Garage Door Repair — When Nothing Obvious Is Wrong

It’s a common problem people face on an every day basis. They come home, open or shut the opening to the carport, and realize that something is wrong. It has fallen off the tracks. Something is stopping it from sliding up and down the right way. It might be stuck, it might only be slow (or even too quick) to open. The only thing you know is that it isn’t working the way it should be. Garage door repair can be tricky for the uninitiated. If you don’t see anything obviously broken, your best bet is to call a professional out to the house. They will be able to quickly ascertain the problem and fix it for minimal costs. If you’re more inclined to find and solve the problem yourself, however, here are some tips for troubleshooting.

As with almost any troubleshooting operation, you’ll want to look for any obvious problems before you go deeper. You would be surprised at how often the solution is something obvious as opposed to something deep in the construction. Look around the walls and the ground to make sure there’s nothing that is impeding the progress. This could be anything from a trash can to a stray tool. Look for any gummy substances on the tracks and the walls beside them to see if that could be the problem. If you’ve satisfied yourself that the problem is not something quite so apparent, it’s time to get into the guts and see what can be done.

Grab your handiest wrench and begin tightening every bolt you can find. This will solve 90 percent of problems right away. It could be that one came loose or even that some are missing altogether. You’ll want to do any of these repairs with the door down so as not to take unnecessary risk. It is also wise to shut off the opener and cut electricity to that section. Just one missing or loosened bolt could be causing most of the problem.

If tightening everything down doesn’t do the job, it’s time to move on to the next stage of garage door repair: the dreaded rust location. Not only could rust be the cause of your problems, it could lead to worse problems down the road. Check the cables and the springs for any signs of this corrosive substance. If you find it, replace those items immediately. Remember to replace springs in pairs, as just replacing one will usually overbalance the mechanism to one side or the other.