Richmond's housing reflects centuries of building. Rowhouses and townhomes in the Fan, the Museum District and Church Hill often have small garages or parking pads off rear alleys. Northside and the West End have houses from the early 1900s, many with a detached garage out back, and the suburbs in Henrico and Chesterfield are full of attached two-car garages.
Add hot, humid summers, occasional ice and the remnants of tropical storms, and you get a predictable set of garage door problems. Here's how they play out across the city.
Behind the rowhouses: alley garages
Garages behind city homes tend to be compact, often built for a single small car and set right against the alley. Doors take hits from passing vehicles and trash trucks, and the vertical track nearest the alley is often bent. Many of these garages have older wood doors, extension springs, or no opener at all.
Typical repairs include straightening or replacing damaged track, adding containment cables to extension springs, replacing rotted bottom sections, and fitting a lighter insulated steel door when the old one is beyond saving. Security matters on an alley too: a door that doesn't close fully, or a manual door with a flimsy lock, is an invitation.
City Old and Historic Districts
Parts of Richmond are designated City Old and Historic Districts, and exterior changes visible from a public right-of-way there generally need approval from the Commission of Architectural Review before work begins. A garage door replacement that changes the material, style or window pattern can fall under that review.
Living in one of these districts? Talk to the city's planning staff before you buy, and ask whether an alley-facing door counts. Carriage-house designs in wood or composite tend to fit older streetscapes, while spring or opener work that leaves the door looking the same typically isn't reviewed.
Heat and humidity in the James River valley
Richmond summers are long, hot and sticky. A dark steel door facing the afternoon sun can bake until its weatherstripping goes soft and thin panels start to bow, and the damp air leaves rust on spring coils while wood doors swell until they rub the jambs.
- Each April and October, lubricate the hinges, rollers and springs with a garage-door product.
- Seal or paint wood doors on schedule, paying attention to the bottom edge.
- Consider an insulated door if the garage is attached or doubles as a workspace.
- Swap a bottom seal that has hardened or split.
Storms and high water
Richmond sits at the fall line of the James, and heavy rain from tropical systems has flooded low areas like Shockoe Bottom in the past. Even away from the river, intense downpours can push water under a garage door. If water reaches the bottom of the door, have the bottom brackets, rollers and opener sensors inspected.
Thunderstorms also cause outages, which is when battery backup on the opener earns its keep. Keep the door closed in high winds, because an open double door lets the wind pressurize the garage.
Last updated by the American Garage Door Team.