The Mistake Most Homeowners Make First
When people decide to get their garage door ready for winter, the first thing they almost always do is replace the rubber seal along the bottom. It makes sense — it's cheap, it's a visible gap, and anyone can press a new strip into the track in twenty minutes. But that seal is only one piece of a much bigger system, and fixing it first often gives homeowners a false sense that the job is done. Meanwhile the rollers are rusting, the springs are losing tension in the cold, and water is working its way into places you can't see until a panel swells or a cable snaps on a wet January morning.
Check for Moisture Damage Before It Spreads
Months of rain and damp air are hard on garage doors, especially wood or wood-composite panels. Walk the full perimeter of your door and look for soft spots, dark staining, or any give when you press on the bottom few inches of each panel. Moss along the base or on the trim is an early warning sign — it holds moisture against the wood long after the rain stops. If you catch soft wood now, a repair is usually straightforward. Wait until spring and you may be looking at a full panel or door replacement.
Hardware: Rollers, Hinges, and Tracks
Cold, damp air causes rollers and hinges to stiffen and rust faster than people expect. Give each roller a spin by hand — if it's sluggish, pitted, or grinding, it needs attention before winter, not after the first ice storm when a stuck roller can throw the whole door off its track. Lubricate hinges, rollers, and the track itself with a silicone-based or lithium grease made for garage doors. Skip WD-40 for this job; it's a solvent, not a lubricant, and it actually strips grease rather than replacing it.
Springs Work Harder in the Cold
Metal contracts in cold weather, which changes spring tension slightly and can make an already-worn spring more likely to fail during a cold snap. Look at the spring for visible gaps, stretching, or rust. If your door feels noticeably heavier to lift by hand than it used to, that's a sign the spring is already compensating poorly. This is not a DIY repair — torsion springs are under serious tension and have caused real injuries when handled without the right tools. If you suspect a spring issue, that's the one item on this list to leave to a technician.
Weatherstripping, Done Completely
Once the bottom seal is handled, don't stop there. Check the vinyl or rubber seals along both sides and across the top of the door opening. Gaps here let wind-driven rain in during storms, and they're a common source of drafts in garages that sit next to living space or a workshop. Press a seal together where it meets the frame; if light comes through or you can slide a piece of paper through easily, it's time to replace that section too.
Opener and Safety Sensors
Power outages are common during wind and ice storms in this area, so now is a good time to check whether your opener has battery backup and, if so, whether that battery still holds a charge. Also wipe down and realign the photo-eye sensors near the floor on each side of the door — splashed mud and moisture buildup are enough to throw off the alignment and cause the door to reverse unexpectedly or refuse to close.
Run a Balance Test
Disconnect the opener by pulling the release cord, then lift the door halfway by hand and let go. A properly balanced door will stay put. If it drifts up or drops down, the spring tension is off, and the opener motor is compensating for it — which shortens the life of both the motor and the springs.
When to Call Sherwood Garage Door
If your inspection turns up a worn spring, persistent rust on the hardware, or a door that no longer holds balance on its own, those are jobs worth getting ahead of before the weather turns worse. Sherwood Garage Door handles both Spring Replacement and full Garage Door Maintenance visits, where we inspect rollers, hinges, cables, and seals, lubricate everything properly, and catch small problems while they're still small repairs.
If you're in Sherwood, Tualatin, Tigard, Wilsonville, Newberg, King City, Lake Oswego, or Beaverton and want your garage door checked before the rain really sets in, give Sherwood Garage Door a call. We'll get it sorted before the next storm rolls through.