2026-03-14 7 min read
If you've lived in Lakewood for more than a year, you already know the weather doesn't play nice. We can go from a 70-degree afternoon to a snow squall by evening. and that kind of swing doesn't just keep meteorologists busy, it quietly destroys garage door hardware. Most homeowners in neighborhoods like Green Mountain, Applewood, and Eiber don't think much about their garage door until it stops working. That's an expensive mistake.
This isn't a generic maintenance list. It's built around what actually breaks in Lakewood. the specific conditions here on the Front Range that wear down doors faster than they would in a milder climate.
Lakewood sits at roughly 5,500 feet elevation and experiences a genuinely wide temperature range. from lows that can dip below freezing in January and February to July highs near 87°F. That's not unusual for Colorado, but what matters most to your garage door is the rate of change. Springs, cables, rollers, and weatherstripping all expand and contract with temperature. When temperatures swing hard and fast. which they do here. those materials fatigue faster than manufacturers' cycle ratings assume.
The Front Range also sits squarely in what meteorologists call "Hail Alley." Colorado's Front Range experiences an average of 7,9 hail days annually, with several of those being events severe enough to cause real property damage. Your garage door panels. especially steel ones. take those hits directly.
And then there's the sun. At Lakewood's elevation, UV exposure is intense enough to bleach paint, dry out weatherstripping, and degrade wood finishes faster than you'd expect. South-facing garage doors get hit the hardest.
March is actually Lakewood's snowiest month on average, so don't rush this until things have settled. Once they do, work through this list:
- Inspect panels for hail dents. Even small dents compromise the structural integrity of steel doors and create spots where moisture can eventually cause rust. If you had any significant storms over the winter, look carefully. - Test the balance. Disconnect the opener and manually lift the door to waist height. Let go. A properly balanced door stays put. If it drops or rockets up, your spring tension is off. and that puts serious strain on your opener motor. - Lubricate all moving parts. Use a dedicated garage door lubricant (not WD-40, which attracts dirt) on torsion springs, rollers, hinges, and the opener chain or drive screw. This is one of the highest-value five-minute tasks you can do. - Check weatherstripping. After a cold winter, the bottom seal and side seals often crack or compress. Replacing these is inexpensive and dramatically improves energy efficiency. a real concern if your garage is attached to your living space.
For more on what to watch for before problems get serious, our post on warning signs your garage door needs repair covers the details worth knowing.
This is when hail season hits its peak on the Front Range, typically running from mid-April through mid-September. A few things to stay on top of:
- Inspect panel coatings after any hail event. Dents aren't just cosmetic. they can allow water to sit and eventually rust through steel. Older homes in Eiber and areas along the 6th Avenue corridor tend to have original single-layer steel doors that are more vulnerable than modern insulated panels. - Check for UV damage on wood doors. If you have a wood door. common on the mid-century ranch and craftsman-style homes throughout Applewood and South Alameda. summer is when UV fading and surface cracking become obvious. Reseal or repaint before fall if needed. - Test auto-reverse safety function. Place a 2x4 flat on the ground in the door's path and close it. The door should reverse when it contacts the board. If it doesn't, stop using the door until the sensors or close-force settings are adjusted.
This is arguably the most important maintenance window of the year. If you only do one thorough checkup annually, make it October. Winter garage door maintenance can prevent the most costly cold-weather failures, but the prep work happens now:
- Re-lubricate springs and cables. Cold weather makes metal brittle and under-lubricated springs snap far more readily at low temperatures. - Inspect the bottom seal. If it's cracked, hard, or no longer making full contact with the floor, replace it before the snow flies. A good seal keeps cold air out and protects against water intrusion during freeze-thaw cycles. - Test your opener's cold-weather performance. Older openers. especially chain-drive units common in Lakewood's older neighborhoods. can struggle in cold temperatures. If your opener is more than 10 years old and hesitates in cool weather, that hesitation will only get worse in January.
- Don't ignore noise. Grinding, squeaking, or banging sounds are the door telling you something is wrong. Catching it early is almost always cheaper than waiting. - Keep the tracks clear. Dirt, debris, and even small rocks kicked up from the driveway can lodge in tracks and cause alignment issues. - Look up occasionally. Literally. Visually inspect the torsion spring above the door once a month. A gap in the spring coil means it's broken and the door should not be operated until it's replaced. See our guide on garage door spring safety before attempting any spring-related work yourself.
For most Lakewood homeowners, once a year is the right cadence. ideally in the fall before the hard freezes arrive. If your door gets heavy use (multiple times daily) or you have an older system, twice a year makes sense. Lakewood's temperature variations put extra stress on springs and moving parts, making regular maintenance especially important here compared to more temperate climates.
If you're not sure where your system stands, contact Garage Door Lakewood to schedule an inspection. A quick professional check is almost always less expensive than the repair it prevents.
How often should I lubricate my garage door in Lakewood? Twice a year is ideal. once in spring after winter stress, and once in fall before temperatures drop. Given Lakewood's wide seasonal swings, under-lubricated hardware wears down noticeably faster here than in milder climates.
Can hail actually damage a steel garage door? Yes. While steel doors are fairly tough, repeated hail impacts. especially from golf ball-sized hail common on the Front Range. can dent panels, compromise surface coatings, and create spots where rust eventually starts. After any significant storm, it's worth a close visual inspection.
My garage door is fine most of the year but struggles in January. What's going on? This is a common Lakewood complaint. Cold weather causes metal springs and cables to contract and become less flexible, and older lubricants can thicken in low temperatures. It usually means your springs need fresh lubrication or re-tensioning, or your opener's force settings need adjustment for cold weather. Have it looked at before it becomes a full failure.