Pennsylvania garage doors cope with cold, snowy winters, road salt, humid summers and, in many towns, very old housing. Pittsburgh's hills put garages underneath houses, central Pennsylvania mixes historic boroughs with newer suburbs, and Erie and the northern tier dig out from heavy snow every winter.
Age is a common thread. Many Pennsylvania garages, whether tucked under a Pittsburgh house, behind a Harrisburg-area rowhouse or attached to a 1960s split-level, were built for smaller cars and simpler doors than the ones going in today.
Southwestern Pennsylvania: hillsides and basement garages
Around Pittsburgh, in places like Monroeville, Oakdale and McMurray, many homes sit on slopes with an integral garage in the basement beneath the living space. Those garages often have limited headroom, so low-headroom track kits or wall-mounted openers may be needed when a door or opener is replaced.
Driveways that run downhill to the door deliver water, salt and grit right to the threshold. If there is a trench drain at the bottom of the drive, keep it clear so meltwater cannot pool and freeze against the seal, and replace a flattened bottom seal before winter.
Because the garage is part of the house, an insulated door and good perimeter weatherstrip keep cold air out of the basement and the rooms above it. That can matter as much for comfort as for the door itself.
Central Pennsylvania: Harrisburg, Hershey, Lebanon and Gettysburg
The West Shore suburbs, including Camp Hill, along with Hershey and Lebanon, have a wide mix of housing, from early twentieth century homes with detached garages on alleys to newer developments with attached ones. In older boroughs, narrow alleys leave detached garage doors exposed to bumps from cars and plows, and bent sections or tracks are common repairs.
Gettysburg and other historic boroughs have districts where exterior changes visible from the street can require review. If you live in one, check before replacing an old wood door with a modern style; carriage-house designs in steel or composite often satisfy both the look and the budget.
Winters here swing above and below freezing again and again, which means repeated ice at the bottom seal and plenty of freeze-thaw stress on concrete aprons. Slab cracks and heaves can leave a gap under one side of the door.
Philadelphia, the Poconos and the northern tier
In Northeast Philadelphia and parts of Delaware County, rowhomes often have a garage opening onto a rear driveway shared by the whole block. Those single doors take a beating from tight turning angles, and some still run on old openers without modern safety sensors, which is a good reason to upgrade.
Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and the Poconos get colder, snowier winters, and many vacation homes sit empty for weeks. A smart opener that reports whether the door is open, plus a battery backup, makes sense for a second home.
Erie, on the shore of Lake Erie, gets heavy lake-effect snow. Drifts against the door, ice on the seal and slush tracked in on cars all add up to more rust and more strain on the opener.
Registration, permits and paperwork
Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires most home improvement contractors to register with the Attorney General's office, and larger jobs must have a written contract with specific terms. Ask for the registration number and look it up before you sign.
Building permits fall under the statewide Uniform Construction Code, but enforcement is local. Requirements for a garage door replacement differ from one borough or township to the next, so a quick call to the local code office is worthwhile before work begins.
Winter warning signs and what they mean
Freeze-thaw winters produce a familiar set of symptoms. Most can be checked from the garage floor, but anything involving a torsion spring, lift cable or bottom bracket needs a technician, because those parts hold enough tension to injure you.
- A loud bang, then a door that will not lift, most often during the coldest weeks: a torsion spring has almost certainly broken. Leave the door down and do not run the opener.
- A door that reverses just before it closes: ice on the seal or a heaved apron is touching the door early. Clear the ice and look at the slab before touching the opener's settings.
- Daylight under one side: a cracked or flattened bottom seal, or concrete that has heaved. A new seal fixes small gaps.
- Orange streaks at the bottom corners: salt is rusting the brackets that anchor the cables. Have a technician replace them.
- A slow, groaning door on cold mornings: stiff grease. Lubricate rollers, hinges and spring coils with a garage door spray.
Last updated by the American Garage Door Team.