Wondering what might end up putting you in need of a garage door repairman? Or perhaps your garage door is already experiencing problems, and you want to get a handle on the underlying issue before calling up a garage door specialist. Here is a quick guide to the most common garage door problems, how you can pinpoint them, and how you might repair them yourself.

Garage door won’t close

If your garage door will not close at all, there may very well be an issue with the two garage door sensors located at the base of your garage door opening. There is an invisible beam between these sensors that when broken, stops the garage door from closing. If your sensors are dirty or out of alignment, that could be the underlying issue. There could also be a wiring problem or obstruction to the sensors that triggers the garage door safety mechanism. These things could cause your door to close part-way and then lift up again as well. Another root cause of a garage door not closing is a damaged or old garage door motor.

Garage door won’t open

Though damaged or blocked sensors could be the root cause here as well, this may very well be caused by something entirely different. If the door won’t respond to a remote, your remote batteries may be low, causing the remote to work only at very close distances. It could also be a wiring issue with your garage door motor, or your door could be set in “vacation” or “lock” mode. Or, most likely, it could be that your torsion springs are damaged or broken. The torsion springs mounted above your garage door actually do most of the heavy lifting when your garage door is opening, so broken springs will cause the door to be too heavy for the rest of the system to handle. (Damaged torsion springs are also the root cause when your garage door closes too quickly.)

Garage door is unusually loud

Is your garage door unusually noisy when opening and closing the door? This is usually an issue of the garage door system needing to be lubricated, worn rollers, or loose hardware. Ensure that the track is adequately greased, apply a spray lubricant to anything that moves, tighten any loose parts, and replace worn rollers if needed.

Garage door motor runs but door doesn’t move

This could very well be caused by a disconnect switch, which disconnects the garage door from the motor in the case of a power outage, allowing you to open the door manually. You can locate this switch with the attached rope or knob. Ensure that the hook is firmly attached and secure, and that it hasn’t been disengaged.

Garage door runs unevenly

Does your garage door shimmy side-to-side when opening and closing? This is likely due to an obstruction or debris in the tracks that your rollers travel on. First clean your garage door tracks thoroughly to see if that resolves the issue. If not, one of your springs might be damaged, or there could be a problem with your garage door motor.

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