What to Do Before Calling a Garage Door Repair Person
When it comes to repairs to a garage door, you always want to leave this to a professional. Garages work with dangerous, heavy springs and often weigh more than homeowners realize. Even if you've opened a garage manually, remember that, typically, chains and springs are helping to support that weight, so trying to repair a door on your own can mean suffering unexpected injury if the door should drop or fall off its tracks. Before you call a garage door repair person, however, note a few things you might want to do if the automatic garage door is not working as it should.
1. Check the power supply
It may seem elementary, but it's surprising how often homeowners forget to check the power supply when their electric garage door doesn't open. Note if the remote opener needs batteries or if your home has blown a fuse or tripped a circuit. If your garage has suffered a water leak, the water may have caused a short in the wires connected to the main unit of the opener. The wiring may then simply need to be changed. If the door doesn't hum at all when you try the remote or the opener in the home, this often means there is no power being received to the door, so check that first.
2. Adjust the force setting
The spring or springs that work your garage door can wear out, and in turn, it may close and open irregularly. The door may stop before opening or closing all the way or may seem as if it slams to the ground rather than closing slowly. You can usually adjust the force of the springs with the turn of a knob in the back of the unit that houses the controls. Look for a knob labeled "force setting" or "force adjustment." Turn the knob slowly and test the door with each turn until it works smoothly as it should.
3. The door hums but doesn't actually open or close
Humming means that the door is getting power, but if it doesn't actually open or close, it may be set to manual mode and not automatic mode. Check the housing unit for a switch of some sort that changes it to automatic or manual and back again. If this isn't the problem, chances are the spring itself is broken or there is something lodged in the path of the door that's keeping it from operating. If you cannot see any obstructions, call for professional repair or replacement of the spring.
For more information, contact a local garage door company like The Roller Door Doctor.
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