For many of us, the garage door is the most used entryway to our home, yet we tend to take its operation for granted. Generally, garage doors are very reliable and function without any issues or problems. However, as reliable as they are, you're bound to hit that button one day, and as cautious as you may be, there's no guarantee you won't get into trouble. So, to help you out, we've put together a list of three common garage door problems along with some suggested solutions.
the door won't close
The first call the garage door company gets is "My garage door won't close." In these cases, about 80-90% of the reason is that the safety eye is blocked or hit by mistake. Safety eyes are located next to the track on either side of the opening, usually about 6 inches above the ground. The sending eye sends an invisible beam of light to the receiving eye. If the receiving eye does not receive the beam from the sending eye, it will not allow the door to close. This is a safety feature required by state building codes to prevent the door from closing when someone or something is in the way. This is a simple problem that most homeowners should be able to solve on their own. Just remove anything blocking your eyes, or, if nothing is blocking your eyes, make sure they are pointing directly at each other. No tools are required. It's as simple as looking at each eye to see which eye is crooked, then move it until it points directly at the other eye. If you don't know how to line them up, you'll need to pay for a service call to have a professional come out and sort them out. You can temporarily bypass the eye by pressing and holding the button on the wall with constant pressure until the door is fully closed.
There are several other things that can cause the door to not close, including elevator cables not being wrapped properly, misaligned tracks, or other faulty components. For any of these, a professional door company should be contacted.
Door won't open
The most common reason a door won't open is a broken spring. Garage doors are heavy, and the springs act to balance the door, making it feel light. When the spring breaks, the garage door can get so heavy that an electric opener usually only lifts it about 6 inches and stops. You can confirm if you have a broken spring by looking about a foot above the center door. You'll see one or two large black or silver coil springs (each about 2-3 feet long). If the spring breaks, it's obviously split in two. Springs are considered consumables and it is normal for them to break. The average life of a set of springs is 8-10 years, but it depends on how many times the door is opened and closed. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WORK ON SPRINGS For this repair you will need the help of a professionally trained door repairer as these components are under extreme strain and serious injury or death can occur while handling them.
Inconsistent opening and closing
There are several potential causes for this common garage door problem. One is that the battery in your remote or transmitter is nearing the end of its life - this can cause your garage door remote to work inconsistently and intermittently. If you're having this problem with your garage door, it's recommended that you replace the battery in the transmitter first, as this easy fix will fix your problem. Another possible cause is that one of your neighbors has the same type of corkscrew, using the same transmission code. While rare, it can happen if your garage door opener was made in the early '90s or before. The easiest way to fix this garage door problem is to simply change the code used by the remote.
bang on or off
If your garage door opens or closes with a loud noise or thud, the problem could have several different causes, including worn rollers, poor track alignment, or hinge issues. In this case, it is best to call a professional door company for service before the problem becomes bigger.
