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Garage Door Insights

"1. Why Our Directory is Unique"

Are you looking for an amazing garage door service company that will treat you right? Using the Garage Door All-Star Directory site can help save you time and money. Searching for an upstanding garage door company in the Houston area can lead to frustration.

There are now so many spammy companies that go by multiple names, and who list their office locations anywhere they can get access to a mailbox. This is one way they can beat the system, and present themselves as more than one company in order to get more call leads, and to obtain more Google map locations. Weeding through these duplicate companies that misrepresent themselves can be quite a chore. On top of that, there are numerous national companies that dominate most ad platforms because of their accumulative reviews and nation-wide page visits for their sites. Many customers will chose these big companies out of convenience alone, as their listing will be found at the top of search results. These companies often claim they use higher-end parts, and as a result will charge their customers 2 to 3 times the industry average. The goal of the Garage Door All-Star Directory is to save you time, and to make it easier for you to find legitimate companies that are locally owned and who will treat their customers right.

We have done the hard work for you! It takes hours of research to single out the best All-Star companies listed in our directory. We qualify service candidates by cross-referencing various authority driven sites that provide us the data we need. Some of these include checking the company name to see if it's listed at the County Clerk's office, searching Google My Business to verify business info and to check review status, Googling their name to discover any negative reports, looking up other online reviews, viewing their website, checking with the BBB, and lastly calling their phone line to see if they answer by their advertised company name. Not every All-Star company will meet all the "most  ideal" criteria, but they will at least project a high level of trust when looking at all the evidence gathered. The companies displayed in our directory are a great place to start with. It is important for you to do your own research, talk to 2 or more services listed here, and ultimately hire the one that best meets your needs and budget.

There are a number of really great garage door companies in the Houston metro area. However, the majority of "listings" in Houston get a failing grade by our standards. The problem, by far, is that there may be as many as 8 to 10 listings for every actual garage door company. That means that if you were to make 10 calls for service, you might only be speaking to one or two different companies. Your call could be directed to a call center, which is really just one company who advertises by different names and uses many different phone numbers. The receptionist or dispatcher will typically answer the phone by a very general greeting such as, "Garage doors- how may I help you today?" This greeting is a tell-tale sign that the company is using misleading tactics in their ads. Companies who do not answer the phone by their advertised name do not qualify for our directory.

Professional companies, in general, present themselves well and try to establish a recognizable brand. You can easily identify those who value their brand as they will have a well designed logo, their techs will be wearing a company shirt or hat, their vehicles will be wrapped or well marked with company insignia, and all quotes and invoices will display the same. You will notice in our qualified listings that we have provided pictures of a marked company truck or a service technician wearing a uniform. This is further proof that the listing is accurate and not a company misrepresenting themselves with a fake or spammy name.  This is not to say that "all" the good ones "always" have this on every job, but you will almost always see some pictures online proving who they are. It doesn't bode well for the company when a picture can't be found somewhere online of a marked company truck, or a worker wearing a company shirt or hat. Spammy companies never show pics of their vehicles or workforce because they don't want you to know that the ad you are seeing is not really their true name, or perhaps, just keeping up with the deception is just too much work.

Here at Garage Door All-Stars, we don't promote companies with known deceptive advertising practices. The recent proliferation of online monopolization can be compared to the big companies years ago who would buy multiple full-page ads on Yellow Pages and represent themselves by many names. These were typically the largest of companies who could afford the huge expense. We believe many of the same companies today apply similar shady techniques, and are doing so exclusively online. Over the years Google has made a few feeble attempts to weed out these offenders, but have been unable to squelch the constant flow coming in. It is our opinion that, in general, Google views the bigger companies who monopolize the market as their biggest advertisers and hence leave them alone. 

This directory was created in direct response to unfair advertising practices in the garage door industry. It is our hope that we can help you find the exact service company you are looking for. We are confident that the efforts we have made on your behalf will save you time, money, and perhaps- some frustration too.  Your use of this site helps to support small local companies.

We greatly appreciate the many amazing users on our site. Please feel free to leave us a positive review on our Google business page, our Facebook page, and the Review Us page on this site. Our users are all All-Stars in our eyes. Have a blessed day!

"2. Getting to Know Your Garage Door"

At Garage Door All-Stars we want to make sure you have the knowledge and proper tools at your disposal to communicate well with your service company! Understanding how your garage door works and the correct names for the components will go a long way to assisting you and your goal of getting your garage door up and running smoothly again. Below is a diagram of a standard garage door to familiarize yourself, along with all the parts and names. We have also included a brief description of what these parts do. 

1. TORSION SPRING- provides lift when under tension. 2. TORSION TUBE- long tube the spring(s) slides onto. 3. CABLE DRUM- reels in the cable as the door elevates. 4. TORSION CABLES- set of two cables that connect to bottom of door to provide lift via the spring. 5. BEARING PLATES- three plates that hold the torsion tube in place and rotate. 6. HORIZONTAL TRACK- the upper portion of the track with a curved radius, serves as a guide to rollers. 7. VERTICAL TRACK- the straight piece of track that goes to the floor and guides the rollers. 8. ROLLERS- located on sides of the door, they allow door to travel smoothly. 9. PANELS- the face of the garage door, 7 ft door has 4 panels, 8 ft tall door has 5 panels. 10. JAMB BRACKETS- "L" shaped brackets that secure the track to the wall. 11. HINGES-  #1, #2, and #3 hinges connect the panels together and allow the garage door to travel the track radius. 12. TOP FIXTURES- adjustable fixtures that hold the top rollers in place. 13. BOTTOM FIXTURES- bottom plate on each side that holds the bottom rollers AND the torsion cable snaps into the nub. 14. STRUT- horizontal support fastened across the inside of the panel to provide rigidity and support. 

Your garage door works on either a torsion spring lift system or an extension spring lift system. Torsion springs are the most common spring type used on most doors and can accommodate any size garage door. Extension springs are the type that stretch out on the sides of the door. They were typically used on light weight and smaller garage doors such as an 8 ft wide door. These springs work well, although the garage door will not operate quite as smoothly as with torsion springs. The reason is because each extension spring lifts independently causing the garage door to sometimes jostle during operation, and at times open and close slightly crooked.

The job of the spring is to counter-balance the weight of the door. Without the assistance of the springs the door will be very heavy and your garage door opener unit will not be able to operate properly as a result. Most steel two-car garage doors can weigh between 180 and 300 pounds. Most people do not realize just how heavy these doors are because of the counter-balance system at work. A wooden door can weigh much more, from 300 to as much as 500 pounds! A garage door that is allowed to free fall will hit the ground with deadly force. This is why the functionality and maintenance of you garage door needs to be kept up at all times. Garage doors are very dangerous, and only a knowledgeable technician should perform service on them!

The lift system for garage doors has been in place for nearly 100 years. It has allowed them to operate both smoothly and efficiently. Essentially your garage door is suspended by cables that are under the tension of the springs. When the springs are wound up, they are then fastened to the torsion tube by set screws. The cable drums are fastened to the tube, and the cables wind up into the drum as the door travels upward. The bottom of the torsion cables are connected to the bottom sides of the garage door, therefore providing the counter weight needed to wind the springs up to the proper tension. When everything is in place, the garage door should almost lift itself. Everything is tied together in one system. It all works together. That is why it is so important to replace broken or damaged parts when it happens. Avoiding repairs and continuing to use a broken garage door will inevitably lead to more and more of an expense in the long run.

"3. What Can I Expect to Pay for a Repair?"

Pricing for garage door services do not range as widely as you might think. The key is to weed out the outliers that are the cause of much higher than expected prices. Thankfully, we have already done some of the dirty work for you! Removing some of the dishonest companies with poor service, and the really large garage door companies from the mix will flatten out most of the crazy price volatility you might normally see from this industry. Garage Door All-Stars is happy to provide you with a general price range for common garage door services that you can use to help guide you through the process. 

"4. Should I Repair or Replace My Garage Door?"

It is never a bad time to replace your garage door if you are wanting an upgrade, or a new design to add curb appeal to your home. This does not mean, however, that you should allow a salesman to talk you into it if your existing garage door meets your current needs and budget. If a repair is needed, you should evaluate if it serves as a short- term or a long term fix. If the repair that's needed is serving simply as a band-aid, or life-support, then a long-term solution is needed. A good rule of thumb is not to spend too much money on a repair if the garage door is 15 years old or older. At this age many components will begin to fail and will need replacing sooner than later. Most torsion springs are rated 10k to 15k cycles before they break. There aren't any springs that last forever! It is possible to install high cycle springs for your garage door that will last roughly 50k to 60k cycles. Replacing garage door springs is a major expense that should be considered when deciding whether to replace a complete garage door. If the springs are currently broken, along with panels that have some visible dents or tears, and/or the track has been bent and repaired a number of times- THEN of course replacement is probably the best option. There's nothing worse than throwing good money after bad. If your old door is requiring service every few months at a cost of $200 to $400 each visit, it would be easy to see how just keeping your existing garage door operable is far too expensive. 

Knowing some of the general maintenance and repair issues ahead of time, is essential to help you make important decisions regarding your garage door. These details will assist you to make an educated decision. If you were a seasoned garage door technician, then you would be assessing all of the following garage door components: 1. Condition of the springs. How old are they? Do they need tension added to provide more lift? How well do they balance the door? Are they rusty? Do they make a squealing or scraping noise? 2. Condition of the panels. How do they look- old, faded, in need of paint? Are they dented or torn? When the door goes overhead, do they sag in the middle? When the door is in the closed position is there a gap between the panels? From inside the garage, is there daylight showing anywhere? 3. Condition of the track. Is it bent? Has it been repaired a number of times? Is it loose or shaky? Is it installed at the correct angle and allowing for the proper movement of the door? 4. Bearing Plates- is there black dust or residue coming out of the bearing? Is the center plate fastened safely in the wall? Is there scraping or wear marks from the drum rubbing against it? Do they operate smoothly? Do they make a squealing noise? 5. Cable Drums- Do the cables reel into the drums in an orderly fashion? Are the drums pushed up flush to the bearing plate, or is there a gap? (there should be no gap) Are there any broken pieces off the sides? Are the ridges that align the cable worn out? 6. Torsion Cables- are they rusty? Are they crimped or frayed? 7. Hinges- Are they in the correct space? Are they cracked or broken? Do they make excessive noise? 8. Strut Brace(s)- are they bent or torn? Are they fastened tight to the panel? Was the correct length installed? (must span the entire length of the garage door) 9. Weather Stripping- (bottom seal) Is it complete, or is it torn or missing? Is it soft and flexible, or hard and compressed? Is there daylight visible at the bottom when the door is closed?

It is important to evaluate the condition of all the parts of your garage door before making that all-important decision to replace it. If after reading the above paragraph, you have been made aware of a handful of issues that have gone unnoticed by you, then now might be the right time to consider garage door replacement. If your door is 15 years old or older, AND you are looking at spending a few hundred dollars on an emergency repair, AND you have noticed a number of issues while reading above, THEN the best conclusion would be to replace your old garage door at this time.
 

At Garage Door All-Stars we do our best to educate our readers, so that they can better make an informed decision. We provide you with information that only the industry experts know. Ultimately, we hope that you find our site to be a valuable resource about garage doors. Being an expert in our field is what sets us apart from other directories. We are confident that if you have decided to replace your complete garage door- you will find an ALL-STAR company here in our directory. 

"5. What Garage Door Opener is Right for Me?"

There are a multitude of garage door openers to choose from. Some you can buy at the big box stores and potentially install yourself. Others are only available to buy through dealers and garage door service companies. The latter are typically considered professional-series openers. These motor units are much more robust, quiet, dependable, and often have more features. Garage door openers have really progressed in the last three years or so. The technology and craftsmanship they provide have really increased the user experience many fold.