What the tropics do to a garage door
Damp air and salt work on steel all year in Cairns. Morning humidity at Cairns Aero averages 72%, and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority warns that moist, salt-laden coastal air can corrode metal connections quickly. On a garage door, Steel-Line says, the hinges, springs and tracks are where rust usually starts.
For coastal homes Steel-Line suggests lubricating the door at least twice a year, or every three months for the longest life, and hand washing it with warm water and mild detergent. Keep oil and grease out of the tracks themselves, because the manual says they pick up dirt and dust.
After the wet season
A door that starts grinding, or reverses on the way down, may only need its tracks and hinges cleaned. Steel-Line says both can come from dirty tracks on a sectional door, so try a clean before you book a motor repair.
Water in the garage is more serious. Cyclone Jasper in December 2023 pushed the Barron River past its 1977 flood record. If water has reached your garage, have the opener checked before you trust it again: B&D's manual says an opener must sit in a dry spot protected from weather.
If the door is off its track
B&D's advice for a door that has come off its guide rails is not to lift it back on yourself, because a spring or cable may be broken and could hurt you. Stop using the opener, keep people and cars clear of the door and tell us the job.
Repairs around Cairns
Storm tide streets
Where storm tide is a risk, the Reconstruction Authority suggests moving wiring and the meter box above the storm tide level. If the opener's power point sits low, say so.
Wind-rated roller doors
After Yasi, the main roller door failure was the curtain coming out of its tracks. At a service, ask for the wind locks and the guide fixings to be checked.
The licence
A repair valued over $3,300 is building work that needs a licence in Queensland.
Servicing in a humid climate
- Steel-Line wants preventive maintenance on its sectional doors every six months, or sooner if conditions call for it
- Steel-Line's warranty depends on a service at least once a year by Steel-Line or one of its approved service partners
- Wash the panels regularly to take off corrosive salt and dirt
- Book the service for the dry months, once the wet has finished
What you can check yourself
You can
- Wipe the tracks clean and keep them dry of oil
- Try a new remote battery and the wall button
- Look for rust on the hinges and the bottom of the tracks
- Look for frayed strands on the lift cables from a safe distance
Leave to a door specialist
- Springs, cables and their fixings
- A door off its track or jammed part way
- Wind locks, side guides and what they bolt to
- A new or moved power point, by a licensed electrician
What we would do
Book a service between the last storms of the wet and the next cyclone season. That way the springs, cables, wind locks and guides are looked at while nothing is urgent, instead of after something has given way.