October 12, 2026 · 5 min read
A ten-minute walkthrough for Montreal homeowners: lubricate, check the seal, test the balance, and know when to stop and call us.
The first hard frost in Montreal rarely sends a warning. Cold stiffens rubber, thickens old grease, and shrinks steel just enough to turn a small problem into a door that won’t budge on the one morning you’re running late.
Most of it is easy to catch now. This check takes about ten minutes and is done from the floor of your garage. You’ll need a clean rag, a spray lubricant, a flashlight, and a broom handle.
One ground rule: you are only going to look, wipe, spray, and push. Leave the springs, the cables, and the brackets at the bottom corners of the door alone. They are under heavy load even when the door is closed, and that work belongs to a technician.
Pull the car out and close the door. Wipe the grime off the hinges (the joints between panels) and the rollers (the small wheels that run in the tracks), then give each hinge pivot and roller stem a short spray.
The type of product matters more than the amount. Look for a spray lubricant made for garage doors, typically silicone-based or white lithium-based, and rated for cold weather. Avoid thick, sticky grease, which stiffens in a Montreal January and holds road grit. Also avoid all-purpose penetrating sprays and degreasers: they loosen rust and displace water, but they don’t keep parts lubricated for a season.
Don’t spray the tracks. Rollers are meant to roll, not slide, and a greasy track just collects grime, so wipe the tracks clean instead. Wipe off any excess, and if a roller is wobbling, chipped, or won’t turn, note it rather than forcing it.
The rubber seal along the bottom of the door is the first part to suffer when temperatures drop. With the door closed, look along the bottom edge for daylight, then run your hand along the seal. It should feel soft and flexible and sit evenly on the floor. If it’s cracked, flattened, torn, or pulling out of its channel, cold air and melt water will find their way in. Glance at the strips along the sides and top too.
The springs do most of the lifting. This test shows whether they are still carrying their share. Only do it if you can lift the door comfortably; if it looks too heavy to handle safely, skip it and ask a technician.
A balanced door stays roughly where you left it, or drifts only slightly. It should neither slam down nor climb on its own. Lower it by hand, then reconnect the opener following your owner’s manual.
If the door is very heavy, falls when you let go, or rises by itself, stop there. Don’t adjust anything. Lower it if you can do so safely, leave it closed, and don’t use the opener. That points to a spring or cable problem, and our broken spring page explains what happens when you call.
With the opener reconnected, stand to one side and run one full open and close. A steady hum is normal, and a light squeak usually means dry hardware, as our guide to what each garage door sound means explains.
A loud bang usually means a spring has already broken. Repeated popping or straining is also a warning. Look at the spring above the door for a visible gap in the coil or heavy rust, and at the cables on each side for frayed strands. Any of those is a reason to stop using the opener and call.
The two small sensors near the floor are what stop a closing door from coming down on a person, pet, or car. Over the summer they collect dust and cobwebs, and a bump from a bike is enough to knock one out of line.
Wipe each lens with a soft dry cloth. Most sensors have a small indicator light; both should be steady, not blinking or dark. Then test: close the door from the wall button and pass the broom handle through the beam low to the ground, keeping your body out of the doorway. The door should stop and go back up. If it doesn’t, don’t rely on it, and call us. Our article on garage door safety features covers how the system works.
Salt and slush that drop off your car melt overnight, pool along the threshold, and can freeze the door to the floor. Before a cold night, sweep or squeegee standing water out of the garage and clear the first metre of driveway in front of the door.
If ice has already formed, use a plastic scraper or warm (not boiling) water, never a metal tool that can gouge the seal, and never run the opener against a door that’s frozen down. That strain goes straight into the opener, the springs, or the bottom bracket. Our winter maintenance guide has more on cold-weather habits.
Call if the door fails the balance test, if you hear a bang or see a gap in the spring or frayed cable strands, if the door moves crooked, if the sensors won’t reverse it, or if the opener strains or stalls partway. Our garage door repair page explains how we work and what we handle.
None of this needs to wait for something to break. Catching a dry hinge, a worn seal, or a drifting sensor in October is far easier than finding it on a minus twenty morning.
Call ASAP Garage Door at 514-701-8612. We answer around the clock, and for emergencies a certified technician is typically on site in 30 to 60 minutes. You get a firm price before any work starts, our work carries a 90-day guarantee, and the quote is free, with no obligation.
Free Quote: a technician gives you a firm price before any work starts.
Call 514-701-8612