The most common reasons why garage doors get jammed
It happened again. Pouring down rain when you pulled up to your garage door, tapped the opener button, and the door rose two feet and stopped. Further attempts brought only the same result and there you were with a car full of groceries to bring in.
What gives? The door was working fine but now it gets jammed every other day and you just can’t figure it out. Here at D Bar Garage Doors we know well the myriad reasons for a temperamental portal and as a homeowner, your first line of defense is awareness. Knowing some of the more common culprits will help diagnose a problem and plan a solution.
Sticky garage doors and you
Don’t fling a fusillade of blue language at your balky garage door. Instead, get familiar with its ailments to prescribe a cure.
One of the easiest and most overlooked issues is dead transmitter batteries. It’s like when the lawn mower won’t start but it just needs gas. Naturally, if there’s no power in the transmitter it can’t send a signal to the opener. Test the wall transmitter in the garage first; if it works then you probably need new batteries in your car’s transmitter.
Another common problem lies with the photo eyes near the floor. These safety devices keep the door from closing on top of someone or from smashing your child’s bicycle or other things. If the photo eyes get nudged out of alignment or blocked with dirt, their signal won’t connect and it renders your door useless.
A related problem here is the door closes part or all the way but then reverses and goes back up. Check for anything blocking the door’s path, on the rails and the ground.
A more serious issue is bent, damaged, or misaligned tracks. The door relies on properly aligned tracks and if the rollers aren’t tracking or the rails are bent, the door will likely get stuck, won’t work at all, or might jump off the rails altogether.
The real bad stuff
In some cases, severe garage door issues develop and in times like these, it’s best to call a professional.
A garage door’s torsion springs are under tremendous pressure and when one breaks you’ll know it, both from the gunshot-like bang and your lifeless door. The springs are the workhorses in the whole door system and eventually wear out and must be replaced. We highly recommend calling in an expert for this repair as serious injury is possible.
Need more help with your stuck garage door? Call the experts at D Bar at (503) 553-9933
