Garage doors seem simple, but garage door repairs can be dangerous, especially if the repair involves the spring mechanisms. Most garage doors are much heavier than people realize because they use springs to help lift the door. A garage door with properly adjusted springs, tracks, and rollers opens smoothly and easily by hand, but if the springs are broken or out of adjustment or if the rollers or track are misaligned or jammed, a garage door can be difficult to open and can be very heavy.
If the garage door doesn’t seem to be opening or closing properly, disconnect it from the automatic opener and see if it opens easily by hand. You should disconnect the door when it is closed. If the problem is a broken spring and you disconnect it while it is open, the door could come crashing down causing injuries or damage.
If the door opens easily by hand, the problem is most likely with the opener. Have an experienced garage door service technician check out the opener. If the door is difficult to open by hand, it is probably either a broken or misadjusted spring or binding rollers and tracks.
Spring repairs and adjustments are best left to garage door professionals. Springs are under a lot of tension and can easily injure someone. If the problem appears to be mis-aligned rollers or tracks, try loosening the roller and track bolts and see if an alignment change helps. If re-aligning the rollers and tracks doesn’t help, it’s worth calling a professional garage door company to have them take a look at it.
