White Plains mixes a busy downtown of apartments and condos with residential neighborhoods of colonials, Tudors and split-levels, many on hilly lots. Garage doors range from narrow single doors on homes built in the 1920s and 1930s to commercial-grade doors serving multi-unit buildings.
In older White Plains homes the door is just one part of a system that includes the wood frame it hangs from, the slab it closes on and the opener above it, and a worn frame can undo a brand-new door. Below are the problems that come up most here and in nearby Scarsdale, Harrison and Greenburgh, and how to handle them.
Rotted jambs and garage door frames
The wood jambs and header around a garage door carry the track brackets and the spring anchor, and they also take the brunt of rain and snowmelt. When the bottom of a jamb rots, track bolts loosen, the door shifts and the weatherstripping stops sealing.
The fix is to cut out the soft wood, replace it with sound lumber or rot-resistant PVC, then re-wrap the exterior trim. It's easiest to handle before or during a door replacement, since new hardware needs solid framing to anchor into, and some jobs call for a carpenter.
- Press a screwdriver into the bottom of each jamb; soft wood is a warning sign.
- Look for gaps between the stop molding and the face of the door.
- Check that track brackets are tight and not pulling out of the framing.
Hills, steep driveways and winter
Many lots in and around the city slope toward or away from the street. Where the driveway runs downhill to the garage, every storm delivers rain and slush to the base of the door, and the bottom seal, the threshold and the ends of the jambs pay for it.
A threshold seal on the slab, a trench drain in front of the door, or both can help. In winter, clear the apron so ice doesn't build up under the seal and freeze it to the floor.
On a steep driveway, a door that suddenly drops is especially dangerous to cars and people, so test the auto-reverse every month.
Older homes with narrow doors
Houses built before World War II often have single doors eight feet wide or less, sized for much smaller cars. Widening an opening is a structural project that may need an engineer and a building permit, so many owners instead choose a better-insulated door in the same size, with a wall-mounted opener to free up headroom.
Detached garages on these properties sometimes have no power or aging wiring. If you're adding an opener, have an electrician confirm the circuit and outlet are safe first.
What a full replacement involves
Replacing a garage door is more than swapping panels. A complete job generally runs in this order.
- Measurement of the opening, headroom, side room and backroom
- Inspection of jambs, header and slab, with rot repaired first
- Removal of the old door, springs, track and, if needed, the opener
- New track, springs balanced to the new door, and fresh weatherstripping
- Opener installation or reconnection, followed by a safety-reverse test
- Haul-away of the old materials
Condos, co-ops and shared garages
Buildings with shared parking garages often rely on heavier commercial doors and high-cycle operators, and decisions run through a board or a management company. If you manage a building, keep a maintenance log and plan replacements ahead of time instead of waiting for a failure that locks residents' cars inside.
Last updated by the American Garage Door Team.