FAQs

when the door feels too heavy to lift, it might indicate that the torsion spring is broken (see garage door springs page)

When using the opener, garage door stops a few inches off the floor then stops, might indicate on a broken spring or a low force/worn out opener.

Although it is not mandatory to replace both of the springs at the same time, in most cases it would be a more cost efficient and convenient option. Assuming that both of the springs were installed at the same time, both are expected to break with in the same time frame and since replacing one or two springs is the same amount of labor, the total cost is expected to be lower than replacing each one separately.

It is not uncommon to find one spring on a two car garage door, It could be a cheaper solution on the short run, however the life expectancy of one spring is significantly shorter than of a dual spring assembly.

In addition, when a single spring assembly brakes, it is not possible to lift the garage door up (because of the door weight) as oppose to dual spring assembly, where door can still be lifted with applying some force.

When attempting to bring the door down using an opener, the door won’t go down or move few feet and roll back up again (in certain opener models the lights will blink) may indicate on a problem with safety sensors. Sensors may be misaligned, defected, have bad contact or there is an object in between them.

In chain drive Openers- motor makes humming or grinding noises but chain doesn’t move. May indicate on a worn out gear and/or broken sprocket. Chain drive openers have a relatively shorter life span than the screw drive and belt drive openers. Therefore gears/sprockets tend to break after 4-9 years of use.

Most off-track garage doors will become completely jammed within the tracks. One or both of the cables will get tangled up on the torsion bar above, causing the door to go crooked within the tracks. The weight of the door will likely bend the tracks and cause two or more of the rollers to pop out.

Garage doors can be off track in the open, half open, and closed position. Avoid moving the door as this will quickly cause more damage. Off-track doors can be very dangerous and should be repaired by a trained technician only!

Bottom corner of the door is riding up on one side if the lift cable falls out of the groove it is supposed to ride in, it will throw your garage door out of alignment. This usually happens when a door is bumped during travel, or slammed on the ground. If you open the door when it has a cable off the drum, you could end up with an off-track door, a much more expensive problem to fix. Do not run your door on the electric opener or lift manually.

One side of the door is riding up off the ground. The cables on your door are attached to the bottom corners and are under extreme tension–they hold the full weight of your door. When one cable breaks, all of the strength of the springs is transferred to the intact cable, lifting one side of the door into the air. Do not try to open a door with a broken cable, the door could crash, which is dangerous, or can go sideways – making a repair much more expensive.

When a cable becomes frayed or becomes very twisty (indicates fraying on the inside of the cable), it stretches, throwing the door out of alignment and causing one side to ride up a little.

Over the span of years or as result of a hit the garage door sections may suffer a structural failure which might make the door bowed /sagging when in up position. It could be difficult if not impossible to operate the door using the opener.

There is a sufficient repair to this problem by installing reinforcement struts along the door sections