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Nashville Garage Doors FAQ
Q: My garage door won’t open
A: The two most common reasons a garage door won’t open are that the garage door opener is not working and that the garage door spring is broken. If your garage door opener is not working, you can simply pull the manual or emergency release and open the garage by hand. Then you should call a garage door opener repair technician to fix it.
If your spring is broken, opening the garage door manually will be difficult or impossible. If your garage door is difficult to open, please do not force it, as this can cause further damage. Repairing your garage spring or opener can be dangerous and should only be done by a professional.
Less common reasons your garage door won’t open include a disengaged garage door opener, detached cables, or the door being off its runners.
Q: My garage door won’t close
A: If you try to close your garage door and it starts to move slightly, and then returns to the open position, this indicates a problem with the safety sensors. They may be misaligned or burned out entirely. If they are burned out, then they need to be replaced. Realigning your safety sensors is relatively simple for a garage door opener repairman.
It may also be possible that your safety sensors are functioning properly and are detecting an obstruction. In this case, simply remove the obstruction and your garage door should close normally.
Other common reasons for a garage door that won’t close are that the cables have become detached or that the door is off its runners. There may be other reasons your garage door won’t close, but these are the most common.
Q: My garage door opener won’t work
A: There are several possibilities as to why your garage door opener won’t work:
- The plastic drive gear in the motor has worn out. In this case, if your opener is on the older side, it may be a good idea to simply replace the entire unit.
- The safety sensors have burned out or misaligned. If they are misaligned, a repairman can realign them. If your sensors have burned out, replacing them will be necessary.
- The circuit board has burned out. In this case, a repairman will have to order a replacement circuit board. Garage door opener circuit boards can be expensive, and you may be faced with a long wait to get the part. In this case, you may prefer to simply replace the entire garage door opener.
In most cases, however, it is not the garage door opener that won’t work, but the garage door itself. Please see above in the FAQ for what to do in that case.
Q: Why is my garage door noisy?
A: Generally, garage doors are noisy because of a lack of routine maintenance. Both the garage door itself and the garage door opener have many moving parts that need to be lubricated. The garage spring should be kept oiled, and the rollers have ball bearings that should be greased. The chains, pulleys, and sprockets in your garage door opener should be lubricated, and rails and trolleys should be greased. All of this should be done at least once a year, and more if you use your garage door more than two or three times per day.
Q: What was that loud noise in my garage?
A: It is likely that your garage door spring just broke. Because the spring does most of the heavy lifting for your garage door, you may not be able to manually open your door. If you have a torsion spring system, the tube that runs the length of your garage door will be over the opening. With an extension spring system, the springs will be running along the horizontal track. Garage door springs break simply due to wear and tear – most springs are rated for between five and ten thousand cycles, and once this number is reached, the spring will break. If your garage door spring breaks, you will need to have it replaced.
Q: Can I repair my broken spring?
A: You can, but it is not advisable. Repairing a spring can be extremely dangerous, and even a repaired spring will probably break again soon. Your best option is to hire a garage spring replacement contractor. A professional with the proper parts and tools can replace your spring quickly, often in less than half an hour.
Q: Can I insulate my garage door?
A: Yes, but use caution when you do. Depending on the type of insulation used, you may be adding too much weight on the garage door. Lighter insulation will usually not be a problem, but heavier high r-value insulation can damage your garage door opener. You can still use this kind of insulation, but you will need to recalibrate or even replace your garage door spring.
Q: Can you repair my bent garage door?
A: It is difficult to answer definitively without seeing the garage door, but generally a bent garage door can be repaired as long as its door panels are not cracked or bent. If the garage door was cracked or bent, replacement is your best option. Any repairs done would only serve as a band-aid and would not last long. Furthermore, cracked garage doors are dangerous and can collapse without warning. Fortunately, it may not be necessary to replace the whole garage door – you may only need to replace one or two panels.
Q: Can you repair my one-piece garage door?
A: It would be difficult because one-piece garage doors are obsolete, and finding parts can be difficult. This is not usually a problem for minor repairs, but if any major repairs are necessary, you will probably have to replace your garage door. However, if you need a new garage door spring, you are in luck: they are still plentiful, and a repair will not be a problem.
Q: Does my garage door really need springs?
A: Absolutely. The springs do all the heavy lifting and allow the garage door to raise and lower evenly. Even if you have a garage door opener, you need a spring. The motors were not designed to lift the full weight of your garage door. If your spring breaks, it needs to be replaced as soon as possible. Failure to do so can break your garage door opener and may harm you or a loved one.