Turner Sandy Springs Garage Door, LLC: Garage Door Won’t Work, Things to Check Before Calling A Professional

A garage door that works the way it should and looks like it’s in great shape can positively impact your home, not to mention potentially raise its value. This might not be something you had previously considered, but it’s true! Not only can a garage door help you to save money when it comes to cooling costs and heating costs if everything is in working order and properly sealed, but the installation of a new garage door can actually help you to recover project costs when you go to resell the home. So it is a good project if you are looking for a return on your investment. Unfortunately, when issues occur, it can be very frustrating for various reasons.

So what happens when problems arise with the garage door? What happens when you have a lovely, traditional wooden door that won’t open? Or what if you have a carriage house style garage door that you love but it is malfunctioning? Does it still add value to your home? And even more importantly, can you even get your car out of the garage? What can you do on your own without having to reach out to an expert?

Whether you have a swing out door, overhead garage door or any other style or design, you want the garage door to work. You need it to work so you don’t face setbacks or risk your property becoming vulnerable to a break in. You don’t want to be unable to get your car out.

Turner Sandy Springs Garage Door, LLC in Sandy Springs, Georgia is here to offer advice on things to check before calling a professional if something is wrong with your garage door. These tips should be useful for you regardless of where you are in the country, so read on even if you aren’t in our service area.

Things to Check Before Calling a Professional

1. Check the Tracks

If the tracks don’t look right, you might actually be able to work on them yourself – that is, if you are completely comfortable with this. Remember not to attempt any sort of repair work or maintenance if you are not fully confident about doing so or if you lack the right tools. You can adjust your garage door tracks by loosening the track brackets and moving the track until you can see a quarter inch of space from the top of the crown molding to the bottom of the garage door. Of course, check your manufacturer’s literature before doing anything to make sure that the same rules apply to your specific garage door type. Use cleaner if you notice any hardened grease or dirt build up. This can make a difference and it is something that you can do on your own.

1. Check the Springs

This is a part that you can check on your own, but we are going to have to recommend using a professional for this part. Consider the fact that a spring is expected to last for up to 10,000 cycles. That generally equates to a decade of usage. If you have exceeded this time frame, then it might be time for spring replacement. Springs can show signs of wear and tear, so if you see a gap, you are going to want to call a professional. They can snap, after all, so if you do hear a loud bang, this is another reason to call an expert in. Does your door go up but then get stuck halfway? It could be a spring problem. This is something to mention to an expert.

1. Look for Loose Hardware

This is something that you can do yourself. And again, if you see something you are not comfortable or confident working on yourself, simply taking a look and relaying what you see to an expert over the phone should prove to be very helpful. It will also provide the repair professional with a better idea of what to plan to bring to the job. If you have a swing up garage door, then you will want to look at where the spring is mounted and check the plates – you might feel confident tightening loose screws on your own. If you have a roll up door, parts to check include hinges where again you can tighten any screws that have loosened.

1. Check the Opener System

Is the garage door failing to open and you have checked the areas mentioned? Then it could be that you have a garage door opener problem on your hands. If you are comfortable doing so, check the opener system. The motor closes and opens the door – at least, it is supposed to. See if any wiring looks loose. Also, while you’re focused on the opener system, see if the batteries in the remote still work. It could just be that you have a dead battery! If you have not replaced the battery in more than a year, this could definitely be the culprit.

1. Check to See if Remote Needs Reprogramming

Another thing that you might be able to do on your own is reprogram the remote if this needs to be done. This might be needed if the garage door is not responding to it. You will want to see what the manufacturer has to say about this because there are different guidelines depending on the product that you have.

These are just a few things to check before calling a garage door repair professional. A garage door that works the way it should and looks like it’s in overall good shape can positively impact your home, and help you to save money when it comes to cooling costs and heating costs. You want the garage door to function and it is a given that when issues occur, it can be very frustrating for various reasons. We hope that you now have a better idea of what to check before calling a professional but also hope you realize that calling in an expert can be a great idea!