5 Signs Your Garage Door Needs a Repair
Most homeowners use their garage doors more often than their front doors to enter their homes, so keeping your garage door functioning properly is essential for your daily convenience. With regular daily use, it’s normal for your garage door to need repairs. Unfortunately, many homeowners make the mistake of only having their garage doors inspected by a professional once pieces of hardware or parts break. By delaying garage door repairs, you could experience costly and inconvenient emergency garage door repair or replacement later.
Common Garage Door Issues That Indicate You Need a Repair
To avoid these untimely and expensive services, it’s important to recognize common signs that indicate your garage door needs repair.
1. Garage Door Won’t Open or Close
An obvious sign of a broken garage door is if the door won’t open or close when you hit the control buttons on the wall panel or remote. Common causes include power supply issues or electrical problems with the opener. The cause of this malfunction could be easy to remedy, like an accidentally locked garage door or an engaged disconnect switch, or it could be larger problems like a faulty connection between the door and control panel, the door is off its tracks, misaligned photo eye sensors or other door malfunctions.
Sometimes, a mechanical or manual override can provide a temporary fix, allowing you to operate the door manually until a professional can assess the situation.
2. Noisy Door Operations
While it’s normal for your garage door to make some noise while operating, a noisy garage door with grinding or other unusual sounds can indicate that something is wrong. Make note of any unusual garage door and opener sounds that indicate repair needs, including:
- Grating: Bent coils
- Rumbling: Loose spring tension
- Banging: Defective garage door panels
- Grinding: Worn rollers or poor lubrication of moving parts
- Squealing: Garage door is out of balance
- Rattling: A loose chain or support rails
- Straining: Defective garage door opener or inadequate horsepower
3. Garage Door Is Off Its Tracks
The garage door safely and reliably operates by moving up and down the tracks using rollers. If your garage door is off its tracks, it can prevent proper opening and closing. Identifying issues with the door tracks and hardware is crucial, and professional realignment helps prevent further damage to the door and its components.
4. Sagging Garage Door Sections
Part of regular garage door maintenance includes performing a balance test at least once or twice per year to check if your garage door panels are sagging. This can indicate that your garage door’s tension springs need replacement. With a balance test, you’ll detach the door from the opener and then lift the garage door about halfway on its tracks. If the door stays in place, it’s properly balanced. But if it slams closed or snaps open, the door is off-balance or sagging.
The cause of a sagging garage door could be worn tension springs or dulled rollers and tracks. Weather-related issues, such as humidity or temperature fluctuations, can also cause sagging or uneven door sections. Regularly inspect the door to catch these signs early.
5. Slow Response Time
When you press your garage door remote, does the door take more than one or two seconds to respond? While waiting the extra time may not seem like a critical repair need, any operations taking more than a few seconds could indicate something wrong with your garage door system. Delayed operations can indicate a problem with the garage door or the opener, like broken opener cords, corroded pulleys, bad rollers or worn remote control circuitry.
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How to Tell if Your Garage Door Needs Professional Repair
Ignoring these signs can lead to more significant problems down the line. Key indicators that professional repairs are necessary include persistent noise, failure to operate and visible damage. The risks of neglecting these issues can include safety hazards and higher repair costs. Contact a professional to assess your garage door and to conduct a repair to keep you and your family safe.
Preventive Maintenance and Care Tips
To avoid unexpected repairs, regular inspections and maintenance are crucial. Practical tips include lubricating moving parts and cleaning the door regularly to extend its lifespan. A well-maintained garage door is less likely to experience major issues.
For Your Garage Door Repairs, Trust Hunter Door
When you need friendly, reliable and responsive garage door repair and maintenance services in South Jersey, call the experts at Hunter Door. As a South Jersey garage door servicing company operating throughout the area since 1969, we understand the needs of local homeowners throughout Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and surrounding communities, and we can provide quality and affordable garage door solutions that exceed your expectations. Our company goal is to always provide the best services, so we offer free project estimates and parts and labor warranties.
Set up your garage door repairs or maintenance today by calling us at 856-431-3952 or schedule an appointment by filling out our online contact form.