daily wear, lots of weather and the occasional pry bar. Common problems include bent slats or links, springs that have lost tension so the gate is hard to lift, worn bottom bars and locks that no longer line up. Many can be repaired on site, and manual gates can often be fitted with an operator so staff do not have to lift them by hand.

If a gate will not close at the end of the day, describe it as a security problem when you call. A technician can often at least get it down and locked so the business is secure overnight.

Keeping the business open during a repair

• Tell the company your hours and when deliveries arrive, so the work can be scheduled around them
• If a dock door is out, ask whether it can be made to close and lock while parts are ordered
• Keep a record of the door make, size and the last service date, which speeds up quoting
• For buildings with several doors, ask about a single visit to service all of them
• Ask whether common springs and parts for your doors are kept in stock locally

Repair or replace a commercial door

A commercial door that has been hit many times, with patched slats or sections, crooked tracks and a tired operator, can cost more in service calls each year than it would to replace. When comparing, consider downtime as well as the price of parts: a new door with springs sized for the real cycle count, impact guards and a properly matched operator often pays for itself in fewer emergency calls. Insulated doors can also cut heating and cooling losses at busy loading docks.

Where calls are connected

Calls about commercial doors are taken across Long Island and upstate New York. On Long Island: Nassau County and Suffolk County. Upstate: Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, Washington, Columbia, Greene, Schoharie, Montgomery, Fulton, Otsego, Delaware counties.