Signs your garage door needs a repair
Most repair jobs begin with a change you notice. The door is heavier than it was, it sits crooked in the opening, it scrapes or grinds, or it stops part way and goes no further. B&D NZ says a door that becomes hard to operate, or stops working at all, should go to a door professional.
Dominator puts a door that is hard to lift by hand down to three likely faults: a decompressed spring, a warped track or a loose cable. All three hold a lot of force, so the fix belongs with a door specialist, not a weekend project.
Door fault or opener fault?
Rule out the simple things before you send the job. Try the wall button as well as the remote, put a new battery in the remote, and make sure the socket the opener runs from has power.
If the motor runs but the door labours or stops, mention it. Dominator says an opener is only meant to stand in for human strength, so a door that is hard to move by hand points to the door itself rather than the motor. Opener and motor repairs covers the faults that sit in the motor.
Leave springs, cables and drums alone
Garador tells owners not to try adjusting springs, and warns that the lifting cables are under extreme tension, so the drums and cables are not to be touched. Dominator's opener manual says the springs and brackets can cause serious injury, and that a door needing repair should not be used until it is fixed.
When the door is stuck open or off its track
A door that has jumped its track or won't come down is the one repair that can't sit until next week. Stop using the opener, keep people, pets and cars away from the opening, and don't try to force it back into line.
On the form, pick "Stuck open or off its track". The job is flagged urgent for the door specialist who takes it. Nobody can promise how soon anyone arrives, so keep the area clear in the meantime.
Useful details for the door specialist
- The type of door: roller, sectional, tilt or Flex-A-Door
- The maker's name, from a label on the door or the opener
- What the door does now, and roughly when it started
- Any new noise, such as grinding, scraping or a loud bang
- Whether a cable looks frayed or rusty, seen from a safe distance
- Whether the house is close to the sea, since makers' warranties exclude salt damage
What you can do, and what to leave
You can
- Try the wall button and a new remote battery
- Check the opener has power
- Wipe dust and grit from the guide tracks, using no grease or oil, as Garador advises
- Keep the doorway clear until the door specialist has been
Leave to a door specialist
- Springs, cables, drums and brackets
- A door that is off its track, crooked or stuck open
- Bent panels, tracks or rollers
- Opener faults beyond the remote and the power
- Any new power point or hard wiring, which a licensed electrician does
What we would do
Find the door's paperwork before the door specialist calls. Dominator's 10 Year Total Confidence Warranty leaves out spring adjustment or replacement from normal wear and tear, and salt or damp damage, so the warranty card and the date the door went in quickly show which parts of the repair it might cover.