When you get home from work after a hard day, the last thing you need is a garage door that will not open. You may decide to have a look to see if you can make fast repairs. If your garage door is giving you trouble opening and closing, follow these tips for ensuring your repairs are successful.

What Type of Garage Door System Do You Have?

Knowing the type of system your garage door runs on will help you make the right choices about its repair. Three types of systems are generally used for most garage doors, including

  • Chain-driven systems: garage doors opened using chain system are considered to be the oldest ones in operation. In fact, many of the chain drives have been phased out and replaced with updated systems.

  • Belt-driven systems: this type of garage door systems incorporates the use of rubber belts for opening and closing your door.

  • Rod-driven systems: Today's more modern garage doors are usually operated using a rod-driven system.

Determining the type of system your garage door uses to open and close is helpful in the event you end up calling a professional to make necessary repairs. Knowing the type of garage door system you have can also help when you are calling to find the parts you need to fix it.

Broken Torsion Springs Can Cause Opening and Closing Troubles

In most garage doors, a broken torsion spring can be obvious. However, repairing one can be challenging, especially if you do not have the experience doing so. The pressure needed for a torsion spring to work properly is extremely high, so if you find you are dealing with a broken torsion spring, contacting a professional to make repairs is important.

Are the Batteries Dead?

Check the wall unit for your garage door opener, especially if the remote seems to be working fine. If your wall unit is battery operated, the batteries could be dead. Replacing them will tell you if that was the problem. However, if your garage door opener unit is electrically supplied, you should contact a qualified electrician for making repairs to avoid electric shock.

Are the Door Sensors Blocked?

If an object in your garage is blocking the door sensors, it will not work properly when you use the remote for opening and closing. The sensors on your garage door should facing one another directly, so realigning them is important to remember. Removing obstacles may be the only repair you need to do. This is an especially common issue for families with children that have their bicycles and other larger toys in the garage. For assistance, talk to a professional like Shank Door.

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