4 June 2015
 Categories: , Blog

Many garage door repairs should be left to professional contractors, as a garage door works with a very large, heavy-duty spring or set of springs that can be dangerous if they should uncoil without warning. However, there are a few minor repairs that you might be able to make with a garage door on your own no matter its style, or at the very least you will know what repairs are needed so you can call for pricing estimates before you have the door repaired. Note the following.

1. Broken or wrong size springs

When a spring is broken, the garage door may simply fall from the track or the roller housing above the entryway to your garage. If the spring is too large and exerts too much force, the garage door might open on its own. If you open the garage door manually and it doesn't stop opening after you stop lifting, this too often means that the garage door's spring may be too large for the door itself.

Because garage door springs are so dangerous to work with, you want to leave this repair job to a contractor. He or she will need to replace the spring and also test to ensure it's the right size for the size of the door.

2. Bent garage door

A bend or ding in a garage door might not seem very serious to you, but this can keep a garage door from sliding along the track or folding up properly inside a roller housing. One way to note if a bend or ding in the door is keeping it from working properly is to look at the garage door from the side as much as possible and see if the ding or dent is actually causing the door to be misshapen. If so, this may be why it won't open all the way or why you may hear creaking or scraping as it does open, or why it may not close all the way as it slides from the tracks or unfolds from the roller.

3. Lack of lubrication

You may notice that your garage door doesn't move very easily during cold weather, and it may actually get stuck or just seem sticky as it folds or glides along the track. Very often this is because lubrication gets thick during the cold season, so that the door can't roll up or glide as easily. It's good to lubricate the metal rollers and hinges of your doors often during the cold season so that the door moves easily and the lubrication doesn't get gummy and sticky. For more information, contact a business such as Shutter-Fix.