In many cases, garage doors are ignored and unloved. Despite its effectiveness in safeguarding your home, belongings, and vehicle against the elements and would-be burglars, maintaining it is the last thing on your mind until it breaks.
Garage door problems may include remotes, power interruptions, broken seals, chains, etc. Garage door problems can be very confusing when figuring out what is wrong. Let One & Only Garage Door and Gate Repair assist you.
Garage doors require two components: the door itself and the opener. Here’s how you can fix both problems. To begin with, let’s look at the door itself.
An Overview Of Garage Door Repair
The spring tension makes it work no matter how the garage door opens, whether it rolls up in sections or opens in one piece—a heavy spring powers the garage door, which moves along metal tracks attached to the garage walls. Most repairs are relatively straightforward when repairing a door that does not function well. Below are some helpful repair tips.
Step 1:
Ensure the garage’s metal tracks are in proper shape. Pay attention to how the tracks are installed on the walls. If the bracket’s bolts and screws are loose, tighten them. When working inside the garage with the doors closed, inspect the tracks for dents, crimps, or flat spots when working inside the garage with closed doors. If there are any damaged spots, pound them out with a rubber mallet or hammer and a block of scrap wood. In case of severe damage to the tracks, they should be replaced.
Step 2:
A level can be used to ensure that the tracks are aligned correctly. The vertical sections of the track should be upright in roll-up doors. The horizontal tracks should slant slightly toward the back of the garage. Both tracks should be mounted at the same height on the garage walls. Tap the mounting brackets gently into place after loosening, but not removing the screws or bolts securing them. Tighten the mounting bracket screws or bolts after ensuring the tracks are level.
Step 3:
Use a concentrated household cleaner to remove dirt and hardened grease from the tracks. Cleaning the rollers should be followed by thoroughly drying the tracks and rollers.
Step 4:
Tighten any loose hardware if necessary. The screws on the spring mounting plate must be tightened if they are loose. Ensure that the hinges holding the door sections are tightened and that damaged hinges are repaired. A sagging door often requires hinge repairs to be corrected. You should replace the screw with a longer one of the same diameter and use a hollow fiber plug dipped in carpenters’ glue. If the wood at a hinge is cracked, remove the hinge and fill the cracks and screw holes with wood filler. When the filler is dry, replace the hinge. For hinges, solid wood should be used.
Torsion springs in the middle of roll-up doors should not be repaired. If your door has this type of spring, you should call a professional garage door repair service like One & Only Garage Door and Gate Repair.
Garage door problems can sometimes be traced back to the opener. The following guide will show you how to replace or repair a garage door opener step-by-step.
A garage door opener is one of the most useful gadgets for your home. You can install the unit yourself using these general instructions and the specific instructions that come with the unit.
Generally, garage door openers have reversible motors that drive carriages along rails above the door. Door carriages are equipped with drawbars that allow them to move from fully open to fully closed positions, with travel-limiting devices to prevent unintended movement. A relay or reversing switch reverses the drive from opening to closing. Garage doors can be opened using a signal from an electronic module in your car.
Here are the steps you need to follow to install a garage door opener:
Step 1: The mechanism should be installed in the center of the door. The width of the garage door can be determined by measuring it with a tape measure. To reach the center, half of this distance must be covered. Draw a short, vertical line down the center of the door from the inside. Affix the drawbar (the mechanism for raising and lowering the door) at this line, and the door weight will be evenly balanced.
Step 2: involves raising and lowering the door and observing its top point. The opener must be mounted so that the rail is higher than the peak of the door. Mark this location. Otherwise, the door could strike the rail as it opens.
Step 3: Support must be suitable for attaching the rail’s front end at the vertical dividing line above your garage door. You can install a front mounting board if your garage lacks a structural member. Over your mark of highest door travel, secure a length of 2 x 6-inch plank securely with lag screws. Place your high-point mark on this plank, and extend the vertical door center line onto it.
Step 4: Following the instructions in the kit, attach the rail to the motor unit on the garage floor. The outermost end of the rail should be fastened to the front support plank with the garage door down. It would help if you were about two inches above the intersection of your door’s high point and center line. Lag screws usually attach the rail bracket to the front mounting plank. However, you must drill suitable holes through the top mounting plank if bolts and nuts are provided. Under the bolt heads, use washers to prevent them from pressing into the wood.
Step 5: The motor assembly should be raised until the rail is horizontal or parallel to the door track. Lift and lower the garage door by hand while holding the motor assembly in this position to ensure that the rail location does not interfere with door movement. As soon as you have determined the correct position and height for the motor assembly, please attach it to the garage joists using the metal brackets in the kit. You’ll need to fasten a 2 X 4 across the garage joists and mount the brackets if the motor assembly is between two joists. With lag screws, you can install a 3/4-inch plywood panel overhead if your garage ceiling is finished. Heavy-duty toggle bolts should be used to attach the mounting hardware to the plywood panel.
Step 6: Ensure that the rail carriage is in its closed-door position by attaching the drawbar to the carriage. On the garage door, mark the mounting screw holes for the drawbar, and drill them. When the drawbar is mounted, and the holes are drilled, insert and tighten the attached hardware.
Step 7: Adjust the drive chain or lead screw as necessary, paying particular attention to the location of the bolts that limit chain travel.
Step 8: Install the radio receiver and the manual push button. For the push button, you can use ordinary bell wire. When you push the button, you should be able to see the garage door opener operating. Optionally, a key switch can also be installed.
Step 9: Connect the drive assembly cord to an extension cord, then plug the extension cord into a convenient receptacle. Push the manual button to start the garage door. While the door’s first test rises, pull the plug from the extension cord several times to ensure that there is no binding anywhere and that the lifting action is satisfactory. The garage door opener system includes adjustment provisions that can be used to make any necessary corrections. Check that the remote radio module is working.
Step 10: Connect the drive assembly line cord to its permanent outlet and disconnect the extension cord. The cord should be connected to the overhead light socket in the garage.
Garage doors can now be repaired, whether they are damaged on the inside or the outside.
Garage Door Repair: Everything You Need to Know
You will need the following items to complete the project. We are not psychics, and we would not snoop through your toolbox or garage.
Tool List
- Folding step ladder, six feet
- Certified winding bars (not another metal bar “that works”)
- Two Vise-Grip pliers, aka locking pliers
- Open-ended wrench set
- Socket wrench set
- Cordless drill (optional)
- File
- Tape measure
- Wire gauge tool
- Rubber mallet
Parts List
- New batteries
- Changing garage door springs
- 3-In-One Professional Garage Door Lubricant
- New wire
- Garage door motor
- New chain
Keeping your tools and gear organized will save you precious minutes waiting for your handy-dandy child or four-legged helper to bring you the sandpaper or blowtorch. Don’t let your kid hand you a blowtorch for this job. You won’t need it.
You’ll also need a garage. If you don’t have a garage, we can’t help you, nor would we suggest fixing your neighbor’s garage while they’re sleeping. Why? Because we aren’t getting you out of the clink.
Garage Door Repair Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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- What should I do about my garage door? Should I repair it or replace it?
It is better to repair a single panel than to replace it completely when you need a replacement panel. If more than one-panel rusts or fades, it is better to repair the entire garage door than to replace the panels separately.
- How much does it cost to repair a garage door?
Garage door repair costs in the U.S. average $243, ranging from $148 to $34. Among these repairs are issues related to opening and closing the door, faulty garage door openers, and broken locks.
- Is it safe to repair a garage door yourself?
It can be dangerous to do it yourself if this is your first time. The reason why professionals are recommended is because of this. You may save money, however, if you know what you are doing.
- Is there a reason why my garage door won’t lower?
There could be loose wires at the sensors or a blocked path between them. The transmitters can fail to close the garage door sometimes. You can try unplugging the garage door opener and plugging it back in.
- What is the best way to make my garage door close automatically?
Garage door closers are available. It will automatically do so when you forget to close the garage door. With the built-in timer, you only need to set a time.
- How Safe Is It to Repair Your Garage Yourself?
If you take the necessary safety precautions, repairing your garage door shouldn’t be too dangerous. However, errant parts can break without warning, so always be cautious. In particular, resetting garage door springs requires extreme focus and strength. When in doubt, call a professional.
- What is the average lifespan of a garage door?
Garage doors are designed to last 15-30 years. However, you shouldn’t forget about them between birth and when they bring home their first bundle of joy and poop. You should maintain your garage door just as you would your car.
- When Should You Lubricate Your Garage Door?
Lubricating your garage door once a year is an excellent idea, especially if you live in an area with inclement weather or where dirt and debris can be blown into its tracks.
- What is the maximum wind speed that a garage door can withstand?
There is a wide range of strength and wind resistance among different doors. If you want to know how much wind your garage door can withstand, consult the manufacturer’s specifications.
- Do garage doors have hurricane-proofing?
Yes, there are! Some can even withstand wind speeds of up to 200 mph! Impact-resistant garage doors also prevent your home from being damaged by debris kicked up by hurricanes or tornadoes.
- What should I do about my garage door? Should I repair it or replace it?
Get Help From a Garage Door Expert
Call a qualified garage door technician from One & Only Garage Door and Gate Repair if you feel uncomfortable working with the garage door spring, cables, or any other part of the door system. Severely damaged garage door tracks should be replaced. Tension spring replacement is best left in the hands of qualified garage door repair professionals.
If you are interested in our services, contact us at (833) 210-3772 to learn more about our services for garage door repair. Your request will be handled by one of our best customer service representatives.