Since we first opened, we’ve seen a bit of everything when it comes to garage door services and garage door maintenance.
While you could fix many garage door issues by yourself, you should leave most issues to the expert technicians. But when you know the exact problem with your door, you can know whether the issue is something you can tackle yourself or whether the problem should be attended to by a professional. We’ll explain the top three reasons why garage doors stop working – and tell you which one is DIY or which need an expert hand.
Misaligned Sensors – DIY
As a kid, you and your siblings or friends might have made a game out of running under a rapidly closing garage door before it hit anyone, let’s be honest we still do it as adults. After 1993, those games became less risque as the newly mandated photo eyes got installed on garage doors. The photo-eye emits a beam that detects whether an object or person has gotten in the way of its path. Photo eyes came into existence to keep your garage door from falling on you, small children, or your pets while it’s coming down.
If your door opens normally but doesn’t close when you press on your remote, first check the photo eye sensors on either side of the garage. These sensors can easily get dirty, so first use a gentle cloth and a streak-free cleaner to wash the photo eyes. Don’t get the eyes too wet as excessive moisture on the sensors can cause the situation to get even worse.
Next, you will need to check the alignment of the sensors. Ensure that the eyes point in the same direction and angle. If the eyes get misaligned, they will assume that an object or person has gotten in their path and the door won’t close.
When you clean and align the sensors, but the garage door still doesn’t work, call our office, and we’ll happily fix the problem.
Broken Garage Door Springs: NOT a Do-It-Yourself job!
If a garage door won’t open and you know the transmitter and motor work, you might have broken springs. If your garage door springs break while you’re at home, you’ll immediately know the problem as you will hear a loud banging noise from your garage. This loud noise stems from the fact that it’s the springs that lift your garage door day in and day out, not your opener.
You never want to attempt to fix your garage door springs yourself. Doing so can put you in danger of getting injured. If you know that your garage door springs are the problem, don’t try to open your door manually until our technicians arrive to fix or replace the springs.
Your Garage Door is Manually Locked – DIY
If you press the button on your remote and the motor runs for a bit without the door opening, someone may have manually locked it. First, check the tracks and springs for anything that might block them. Once you see that everything is clear, see if the door lock was engaged or not.
To unlock your garage door manually, all you will need to do is turn the handle (see picture for an example) until you hear something click. The “bolts” linked to the handle will retract out of the openings in the side rails allowing the garage door to move up and down. If that doesn’t work it’s time to give the experts a call.
For the best in Garage Door Maintenance solutions, call All Four Seasons Garage Doors of North Atlanta, GA. Our staff is ready for you at 678-472-6531, or fill out our contact us form and we’ll get in contact with you.
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