Garage Door Installation and Repair in Westminster

Westminster is another of the towns on the Colorado Plateau that owe their beginnings to the gold rush of 1858. Settlers from all over the nation encouraged by the promise of riches arrived in the area and staked a claim during that time. The area they arrived in was home to a variety of wildlife as well as people of the Arapaho tribe, who had settled here some 200 years earlier after leaving their ancestral home near the Great Lakes following a series of conflicts with other tribes in that region.

In 1870 a man named Pleasant DeSpain carved out a home for himself on 160 acres of land near present day 76th Avenue. The area subsequently became known as DeSpain Junction. Other settlers were attracted to the area as well and within a decade they were sufficient in number to justify the establishment of stop on the region's growing rail network. Increased settlement activity followed, driven by a land developer named C.J. Harris and for a time the town was renamed in his honor.

In 1893 construction was completed on Westminster Castle, the architectural centerpiece of what would become Westminster University. The impressive Romanesque building occupied a hilltop in town with a view south toward Denver. When the town was finally incorporated in 1911 it was renamed one final time in honor of the university.

The town went through an impressive growth spurt between 1970 and 2000 when its population increased by 500% to more than 100,000. As a result most of the local housing stock hails from this period with nearly every dwelling regardless of size playing host to an overhead door. Many of the older homes erected during the boom have had their garage doors replaced more than once already while those constructed near the end of the boom period have recently been facing that prospect for the first time. All however are in need of dependable garage door services to ensure their overhead doors function properly during the worst of the Colorado winters.

A Quick Overview of Garage Door Springs

Garage door springs are the one irreplaceable component of any overhead door system whether automatic or manual. Without the springs lifting the 300 to 900 pounds of the door would be nigh impossible for people or garage door motors. Manufacturers today use 2 kinds of springs on their garage doors; extension springs and torsion springs.

Extension springs run perpendicular to the door itself above the tracks close to the garage ceiling. There are 2 extension springs in the typical overhead door system. In some cases one spring will wear out before the other and if you hire the wrong company to service your door they're likely to replace only the one spring. This puts undue pressure on the remaining older spring as well as the opener and can lead to future problems that could have been avoided. Compare the images to the right to see which you have.

Torsion springs run parallel to the door and lift and lower by coiling and uncoiling. The have a different connection type on the end as shown in the images on the right. There is only 1 torsion spring on a typical garage door as opposed to 2 extension springs. The torsion spring by its very nature stores enormous amounts of energy and is extremely dangerous to work around. You should never attempt to repair or replace a torsion spring by yourself. People have been seriously injured, and worse, trying.

Garage Door Openers

A typical garage door opener has a practical lifespan of about 10,000 up/down cycles. For most homeowners that works out to around 10 years. There are those however, who don't open their garage every day and they may see their garage door opener last twice as long. Regardless of how often you use your overhead door you'll need to have the entire opener system as well as the door itself serviced on a regular basis to ensure optimal performance and longevity. Failure to do so, especially in a climate as harsh as Colorado's, can impede the opener's performance and lifespan.

There are 4 basic types of opener in use today. They are:

• The chain drive opener.
• The belt drive opener.
• The jacksaw opener.
• The screw drive opener.

The vast majority of homes in Westminster use either a chain or belt drive opener because they're both economical and relatively easy to repair. See our comparison page to help determine which of the 2 may be best for you.

Garage Door Repair Services

It's never fun to have to call for garage door repair or service, so when you do, you want to make sure the company you enlist knows what they're doing and won't play games or charge you for work and parts they didn't do or install. A Better Garage Door has been serving the needs of local homeowners for more than 23 years and in that time folks here have come to depend on our no-nonsense approach, quality work and transparent process. We respond to your calls quickly, get to the bottom of the issue in short order and always have the parts on hand to effect repairs and get your garage back up and running without delay.

New Garage Door Design and Installation

As garage door systems have a typical lifespan of 10 - 20 years many of the homes constructed in Westminster near the end of the boom period are now facing the reality of having to replace their garage door. Some will choose to replace only the opener mechanism but that approach often ignores significant wear and tear on the door itself. It's not easy being a garage door in Colorado. The winter's here can challenge the spirit of even the hardiest residents and batter a door in ways they won't experience in other parts of the country. As such you should always consider replacing the entire door system when the opener goes. With today's new garage door being so much more energy efficient than its predecessor as well it only makes sense.

Some homeowners will need (or simply want) a new custom garage door for their home. If so A Better Garage Door will work with you to design and install a custom door that will blend in effortlessly with the overall design of your house. Keep in mind that the garage door is the largest single visual component of a home's exterior and as such must meld with and enhance the overall design of the house lest it become a visual distraction. Our doors are proudly built using American-made components and will stand up to the worst the Plateau can throw at them.

Facing the Future For the Better

You can feel the vitality of Westminster when you drive down its streets. It's the kind of city with a promising future because it's the type of place people move to rather than away from. With a rich frontier heritage and both feet planted in the present, Westminster is ideally suited to take on the challenges of the future while remaining vibrant and modern.

We've been proud to serve the Westminster community for more than 2 decades and look forward to the next 2 or 3 or 4... :) If you're in need of garage door repair, service or installation please don't hesitate to call the company more local residents rely on than any other: A Better Garage Door. We're here for you.