Garage doors serve two primary purposes — to allow homeowners access to the garage and to keep intruders and harsh weather elements out. Over time, however, garage doors can stop working properly due to general wear and tear arising out of normal operation as well as exposure to weather extremes.
Identifying common garage door problems and knowing how to fix each problem can save you the hassle of having to call in a garage door technician every time you're faced with a garage door issue. Here are a few garage door issues you can handle without necessarily having to hire a professional.
Noisy garage door
Over time, garage doors tend to become noisy. Noisy operation is your garage door's way of telling you it's time for lubrication or that some nuts and bolts holding the door in place have become loose.
To fix that loud squeak coming from your garage door, it is important that you identify the source of the noise first. If your door needs lubrication, apply garage door lubricant onto the hinges, metal rollers and other parts of the door that require periodic lubrication. If there's excessive build-up of debris on your metal rollers, you will need to wipe it off because it could also be contributing to the noise. If your door has loose nuts and bolts, simply re-tighten them.
If the squeak from your garage door is due to broken or worn out components that require replacement, it is advisable to let a professional solve the issue.
Garage door opener issues
Your garage door opener is what makes it possible to open and close your garage without breaking a sweat. Without it, operating your garage door would be so much harder, as you would have to manually lift the door open. Most problems with garage door openers are as a result of power interruption and poor transmission of radio signals. Therefore, your first things to check would be if your opener is powered up and if radio signal transmission is good.
If your garage door opener remote is not working, but the wall-mounted switch is working just fine, you could simply need a change of remote batteries or a new remote. If the problem requires further diagnosing, it is best to seek professional assistance.
Frozen garage door
Freezing winter temperatures can cause garage doors to be frozen shut. Freeze shutting of garage doors happens when the snow or ice that accumulates at the bottom of the doors stick to the door's weather seal (the rubber installed on the bottom of the garage door), freezing the door to the garage floor.
Attempting to force the door open can result in damage to the garage door opener or the door itself. All you need to solve this problem is a heater to melt the ice. In addition, you can use mild chemical de-icers to accelerate the thawing process. Avoid knocking off the ice as this may cause damage to your garage door.
If you ever experience the above issues with your garage door, you know what to do. In case you can't handle any of these problems, it is best to hire a garage door repair expert.
Share6 December 2017
Hello. My name is Benny and I would like to talk to you about the steps you should take if your garage door will not open or close. I am not a professional garage door repair guy, but I have had the pleasure of seeing one of the finest garage service contractors in Sydney at work. I called out the contractor when I discovered that my garage door wouldn't open or close. It was completely stuck. I called the contractor who came out and started to work on the door. He taught me some really cool things which I would like to share here.