Our garage door is one of those things that we don’t really think about. It just works until one day it doesn’t! Then we are left pondering over our lack of preventative care – wondering what to do next. Preventative maintenance is the best way to prevent problems. You should visually inspect and lubricate it every two months. The problem is that the average person won’t know what to look out for. Don’t panic! We’re here to help. This blog post will list several common issues and show you how to fix them. Just remember that if the problem is too severe, then you should contact a professional. Major repairs can be dangerous if you don’t have the right tools.
Garage Door Opens and Closes with a Thud
One of the common causes is that the torsion spring might be damaged or broken This spring is located above the door and counterweighs it. Sometimes these springs are located above the rails. If they are damaged, then the garage door will give off a loud thud when it’s opened or closed.
Another cause could be is that the lifting cables could be broken or on the verge of breaking.
How to Fix It
- Visually check the door to identify the exact problem.
- If the spring is broken, then you will need to call a technician. Stop using your garage door until it has been fixed. You cannot fix this issue on your own without submitting yourself to severe hazards.
The Garage Door has Come off its Hinges
A lot of the time, you will find that the door has come off its hinges because the tracks have fallen out of alignment. This happens when the bolts that keep the brackets in place are worked loose. Be very careful when dealing with a garage door that has come off its hinges because it can present a significant safety risk.
How to Fix It
- If the door has fallen off the hinges onto the floor, then you should not attempt to do anything. Call a technician immediately!
- If the rollers are still in the tracks, then you will need to gently close the door. Then tighten the bolts that hold the bracket in place. You can then make sure that everything measures correctly. The horizontal tracks should be the same distance as the verticals.
The Door Only Opens When it Wants
Either the remote battery is dying or your neighbor could potentially be using the same type of device as you. The latter is quite rare and is only an issue in models built before 1993.
How to Fix It
- Simply change the batteries in your garage door remote. You should go ahead and change them in all remotes while you’re at it.
- In the unlikely second event, you can simply change the code in your remote so that it does not match your neighbor and the problem will be solved.
