garage door safety
Garage doors are very large structures that can cause severe personal injuries and property damages. Some new devices like the anti-drop safety devices for sectional doors can greatly diminish the risks, but maintenance and some regular tests are also crucial to get high levels of safety.
Garage doors Safety devices to lower risks
New technological features – joints for finger safety, electronic-eyes, anti-drop safety devices – can hugely reduce hazards with garage doors.
Fingers and hands can get caught in the section joints of garage doors. To avoid it, doors can now have specially designed joints to push fingers out of the cracks as the garage doors is closing. That’s particularly important for families with kids…
New safety standards for automatic garage-door openers include features like electronic-eye systems to send the door upward if the system detects people or objects close to the door, during its closing; and also automatic door reverse systems, to automatically reverse the closing direction of the door if it contacts with something while closing.
As to springs, even high quality steel springs will eventually wear out and break, which is a potential source of injuries. To avoid them, doors can now have an anti-drop device (restraining cable or other similar device) able to stop the garage door.
Basic garage door safety precautions
Garage door safety requires basic precautions: do not stand and do not walk under a closing garage door; keep the children away of its surroundings; do not allow them to play with the transmitter or remote control; do not install the push button wall control in their reach; be attentive and teach them not to touch a moving door, and the hardware. The section gaps of a moving door are particularly dangerous.
Basic tests for garage door safety improvement
There are several garage door tests that should be carried out regularly, namely the balance door test and the reversing door test.
Balance door test: test the balance of your door periodically (once a month or so, if the door is subject to regular or intense use). To get it, disconnect the door from the opener (if you have an opener) and check the smoothness of its operation.
Operate the door by hand, lifting it… If the door doesn’t operate smoothly enough, or if it falls back down, something is wrong. Springs should be adjusted… Once left to itself, the door should stay open 3-4 feet above the floor. If it doesn’t, have it adjusted by a technician.
Reversing test of the door opener (if the door opener hasn't such a feature, replace it; reversing is a crucial feature, required by new standards): with the door open, place a thick object (a sufficiently large piece of wood, for instance) on the floor, near the center of door, and push the door’s wall button, to close the door. When the door strikes the object, it should reverse. If it doesn’t, call a technician. The problem should be repaired.
Force Setting Test: this safety test also intends to assess the reverse operation of the door (the door should reverse readily when subject to any force). Just hold the bottom of the door for a moment – taking the necessary precautions - in the closing movement. If the door resists to reverse readily, that means that the force setting of the door is excessive, and should be adjusted.
Basic maintenance for garage door safety
Garage door maintenance is also a key element to reduce injuries and damages caused by garage doors.
See also:
New Garage Doors
Garage Door Prices
Top Garage Door Manufacturers
Buying and Selecting a Garage Door
Garage Door Strength
Attached Garage Insulation
The Best of Garage Doors