When Does a Garage Door Need Servicing? Schedule & Signs
Your garage door is one of the hardest-working parts of your home, opening and closing an average of 1,500 times a year. With this much use, garage doors can accumulate significant wear and tear, increasing the chance of breakdowns and reducing their lifespan if left unchecked.
This is where maintenance comes in: regular door maintenance and servicing can help ensure compliance with safety regulations, prevent breaks and costly repairs, improve performance, and extend the door's lifespan.
In this guide, we look in more detail at how often your garage doors need maintenance based on usage, what work might be needed, and the signs to look out for that indicate your garage door needs service or repair.
Do Garage Doors Need to be Serviced?
Yes, garage doors need regular maintenance. It's a major moving mechanical system subject to significant wear and tear through frequent use. Over time, components such as springs, rollers, hinges, cables, and automation systems degrade, and neglecting maintenance can have a serious impact on lifespan, safety, and performance.
A full door maintenance service typically includes inspecting all moving parts, lubricating hinges and tracks, testing the door’s balance and safety mechanisms, checking automation systems, and ensuring compliance with current safety standards.
Because of the complex mechanisms and safety considerations, maintenance is not optional; it is essential to ensure your garage door remains safe and reliable over time.
How Often Do Garage Doors Need to be Serviced?
The general rule for a residential garage door is a full professional service at least once per year. This annual check-up catches wear and tear before it causes a breakdown. However, frequency also depends on use. If your garage door is used heavily, consider a service every six months.
| Usage Level | Recommended Service Frequency | Typical Scenario |
|---|---|---|
| High | Every 6 months | Busy household with multiple drivers, a home business, or door used as a primary entrance. |
| Standard | Once per year | Most families using the door for daily comings and goings. |
| Low | Every 18-24 months | Door used infrequently for storage access only. |
Some manufacturers state that your garage door needs to be serviced by an engineer annually to remain under warranty, so always check this when you have a door fitted.
What Maintenance is Needed on a Garage Door?
Between professional call-outs, homeowners can — and should — carry out lighter maintenance to help prevent issues.
What Homeowners Can Do
Homeowners can perform these basic checks to keep things running between professional services and plan maintenance or emergency repairs when required.
Visual Inspection: Look for obvious signs of damage or wear on springs, cables, and panels. This might include dents, fraying, misalignment, or damage.
Clean: Clean the door panels and wipe down the metal tracks on either side of the door to remove dirt and debris that can hinder roller movement.
Check Weather Seals: Inspect the rubber seals along the bottom and sides. Replace them if they are cracked, brittle, or missing to keep out drafts and water, especially if the door is near a road, driveway, or coastal environment.
Balance Test: Regularly disconnect the automatic opener release mechanism on your door when it is closed and use the manual opener to open it by hand. This will tell you whether the door is balanced; high resistance or a tendency to close when more than 4 feet off the floor suggests damage or wear. Do not attempt to adjust springs yourself.
What a Professional Service Includes
Some maintenance tasks are best left to professional technicians with the right training and tools. This includes spring and cable inspection/adjustment, full hardware check and maintenance, automation inspection, and component replacement or repair.
A standard door service from one of our technicians at Nova Door Systems is as follows:
Arrange a survey at a time that is convenient for you.
A specialist engineer will attend your site to carry out the service and, if necessary, provide a recommendation report for work.
If additional work is required, we'll ensure your garage door is as safe and secure as possible before leaving your site.
We'll provide a no-obligation quote for the additional work required as part of our door maintenance services, including all parts and labour.
If the quote is accepted, we'll order the necessary parts, then arrange a day for our engineers to return to your site.
Following your door maintenance service, our engineers provide a comprehensive report detailing all inspections and checks carried out.
For more information on our door installation services and solutions, or to arrange a free, no obligation quote for your South Wales-based project, get in touch with our friendly team by completing our online contact form, sending us an email, or giving us a call.
How Do I Know When My Garage Door Needs Servicing?
Don't wait for a complete failure. If you notice any of the following warning signs, it's time to call a professional for an inspection.
Unusual Noises: New or increasing grinding, scraping, screeching, or popping sounds indicate parts are rubbing, wearing out, or loose.
Slow, Uneven, or Jerky Movement: The door hesitates, moves jerkily, or one side seems to lag behind the other.
Poor Response: The door doesn't respond to the remote or wall button immediately, or it reverses for no apparent reason.
Manual Balance Failure: When the opener is disengaged, the door does not stay halfway open or closes/rises by itself.
Visible Gaps or Misalignment: You can see daylight around a closed door (indicating poor sealing or warping), or the door appears crooked on its tracks.
Weather or Environmental Damage: Seals letting in drafts, water ingress, or corrosion (especially in damp or coastal locations).
If any of these are present — or if it’s been 12 + months since your last full service — you should get in touch with a professional garage door technician.
If your door falls suddenly, won't close completely, or is visibly off its tracks, cease use immediately. These are serious safety and security risks that require urgent professional attention and emergency door repair.
What Next
Regular garage door maintenance is a small investment that promises safety, security, and convenience. It prevents costly emergency repairs, extends the lifespan of your entire door system, and provides peace of mind. Many manufacturers or installers also require evidence of regular servicing to maintain warranty validity or to ensure compliance with building-door safety standards
Is your garage door due for its annual service, or is it showing any signs of wear?
At NOVA Door Systems, we specialise in comprehensive garage door maintenance, servicing, and repair. Our professional technicians can perform full annual inspections (or more frequent inspections) to ensure your garage door operates at peak performance for years to come. We make servicing straightforward, providing tailored plans, qualified engineers, and comprehensive records to keep you compliant and confident.
Looking for installation, maintenance, and repair services for other doors? We also offer services for a range of roller shutters, automatic doors, gates and barriers, and steel hinge and sectional doors.