Ten minutes at the garage door between tenants: a checklist for Lubbock landlords
Half of Lubbock's houses are rentals and most of them turn over in August. The garage door is the one piece of the house the outgoing tenant never mentions and the incoming tenant finds out about at eleven at night with the car inside. Ten minutes between leases, with this list, saves that call and the January one.
Before you start
Disconnect the opener by pulling the red release cord with the door down, never up. Everything below is checked with the door moving by hand first, because that is how you learn whether the springs are still doing their job.
The checklist
| Check | What good looks like | If not |
|---|---|---|
| Lift the door by hand to halfway and let go | It stays put, or drifts slowly | Drops or shoots up: springs are tired or wrong. Replace as a pair before move-in |
| Look at the springs above the door | Clean coils, no gaps, both the same age | Rust, a gap, or one new and one old: replace before winter |
| Look at the cables at the bottom corners | Tight, no fraying, wound neatly on the drums | Frayed or loose: cables and drums, same visit as springs |
| Spin each roller by hand | Spins freely and quietly | Rough, stiff or loud: packed with grit. Sealed nylon rollers; clean the track dry |
| Reconnect the opener and run the door | Smooth, closes fully, no grinding | Grinding: rollers and track. Stops short or slams: limits and force |
| Wipe both sensor lenses, check the lights | Two steady lights | Blinking or dark: realign the brackets, check the wire. Add sensors if there are none |
| Lay a two-by-four flat under the door and close it | Door touches it and reverses | Does not reverse: force too high, or sensors bypassed. Fix before anyone moves in |
| Count remotes, test the keypad | All remotes accounted for; keypad responds | Missing remotes: reprogram the opener and issue new ones. Change the keypad code |
| Look along the bottom seal and the sides | Seal compresses on the floor, no daylight, no dust line | Flat, cracked or daylight at a corner: new seal; threshold where the floor has dropped |
| Look at the panels | No hail creases, no rust at the bottom | Dents are cosmetic; creases, broken ribs or rust-through are a section or a door |
| Sight the opening for square | Even gaps both sides, door does not drag | Drags one side, daylight one corner: the slab has moved. Measure and note it; a door company cannot fix the slab |
Fix before move-in
Springs that failed the hand test, sensors that do not reverse, missing remotes and an unchanged keypad code, and a door that will not close fully. Those are the lockout and safety items. Rollers, seals and cosmetic dents can wait for the fall round if the budget is tight, but rollers packed with grit are the next lockout in the making.
The two seasons to plan for
August, when leases turn across the city and new tenants meet doors they do not know. Do the checklist in the gap between tenants, and have the keypad code changed and the remotes accounted for before the keys are handed over. January, when the first cold mornings break tired springs by the dozen. A fall tune-up round across a portfolio, every door checked and the tired springs replaced in October, is the cheapest way to keep the phone quiet in winter.
How we work with you
A move-out check, with the small fixes done on the spot and the larger ones quoted by text with photos, is a short visit. Approval is a reply; after photos and one invoice to the management company follow. We keep a note per property of the door's make and spring size so the next call starts with the answer. The rental service page has the details and the fall-round pricing.
Common questions
Can you do the checklist for us?
Yes, as a move-out or move-in check, with the small fixes done on the spot and the rest quoted by text with photos. Fall rounds across a portfolio are quoted per door.
Do we really need to change the keypad code?
Yes, between every tenant, and account for the remotes. A former tenant with the garage code has the house.
The door works but it is loud. Can it wait?
A little while, but a grinding Lubbock door is a roller about to seize and jump the track, which is a lockout. Rollers and a track clean are a small job.
What do I tell tenants about the door?
Wipe the sensor lenses after a dust storm, do not pull the red cord with the door up, and call the manager at the first grind or bang rather than waiting.
What is the one thing to do before winter?
Have the springs checked in the fall. A door that feels heavy by hand in October is a lockout in January.
Can a tenant approve a repair?
Only if you have told us they can. Otherwise the quote comes to the owner or manager by text and work waits for your yes.
Related: Rental property service · Tune-up · Cold-morning springs · Sensor repair