A door that has gone heavy
You usually notice this one with the opener off, or when the motor starts to labour. Dominator suggests unplugging the opener every three months and feeling how the door moves by hand, because an opener is only meant to replace human strength. Do that with the door closed, and stop if it won't move easily.
Dominator names three likely faults behind a heavy door: a decompressed spring, a warped track or a loose cable. None of them is an owner fix, so your job is to spot it and send it on.
Why springs and cables are off limits
Dominator says replacing and adjusting springs "can be extremely dangerous, especially to those who have not been trained in the correct procedure." Its opener manual adds not to use the door if it needs repair. Leave the springs, cables, drums and brackets to a door specialist.
Garage door service in Dunedin
A regular garage door service catches wear early on a door that works hard. Dominator asks for a yearly check by the homeowner on top of a technician's service in the first 12 months and every 2 years after. Its opener warranty goes further and sets the first service at 12 months after installation or 3,000 cycles, whichever comes first.
For a sectional door, B&D NZ's care guide lines up with that. For a roller door or tilt door fittings it says every 12 months. Check how the door runs every 6 months in between, as B&D NZ suggests, and note anything new.
Wind and damp on the steel
Musselburgh sees gusts over 61 km/h on 65 days a year, NIWA says, so doors here get pushed around more than most in Otago. Close to Otago Harbour and the open coast there is salt as well: as MBIE quotes NZS 3604, Zone D covers homes within 500 m of the sea or a harbour.
Warranties don't help much there. Dominator's exclude corrosion or damage from salty or damp conditions, which is one more reason to wash the door often and act when a cable first starts to look rough.
Repairs around Dunedin
Winter wind
Dunedin's wind runs high all year but especially in winter, NIWA says, so listen for loose fixings and rattles then.
Beach and harbour homes
Near the water, look over cables and fixings more often and keep the door washed.
Brighton and out of town
Your postcode tells the form which door businesses cover your area, so give the real one, not the nearest suburb.
What you can look at
You can
- Feel the door's weight by hand with the opener released and the door closed
- Clean inside the guide tracks with a cloth, no grease or oil
- Run the timber test on the opener each month
- Look for rust or fraying on the cables from a safe distance
Leave to a door specialist
- Replacing a spring or a cable
- Straightening or swapping a warped track
- Balancing the door again
- Setting the opener's force and travel
What we would do
If the door has started to feel heavy, stop using the opener until someone has looked at it. Dominator's opener warranty asks for a door that moves by hand with no more than 20kg of force, so a heavy door can put the motor's cover at risk as well as wearing it out.