According to a recent American Housing Survey report, 63 percent of all occupied housing units have a garage.
In most homes, a garage serves as a carport and an extra storeroom for loads of items. As such, your garage doors tend to experience constant tension considering the many times you open and close the barn door.
Owning a garage introduces convenience for your car parking needs due to the safety and security you achieve. However, it can get messy when you begin to experience garage door problems.
Do you own a garage and wonder what tell-tale signs of technical issues to look out for in the door? Here, we reflect on seven common garage door problems you should look out for.
Table of Contents
A Wonky Door Opener
An unstable garage door opener is the most common problem you might need to deal with as your garage begins to age. If you notice that your garage door is opening slightly or not opening at all, then the culprit could be an issue with the door opener.
The first place you should look when there’s a problem with the door opener should be the remote. First, consider buying batteries for the remote opener. If the issue is not with the batteries, your next concern should be an underlying technical issue.
The other common cause why your garage door opener is not working may be a damaged antenna.
In both cases, you might have to consult an expert.
The Garage Door Won’t Close
Sometimes, your garage door opens the usual way but fails to close correctly when locking the darn. When this happens, it could be due to one or multiple reasons.
The first concern could be that the close-limit switch has an incorrect setting.
Most garage doors have a set-limit switch, which tells the motor where and when to stop. These switches work both when opening and closing the garage doors. Every garage door has this close-limit switch, which ensures safety for you and your car when closing and opening.
The first thing you should do is to reset the close-limit switch. Another common concern when the garage doors won’t close is an issue with the sensors. You may need a specialist to take you through adjustment and repairs, including assessing the doors’ rollers.
The Garage Door Reverses Before Hitting the Floor
When closing the garage door, you might notice instances where the door closes, as it should, then immediately reverses the action. Such reactions may present concerns for your safety.
The close-force settings on the garage door could be the likely culprit when this happens.
The first remedial step should be to change close-force settings. You may also adjust the screw on the door openers.
The other common cause of sudden door reversals is a problem with the rollers. Your rollers may need some attention to ensure there’s less friction.
One of the ways to improve functionality is to lubricate your rollers.
Door Path Is Locked
When operating your garage door, you may notice cases where the door won’t open or close at all. This is rather frustrating, especially if you use the garage regularly.
The most common cause of this problem is an issue with the door path.
With time, the garage door experience a buildup of dust or other common debris that interferes with its path. If you note such garage door problems where the garage won’t open, the door path probably has underlying obstructions. The easiest way to deal with such a garage door problem is to monitor the door track for any debris and other components blocking the path.
The Wall Switch Isn’t Working
If your home has a motorized garage door, it must have a functional wall switch to help with the controls. If the wall switch is not working well, this could be a recipe for other underlying concerns.
You should first check the power supply. Ensure that the power supply to the wall switch is on before doing anything else.
If this doesn’t work, you might need to reset your breaker box or replace the cables connecting to the wall-switch.
Garage Motor Won’t Stop
At times, your garage door motor runs without stopping even when the darn door has closed as it should. If this continues a minute or two after closing or opening, you might need to consider repairs.
Most new doors tend to develop this problem, but a repair service can help you resolve it. A repairer will look at the control switch, considering that it is at the motor system’s heart.
Broken Garage Door Springs
Carport owners may need to be aware of broken springs, which is the other common garage door problem in most homes. When your door won’t go up, and the issue isn’t with the transmitter or the motors, then the door springs could be broken.
Sometimes, such an issue develops when you aren’t home, which means you may not get to know that it happened until later. You might need to replace garage torsion spring that’s broken as soon as possible. The good thing is that you can DIY your way around the process of replacing such broken springs.
Here’s How to Deal With Garage Door Problems
If you own a garage or a carport, any signs of garage door problems can catch you by surprise. You don’t want a situation where you risk your well-being and your car’s safety due to a garage door that reserves or closes up suddenly.
If you have been wondering how to fix your garage door, then these remedies should work for you. While some repairs are achievable through DIY, you need a professional to help you address most other garage door issues.
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