Common Garage Door Issues: Learn the Reasons and Fixes

Most homeowners probably take their garage doors for granted. As long it opens and shuts as desired, they do not overthink it.

From weird cracking sounds to shutting down too quickly, there are some good reasons why the door is not working. Here is how to apply garage door repairs for these issues.

Loud Noises

If the garage door is noisy, it is likely because of an underlying problem. Here is a small list of noises to watch out for.

Squeaking: The key reason for this noise is either worn-out or insufficiently lubricated rollers. For the latter, the repair would involve the application of a silicone-based lubricant, whereas for the former you need to reach out to the local garage door repairs service provider to find a replacement. The lubricant must be applied between the panels and around the door’s frame to be effective.
Rattling: This noise type is a result of loose nuts, bolts, and screws. The problem can be silenced by tightening the hardware with a wrench and socket set. Another reason for rattling noise is a loose chain in the doors that use a chain drive. If this is the case, reach out to the technician for repair.
Popping: This noise type can be drawn to the spring system, which either needs lubrication or adjustment. This type of garage door repairs should be handled by only professionals.

Pro Tip: Nylon rollers are quieter than metal ones and do not need the lubrication as often. Belt drive openers are invariably quieter than the chain drive openers.

Unbalanced garage door

An unbalanced door is the most common problem with old garage doors. Homeowners often ignore this issue. Although uneven movement may still serve the purpose before it stops working all together, this turns what has been a small issue into a major and expensive repair. If you observe that your garage door does a little shimmy each time it opens or closes, watch out for something blocking the door tracks. The signs that can help you see if you have an unbalanced garage door:

Uneven opening and closing
When the door is fully open, the door either hangs or sags slightly
Unusual sounds due to added strain on the opener
Compared to the usual setting, takes more time to open or close
It does not move at all.

This problem involves a simple fix to look, find, and remove any obstructions. Also, grab this chance to wipe down the door tracks thoroughly and remove any debris.

If you did the wiping but the issue did not resolve, the problem could be with the torsion spring. It is either delivering too much or too little tension and you will need to contact a professional to get it resolved.

Garage Door is stuck, it neither opens nor closes

One fine day, you may discover that your garage door is throwing tantrums when trying to open or close. If you somehow land into such a predicament, you would be more than eager to get out of this mess. But do you know what to do if your garage door is refusing to neither open nor close?

Lock Mode

The very step would be to verify whether you have activated the lock-mode mechanism of the door. Sometimes, lock mode gets activated in some garage door openers when the open/close button on the keypad is held for several seconds. And, when lock-mode is engaged pressing on the button would do no good, rather you need to hold onto the button for several seconds again to deactivate the lock-mode. And for the doors that have manual locks that can be opened or closed with handles. For these lock types, the door can be unlocked simply by turning the handle.

Tripped Sensor

Photo eyes or the sensors are an important security feature of the garage doors, as it prevents the door from closing if there is an object, pet, or a person in its path. Sometimes, these photo eyes get tripped even when there is nothing in the door’s path. This usually happens when dust blocks the laser beam or misalignment of the sensor, or if there is wire damage. The first two reasons can be taken care of by the homeowner, whereas for wire damage it’s best that a technician be called.

The tracks or the rollers need lubrication

Usually, the garage door sticks if the tracks or the rollers are not sufficiently lubricated. Don’t wait for this to happen, one should make this a part of the home maintenance routine to lubricate tracks and rollers of the garage door every six months.

Busted Spring

A garage door utilizes either single torsion spring or cluster of extension springs. A frozen stuck door could imply a busted spring system. To determine if it is busted or not, check if there are gaps in between the springs. You can see a metal piece hanging from extension spring if it is snapped. This type of garage door repairs demands professionals.

Perhaps you feel that your garage door is opening at a snail’s pace and it’s becoming a nuisance to wait. Unlike commercial overhead doors, residential garage doors are not designed to open and close rapidly. But does that qualify for moving at snail’s pace? Primarily, the residential garage doors must move at a speed of 7 inches per second, which implies 15-20 seconds for opening or closing the door. And, if the door is going either slower or faster than 7 inches per second than probably something is suspicious.

Troubleshooting a slow door

It is a lot more common for a door to linger than to hustle. Common reasons that can lead to a slow door are:

insufficient lubrication of rollers, trackers and the hinges
The low-speed setting of the door

Troubleshooting a rapid closing door

A garage door that slams shuts poses a high degree of threat levels. And, points to a problem with torsion spring and cable. The torsion spring works by balancing the gravitational force on the door and its speed. Usually, as spring lasts for about 5-7 years on an average. For such fixes, call for a professional repair service provider.

A gram of prevention is better than tons of cure. To avert garage door trouble be sure to follow a planned maintenance routine which involves both DIY tasks and technician’s assessment & repairs.