Garage Door Doesn’t Always Open

No, your garage door isn’t trying to be funny by playing tricks on you. And yes, it’s very unlikely that your garage door has any major issue.

For a garage door that sometimes chooses to let you out, and other times chooses to be lazy, there is a common culprit we encounter most often – dying battery.

Whether in your remote, external opener, or actual opener itself, a dying battery can lead to an undependable garage door.

Solution

Replace your batteries. We suggest starting with your remote. This is the cheapest and easiest of the replacements, as well as the most likely culprit. If your remote wasn’t the issue, move to external opener, then actual opener.

If you have any questions or need a technician to come out and help with battery replacement, make sure to give us a call.

Off The Tracks

Whether the tracks have fallen out of alignment, brackets at the end of the track are coming loose, or the brackets’ bolts are coming loose, a garage door coming off the tracks has the potential to be very dangerous. It also has the potential to lead to unwanted and unnecessary damage.

Solution

1. If your garage door has fallen out of its tracks and won’t move, call us immediately. Attempting to do resolve this situation on your own could lead to injury and additional damage.
2. If the garage door still moves but you detect misalignment in the tracks, you have a few options:
   • If you are DIYer, slightly loosen the bolts securing the misaligned track(s) to the frame. Use a rubber mallet to bump tracks back into alignment. Secure bolts.
   • If you feel any doubt or confusion, call a technician.

Loud Thud During Opening and/or Closing

Depending on the type of garage door you have, you either have a torsion spring system or extension spring system. These springs operate under a great deal of stress and can be extremely dangerous.

Additionally your garage door is likely fitted with lifting cables. A loud thud is commonly caused by a broken spring(s) and/or broken lifting cable(s).

Solution

Call a technician immediately. Garage door springs are not to be taken lightly, and have the potential to cause severe injury to you and those in close proximity.

Door Opens Perfectly But Won’t Close

In 1993, a law was passed that required all garage doors to possess a photoelectric backup system (those two things you have to step over when closing the door and stepping out). These sensors transmit an invisible beam, between each other, that detects anything its path when the garage door is closing.

Over time, these sensors get become misaligned and/or dirty. In either case, your garage door won’t shut.

Solution

Realign the sensors and give them a thorough cleaning. If your garage door still doesn’t close, contact us.

Safety Reversal System Isn’t Working Properly

Similar to the photoelectric backup systems, mandatory safety reversal systems cause garage doors to automatically reverse when coming into contact with an object or obstruction. The failure of these systems leave people, and belonging, vulnerable to the force of a closed garage door. .

Solution

More of a preventive measure than solution, it is important to do a monthly check on your safety reversal system. Simply place a piece of wood where your garage door meets the ground and close your door. If your garage door contacts the piece of wood and retracts, your sensor is working properly. If not, call a technician immediately.