For far too many homeowners, their garage doors break and need repairs, and they often don’t know why. If you’ve spent more than a few minutes here on our website, you more than likely understand that a garage door system is a complex and complicated system of various moving parts. Those moving parts are under a lot of tension and stress, and this increases the older your garage door gets. Some of these parts include garage door hinges, springs, and cables. There are reasons why these parts can break or need repair, and there are precautions you can take to avoid the surprise malfunction of these components and avoid potentially costly repair services.
How to Identify Potential Breakdowns of Garage Door Components
To identify potential breakdowns of garage door components, it’s first important to understand what they are called and what they do. Two of the most important components of your garage door are called hinges and springs. The hinges of your garage doors keep your various components and sections of your door in place and help hold them together. Side hinges hold garage door rollers in place properly on the shaft, and these will guide the rollers as the door moves up and down. If hinges become damaged or need to be replaced, the door will no longer be able to rotate properly and follow along its necessary trajectory. This could cause a serious safety hazard and potential injury if you don’t pay attention to the status of your hinges and rollers.
Another crucial aspect of your garage door are your springs. Garage door springs are responsible for holding the majority of your garage door. Modern garage doors weigh anywhere from 150 all the way up to 350 pounds. If springs happen to break, this weight will be transferred to hinges, tracks and rollers, which won’t last long and will eventually come crashing down – that is for certain and is only a matter of time. If you notice your springs need to be repaired, don’t open or close your door and call a garage door repair service immediately.
Staying Balanced
One of the best ways to spot potential malfunctions in the components of your garage door is to test to see if the door is balanced. Here are some tips to check your door’s balance to help avoid surprisingly costly repairs.
- Close the door and disconnect it from the opener.
- Ensure that the door remains closed.
- Slowly lift your door to your waistline. If you need help doing this, ask someone. The door should stay where it is positioned and not go up or slam shut on its own.
- Raise the door all the way. It still shouldn’t go anywhere on its own once to release it.
If your door slams shut or goes up on its own quickly, there is a balance issue with your door. If it goes up or down slowly, it might still be okay. Either way, if you notice these issues, it’s time to give the professionals here at Garage Door in My Area a call before things get worse.