Getting your garage door repaired may be simpler than you think. You can do it yourself, even if you don’t think you have the mechanical know-how. Start by identifying the problem.
There are some typical troubles that can plague a garage door: it simply won’t open or close, it falls right after it’s raised, or it sticks either when it is opening or closing. If your door just won’t open of close, first check the keypad to be sure the door opener is working properly; it that’s it, you will only need to reprogram the opener.
For the second problem, a sticky garage door when opening or closing, a simple check of the rollers and hinges will reveal whether or not they need to be oiled. In addition to squeaky hinges and rollers, the tracks may be full of debris. Simply scrubbing the tracks with some liquid soap and then oiling them will help take care of this problem.
Finally, if the door drops after letting go, the extension springs may no longer be effective. To take care of this problem, simply replace the old springs with some new ones.
These are the three most common garage door problems. So take note that the two primary areas for trouble that can prevent your garage door from working are the tracks and the springs. The tracks are an instrumental part of the door’s opening mechanism. Metal brackets are used to hold them firmly in place. If your door isn’t moving up and down, look carefully at these brackets to see if they have been jogged loose. If this turns out to be the situation, tighten the bolts or screws; if it isn’t, check the tracks themselves to determine if they are bent, dented or otherwise out of alignment.
You can fix this sort of problem by knocking the tracks back into place with a mallet. If this doesn’t do the trick, replace the tracks. If springs are the issue, the solution will depend on the type of springs that are used; fortunately spring problems often can be fixed with some simple adjustments. Note that if a torsion spring has been installed in your door, you would be wise to hire a garage door repair professional, because there are safety risks involved and you could injure yourself if you don’t handle the repair correctly.
Proper garage door maintenance is something that should not be neglected. When faced with a garage door problem, keep this simple guide handy.
Now if you’re looking for more info on garage door openers, be sure to check out garage door accessories or garage door sensor.
