Troubleshooting Your Garage Door

Top 3 Possible Garage Door Repairs

Do you have a garage door that no longer works the way that it should? Are you thinking about trying to take care of the repair on your own? While there are many home repairs that you may be able to accomplish, fixing your damaged garage door may not be one of those things. Repairing a garage door can be dangerous for a variety of reasons and is best left to a professional. Here are a few things that may be causing you issues and whether or not professional help is needed:

Door refuses to close: A garage door may have a couple of sensors that will tell it that it's not safe to close the door completely. The first of these is an optical sensor which sends a beam of invisible light across the garage door opening. If this beam of light is broken, the garage door assumes that there is a child or a pet in the way and will remain open. This can happen if the sensors become dirty or misaligned. Cleaning the lenses and tightening the screws that hold them in place may be sufficient to remedy the situation. However, some garage doors also come equipped with a pressure sensor. If the garage door encounters an obstacle on the way down, such as a car bumper that just barely avoids blocking the optical sensors, the pressure sensor will notice and will keep the door open. Fixing this will likely require the services of a garage door repair technician.

Door refuses to open: In order to allow the tiny garage door motor to be able to lift such a heavy garage door, the entire garage door assembly relies on one or two springs to support most of the garage door weight. Over time, these springs can become broken or damaged simply with regular use. These springs are under high tension and can easily cause damage and injury if you slip when installing one. This garage door repair should definitely not be attempted by the average person; a professional is needed.

Door is squeaky: As with any mechanical moving part, garage doors need regular maintenance to stay in good condition. One of the main things to remember is to lubricate the hinges, tracks, and motor with the manufacturer-recommended grease or oil as specified in the user manual.  If, however, the garage door has already gotten to the point where it squeaks when opening and closing, it's a good idea to have a garage door repair professional check out the entire system to make sure that none of the parts are damaged or in danger of breaking. To learn more, contact a company like Georgia Garage Doors Inc.


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