Your garage is an entryway to your home, and it’s the most used entrance most of the time. Learn how to choose the best door opener by watching this video:
Opening a malfunctioning garage door can be tricky and may lead to injuries, accidents, or worse, cause death because cables and springs are under high pressure. While simple problems can be troubleshooted easily, some garage door problems would require professional help from a trusted garage door repair company.
Far more than you can imagine, a simple shaking or garage door noise may indicate a more serious problem. That’s why it’s important to know when to hire a professional by identifying the clear signs of garage door problem.
Below are some situations that warrant hiring a garage door repair company.
Has Excessive Shaking or Vibration
Regardless of the condition of your garage door, it’ll have extra movement overtime or with frequent use. Many garage door problems develop if you constantly neglect the constant shaking and shuddering of your garage door.
You might be wondering why your garage door jerks when you close it. Many factors affect the jerking behavior of a garage door when being closed or opened. The most common causes include bad rollers, bent tracks, or problems with the garage door opener.
So, what causes a jerking garage door? Every garage door has a garage door opener and springs. A lift motor is used by a garage door opener, driving screws, or a chain to lower and lift your garage door. The lift motor ensures that all components work together with the springs pulling the door up, and letting it back down when need to close. Your garage door tends to run on the track system, keeping it in place when opening and closing.
When your garage door is shaking or jerking during operation, the track can be dirty or damaged. The garage door tracks should be aligned properly and debris or damage should be inspected for debris.
Here are some tips and tricks to resolve a jerking or shaking garage door:
- Hand the damage: Check for damage on your garage doors, such as bends or crimps. You can repair minor damage using a mallet to straighten the track.
If ever you’re not confident doing it, call a professional right away because removing the crimps and bends from garage tracks takes a skilled hand. Use tools to remove debris or dirt from the track and wipe it to avoid shaking or jerking.
- Check rollers and hardware: If your garage door is making noises when opening or closing, you have to replace the rollers. To make sure that this step is done properly, you need to contact professional help. Asking the help of an expert will also avoid compromising your safety.
- If the garage door opener is burned, you need to have it replaced. In this case, you really need a professional garage door technician to install the new garage door opener to avoid costly repairs.
If you notice your garage door jerking, don’t ignore this issue because it may put a strain on the garage door opener. If neglected, it can easily burn out the motor of your garage door opener. While some garage door repairs are pretty simple, others require more training, tools, and can be difficult and dangerous. A garage door that’s abnormally shaking is a clear sign that it’s time to contact a garage door repair professional.
Door Makes Funky Noises
While it’s normal for a garage door to make some noise when operated, a funky noise is a clear indication that it needs professional help. So, why do garage doors make strange noises? There are many reasons that can cause this garage door problem, such as faulty opening mechanisms, uneven tension, and rusty railings or hinges.
If ever you observe your garage door is making a screeching sound, and you don’t know anything that scared it, then this is a sure sign that it requires some professional attention. Consulting a garage door repair service company will help you fix the problem and prevent any major problem from getting worse, like totally shutting the door off and inability to open it.
If this situation happens to you, you’ll need an expert garage door opener repair company, like https://okdiscountgaragedoor.com/Garage-Door-Openers.
Is Worn out or Has Broken Sections
If your garage door has brittle or broken weatherstripping found at the bottom of the door, it would need replacement. Replacing it will prevent further damage to your door caused by extreme weather, and will extend its life.
Check if the garage door rollers are worn down, cracked, or chipped. The rollers should work smoothly to ensure the longevity and safety of your garage door. Check any loose screws, bolts, or wires.
Know what caused these problems by getting an expert opinion from a trusted and reliable garage door repair service.
Uneven and Sagging Garage Door
As your garage door advances with age, it sags and experience other problems. It welcomes pests to enter your home, allows extreme weather inside, and affects your home security. A sagging garage door loses its balance, putting great tension and pressure in potentially dangerous areas.
Over time, it affects the ability of your garage door to open and close properly. If you’re in a situation like this one, it may affect your life or daily routine as well. It’s awkward calling your boss that you can’t come to work because of a garage door that won’t open.
Before this similar situation arises, contact a professional garage door opener repair company to fix the issue.
Has Broken Tracks
Garage doors usually move on with tracks. But when your garage door’s tracks become worn-down or obstructed, it becomes extremely difficult to operate (open and close). A garage door repair company can put oil and center your tracks to fix this problem.
One of the most common problems with garage doors is bent tracks. It’s typical to get something jammed in your garage’s vertical tracks, such as a rake or garden equipment. Also, cars can scrape against garage tracks, which cause them to bend and get broken.
You might need tracks replacement to fix this problem outright; it depends on the damage. While you can repair this problem on your own, it’s best to call in a garage door installer to ensure proper installation and safety.
Whatever you’re doing, stop it and don’t use your garage door. Bent tracks are easy to fix. However, if you suddenly force a garage door with a bent track to open, it’ll sustain severe damage, both the track and the door. If this event happens, you’ll pay expensive garage door repair. A simple and quick DIY repair is to be avoided if you don’t have the necessary and specific tools and equipment to fix it.
However, if you do have the tools and equipment, here’s how to fix bent garage tracks:
- Open the garage door. This step is done so the garage door is past the vertical track’s seam and so as the horizontal track, taking the pressure off the springs.
- Clamp a pair of reliable vice grips around the horizontal track’s front edge, pointing toward the garage door’s center part. Place another pair of vice grips under the roller on the floor’s opposite end.
- Straighten the bent garage door track with the hammer’s claw end.
- Removing the track bolts is the next step. Track bolts secure the vertical tracks to the wall brackets with a socket wrench. The best track is secured by a pop rivet or a nut. Don’t remove the flag brackets or the track brackets from the wall.
- Lastly, straighten the garage track using a hammer or a pair of pliers. If doing this step won’t resolve the problem, you’ll need to buy a new track from a trusted and reputable dealer.
If you can’t open the garage door and you’re already late for work, for example, you can simply leave your vehicle in the garage and contact an Uber. Contact a professional garage door opener that is offering 24/7 emergency garage door opener repair for convenience and to get the problem fixed right away.
Has Broken Cables
The component that pulls the garage door up and down is your garage door cables. It’s impossible to open and close your garage door smoothly if the cables are damaged. Also, damaged springs can significantly impact the performance of your garage door, which would need professional garage door services.
Automatic garage doors usually feature cables located on each side for lifting and lowering the garage door with ease. Garage cables are tough. However, wear and tear eventually take a toll that causes the cables to fray, lose tension, or snap. If your garage door has snapped cables, then you’ve got a major problem. Further, if you perform a DIY fix-it job or put off your garage door cable repair, several things can happen.
Avoid personal injury or further garage door damage by following the tips below. This way, you’ll know what to do if ever your garage door cable suddenly snaps.
- Understand your garage door: Depending on the type of spring used, make sure to understand the type of garage door you have at home.
One type of garage cable is lifted cables with torsion springs, wherein the cables are attached to the door’s bottom corners and passed through the torsion springs found above the door. On the other hand, retaining cables have extension springs and cables are found inside the springs, running along the left and right sides in a vertical direction of the garage door. Retaining cables prevent flying of broken springs across the room.
- Don’t use your garage door: When the cable of your garage door is broken, extra tension is transferred to the other cable, which places tremendous strain on the door. It causes uneven lifting of the garage door and causes it to become unbalanced and crooked.
A shaking or squeaking garage door could mean the cable has snapped. In this case, contact a professional garage door repair specialist right away.
- Secure your home: If ever the garage door is open and it’s stuck with a broken cable, your home will be exposed. You can prevent this by cutting the unbroken cable so your garage door will lower to secure your home while waiting for a garage door professional.
A garage door technician will replace both cables to save you from expensive future repair costs. However, you should use extreme caution if ever you attempt to do this step. Ask extra hand to assist you in lowering your garage door slowly.
- Leave the repair job to a professional: Hiring a professional garage door repairman to perform cable repair is highly recommended. Non-professionals are easily injured from attempting to fix broken garage doors.
Don’t put your life in a dangerous situation, contact a garage door repair professional to perform a safe repair or parts replacement on your behalf. The technician will ensure that the overall performance of your garage door will be assessed and provide expert advice on how to prolong the life of the components of your garage door.
Has a Damaged Opener
A garage door opener sometimes would simply need batteries to look as good as new. However, if your garage door seems to have wiring problems or has gotten wet, you’ll likely need a new garage door opener that would require professional installation.
Conclusion
Garage door issues usually lead to problems, like opening and closing the door. Any simple crack, damage, or obstruction may cause major problems in overtime.
Never attempt to fix any garage door problem on your own if you don’t have the skills and experience to do so. You have to hire a good garage door opener repair to ensure excellent craftsmanship and to avoid costly repairs sooner as expected.
