The
garage door is the largest moving object
in the typical home. Because of its size
and complexity, it should be treated with
cautious respect. The following garage
door parts can be dangerous. Familiarize
yourself with these parts and know how
to treat them safely.
Section Joints
Corner Brackets
Extension Springs
Torsion Springs
Garage Door Openers
Lift Handles and Pull Ropes
Photoelectric Eyes and Sensing
Edges
Remote Controls
This
is the area between garage door sections.
People have been injured by attempting
to close a door by placing their fingers
in an open section joint and pulling down
on the door. Some garage doors, like our
Raynor
Innovations Series line, are now being
equipped with finger-protected section
joints that won't allow you to place your
fingers in the joint. As a safety precaution,
however, never attempt to place your fingers
in the section joint.
The
corner brackets are the two brackets that
are attached to the lower left and lower
right corners of the door. The cables
that lift your garage door are typically
attached to these brackets.
Since these cables are under high tension,
the brackets could fly dangerously when
disconnected. Only an experienced technician
should service these brackets.
Garage
doors are typically balanced either by
torsion springs or extension springs.
Extension springs are generally mounted
just above the horizontal track, perpendicular
to the closed garage door. They provide
lifting power by stretching.
If an extension spring breaks, broken
spring parts can cause injury by flying
around the garage. However, a safety cable,
installed inside each extension spring,
can contain the spring and prevent injury.
If you have extension springs but do not
have a safety cable, call us for a safety
inspection. Only an experienced technician
should service garage door springs.
Garage
doors are typically balanced either by
torsion springs or extension springs.
Torsion springs are usually mounted above
a closed door, parallel and horizontal
to the top section of the door. They provide
lifting power for the door by winding
and unwinding while the door is opened
and closed.
The torsion spring is under high tension
and requires special tools for adjustment.
Because of the high tension, the torsion
spring, and any part associated with the
counterbalance system, should be adjusted
only by a professional. These parts include:
the springs, the cables, the corner brackets
attached to the cables, the cable drums,
and the center bearing bracket that holds
the torsion spring shaft.
A
garage door opener is a separate product
from a garage door. Openers are electric
motorized devices that open and close
garage doors.
Most garage door openers include an internal
reversing mechanism that causes the door
to reverse when it hits an obstruction.
However, garage door openers with inadequate
or poorly maintained reversing mechanisms
have caused injury and even death to children
who are caught underneath motor-operated
garage doors.
The sensitivity of these internal reversing
mechanisms can fall out of proper adjustment
so that the door will not reverse when
it hits an obstruction. You should check
your reversing mechanism monthly by setting
a block of wood or a full roll of paper
towels on the floor in the path of a descending
door. If the door does not reverse after
contacting the obstruction, call a garage
door technician to examine and repair
your door system.
A
lift handle is a handle attached to the
door that allows you to manually open
or close a door. A pull rope performs
the same function and is usually attached
to the bottom bracket in the lower corner
of the door.
The lift handles and pull ropes are intended
for use with a door that is opened and
closed by hand. But when an opener is
attached to the door, the pull rope should
be removed. Otherwise, they can snag or
hook on people or loose clothing while
the door is being opened by the operator.
If you have a power outage and need to
manually close your motor-operated door,
don't close the door by placing your fingers
between the door sections. If you have
questions about the safety of your door
system, call us for a safety inspection.
Photoelectric
eyes are sensors that are mounted about
5 to 6 inches off the floor on both sides
of a garage door. These sensors operate
with a garage door opener and send an
invisible beam across the door opening.
If that beam is broken while a motorized
door is closing, the garage door opener
will cause the door to reverse direction
to the fully open position.
A sensing edge is attached to the bottom
edge of a garage door. When this sensor
contacts an obstruction during the closing
of the door, the opener will cause the
door to reverse direction to the fully
open position.
A federal law requires that all residential
garage door openers sold in the United
States since 1993 must include an additional
protection against entrapment, such as
photoelectric eyes or a sensing edge.
The law also requires that, if these sensors
become inoperative, the opener will not
function. Your garage door opener can
be dangerous if it does not have these
safety devices. We can explain the cost
and benefits of these sensors.
Garage
door openers are usually operated by a
wall-mounted push button, a hand-held
remote control, or a keyless entry pad
that requires you to enter a numerical
code.
Small children have been seriously injured
by playing with the remote controls of
motor-operated garage doors. Running under
a closing door can be a deadly game. Do
not let children play with or use the
push button or any remote controls for
your door. Keep all such controls out
of the reach of children.
|
Section
Joints