The Cascades split Washington's garage doors into two camps. West of the Cascades, mild temperatures come with long, wet winters, moss and windstorms. East of the mountains, Spokane and the Columbia Basin have cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers.
On the west side the enemy is moisture that never quite leaves. On the east side it is cold in winter and heat, dust and wildfire smoke in summer, while Seattle's hills and older housing add their own complications whenever a door needs replacing.
Puget Sound: rain, moss and rust
From Everett and Woodway through Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma out to Bonney Lake, steady rain from fall through spring keeps garages damp. Springs, cables and hinges pick up rust, wood doors soak up water at the bottom rail, and moss grows along seals and on north-facing doors.
Keep the gutters above the garage flowing, wash the door each spring, and replace a bottom seal that lets water run in. Rust on spring coils makes them noisier and can shorten their life, so a light coat of garage door lubricant each fall is worth the few minutes it takes.
Seattle hills and older homes
Seattle's older neighborhoods have many early twentieth century homes with garages tucked under the house at street level or set along alleys. Tuck-under garages on steep lots often have low headroom and very short driveways, and alley garages may have narrow openings sized for older cars.
Those conditions shape door and opener choices. Low-headroom track, wall-mounted openers and custom door sizes are common solutions. Some homeowners are also converting detached garages into backyard cottages, which changes what kind of door, if any, makes sense for the space.
Windstorms, outages and the coast
Fall and winter windstorms can bring down trees and cut power across western Washington. When the power is out, the emergency release lets you open the door by hand, but only pull it when the door is down; if a spring has broken, a raised door can fall the moment it is released.
Along the coast and the lower Columbia River, in towns such as Cathlamet and Long Beach, wind-driven rain and salt air corrode hardware and push water past worn seals. Stainless or galvanized hardware and a door with tight weatherstripping are worth asking for.
Eastern Washington: Spokane and beyond
Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Yakima and Wenatchee are drier and sunnier, with real winters. Snow and ice freeze bottom seals, and cold stiffens grease so openers labor on frigid mornings. In summer, closed garages heat up, and wildfire smoke and dust settle on sensors and tracks.
Insulated doors are a good investment on the east side, both for winter warmth and for summer heat, especially if the garage is attached or has a room above it. A heavy-duty bottom seal keeps drifting snow from blowing under the door.
Contractor registration and a yearly routine
Washington requires construction contractors to register with the Department of Labor and Industries, and registration comes with bond and liability insurance requirements. You can verify a contractor's registration through L&I before hiring.
The routine below splits by side of the state where it matters. It leaves out springs and cables on purpose: their stored energy can injure an untrained person, so repairs to them belong with a technician.
- October: clear the gutters, lube the moving parts and swap out a torn bottom seal ahead of the wet season (west) or the first freeze (east).
- Winter: watch for rust on springs and cables, and on the east side keep snow off the door's bottom edge.
- Spring: wash moss and mildew off the door and check weatherstripping for gaps.
- Summer: clear dust and smoke film from the photo-eyes, then check that the door retreats if it bumps an object while closing.
Last updated by the American Garage Door Team.