Top Signs Your Garage Door Needs Repair ASAP
January 11, 2024Your garage door is a critical component of your home and needs regular maintenance to ensure it’s functioning properly. Recognizing signs of wear and tear can help you prevent costly emergency garage door repair services later.
A jerky or hesitant garage door movement can indicate that it’s time for repairs. This could be caused by a simple problem like low batteries or a more serious issue such as misaligned photo eye sensors.
1. Unusual Noises
You can expect a garage door to make some noise when in use, but any unusual or loud sounds could be an indication that it needs repair. Some sounds to be concerned about include:
Creaking or scraping noises: These can indicate loose hinges, supporting components and tracks. This can easily be fixed by tightening or re-tightening the bolts, nuts and screws, as well as using lubricant on any moving parts.
Squeaking noises: The hinges, pulleys, rollers and bearings in your garage door system need to be lubricated to reduce friction and wear and tear. A quick lubrication may be enough to solve this problem, but if the squeaking persists contact a professional garage door specialist to examine the cause of the issue.
Banging noises: A sudden banging or straining sound while opening or closing your garage door could be a sign that the rollers have come off the track or are not aligned correctly with it. This can be dangerous for anyone in the area, so it is best to call for garage door repairs Epping immediately.
Delays in operation: If the garage door takes more than a few seconds to open or close, this could be due to a number of issues, including corroded pulleys, faulty opener cords, a photo-eye sensor that is blocked by objects or a tripped circuit breaker. Contact PDS Garage Doors to investigate the problem and recommend the best solution.
2. Damaged Tracks
If your garage door is shaking, shuddering or moving crooked, you have some major issues that need to be addressed right away. These problems could lead to the doors coming off of their tracks, resulting in serious damage to your home and expensive repair bills.
It’s important to keep in mind that the tracks (or rails) of your garage door are attached to structural lumber along your walls or ceiling, so any damage could have a serious impact on the overall structure. This is why it’s so crucial to inspect them regularly for signs of wear and tear.
If the tracks are bent, misaligned or gunked up with mud or dust, it may not be an immediate concern, but it’s definitely something that should be fixed as soon as possible. Continuing to operate your garage door with severely damaged tracks will only worsen the issue and create an even greater safety hazard for you and your family members. A garage door repairs in Melbourne can fix this problem with relative ease, however, so don’t hesitate to call!
3. Damaged Panels
If your garage door is displaying signs of damaged panels, you’ll want to get that taken care of ASAP. Damaged panels aren’t just unsightly, they also pose security risks and allow heating and cooling to escape.
Your garage can be a dumping ground for anything from old holiday decorations to furniture, and it’s no surprise that your door takes some abuse over time. However, this kind of activity can cause your door to jerk and shake – which can lead to injury to people or pets in your home or business.
Whether you go the repair route or replacement route depends on how extensive the damage is. Light damage such as small scratches, dents and rust patches can often be repaired with wood filler or paint, but more extensive damage may require a panel to be replaced.
The decision may also be impacted by your garage door’s age and its current condition. Newer doors with intact panels can often skip a full replacement and still function well. If yours is older, however, a replacement may be the most cost-effective option.
4. Unbalanced Door
When a garage door loses balance, it puts unnecessary strain on the springs and cables that support the entire weight of your doors. This can lead to permanent damage if you don’t get it repaired right away.
To check if your garage door is unbalanced, disconnect the opener and raise it manually. If it begins to fall a few inches off the ground, it isn’t balanced. Fortunately, it’s an easy fix.
You can correct the issue by adjusting the spring tension. Move the adjusting collar up to tighten it, and down to loosen it. Once you’ve done that, reattach the opener and test it. The door should stay halfway open when you release it, but if it starts to move down, that’s a sign that the spring tension needs to be adjusted. This is a job that only a professional should tackle, but it’s an important one that shouldn’t be put off for too long. You could end up with serious damage to your items in the garage, or even your foundation if it’s not fixed quickly.
5. Broken Cables
If you hear a loud bang from your garage door, it could be caused by broken cables. The cables support the entire weight of your garage door, so if they break it can lead to a catastrophic garage door collapse and serious injuries for anyone nearby. This is a serious and urgent repair that should be handled immediately by professionals.
Broken cables often go unnoticed until they snap. This can be due to daily wear and tear, corrosion, or other factors like moisture. It’s important to regularly check your cables for signs of wear and tear and replace them if they are worn out.
A snapped cable can cause added stress on the other cables and can lead to them becoming crooked or unbalanced. To avoid this, we recommend using a C-clamp or other method to hold the door in a completely open position while you remove and replace the damaged cable. Ensure the new cable is looped around the bottom mounting bracket, threaded through the pulleys, and fastened to the frame or rail according to manufacturer directions.
