Quick Fixes for Common Issues with Garage Doors

Certain garage door problems require the intervention of a specialist. If you come home from work to find your door hanging askew on its hinges, you may want to call a professional to take a look at the problem before you break out your toolbox. But most common garage door problems can be solved in a matter of minutes with a little bit of light troubleshooting. If you can learn to fix the following problems yourself, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, money, and frustration.

Garage Door Will Not Open or Close

A garage door becomes a garage wall when it won’t open, and it turns your garage into a carport when it won’t close. There are several things that can cause a door to stick, so tackle the troubleshooting in a logical, orderly fashion until you identify the problem

• Check your remote opener batteries and also make sure there is nothing blocking the safety sensors
• Look for anything in the tracks preventing the door from traveling smoothly
• Clean any gunky lubricant slowing the door’s progress

If the lubricant turned out to be the problem, consider looking for a different brand that can hold up against a variety of weather conditions.

Garage Door Won’t Open and Close Evenly

Most home owners that have garage doors utilizing extension or stretch style springs have faced this problem at least once. You try to open or close the door, and it’s like trying to close a difficult set of blinds. First one side drops and then the other. This can be frustrating, but there are some factors you can check before calling a repairman. First, make sure there aren’t any obstructions in the way by cleaning off your tracks. If that doesn’t work, try the following steps:

• Check spring quality – they should all be of equal length and flexibility
• Identify your sticking points – check those points for visible damage
• Check garage door cables – look for frying, breakage and signs of wear

Relentlessly Noisy Garage Door

You don’t want to wake up your neighbors with a squealing garage door, and noisy operation can be symptomatic of a serious problem. More often than not, however, it merely signifies the need for additional lubrication. Oil your tracks with proper lube to put an end to the screeching. If you already keep up with that aspect of maintenance, clean off your tracks to make sure debris in the oil isn’t the source of the noise. One important note: use only oils specifically made for garage doors or general-purpose lubricants like JB80 or one of our specialty lubes. Using heavy weight grease or machine oils can slow your door down and cause more problems.

Remote Control No Longer Works

If you can’t get your remote control to open the door, your first order of business should be to replace the batteries. Brand names and generics are interchangeable in many areas of life, but reputable, brand-name batteries are typically superior to generics. If those are not the source of the problem, check the following:

• Battery contacts – make sure your battery contacts aren’t too dirty to establish a connection.
• Reprogram the remote – directions to reprogram your remote to your garage door opener can be found on the manufactures webpage.
• Do a reset – take the batteries out of your remote and unplug your garage door opener, for about a minute each, to initiate a full reset. Often, this is all it takes to get a garage door remote control working again.

If you are uncomfortable with performing any of these repairs or maintenance items please call a garage door technician.