One of the most common questions we hear at Lifetime Door is, “Can my garage door be fixed?”

Often, people think of a garage door as a single item – the door, but there are actually a number of parts that make up a garage door. Sure, you have the door itself, but there are also the rails, rollers, cables, hinges, pulleys, spring, handles, and opener.

A successful and functional garage door has all of these parts in working order, but occasionally one or more of these items will fail.

So what do you do? When can a door be fixed and when must it be replaced?

Typically, the only time you truly need to replace the garage door itself is when the door becomes damaged beyond repair.

We most commonly see this when a car accidentally runs into the door, bending or breaking the panel that makes up the door. Otherwise, most common issues can be easily fixed. Below are a few of the most common garage door issues explained:

The garage door won’t open or the garage door seems extremely heavy

This is typically an indicator that your spring has gone bad. The spring at the top of your door aids in lifting the door, helping to make an otherwise heavy door something that a human can easily lift with one hand. When this spring fails, opening the door can become extremely difficult.

The best step is to contact us at Lifetime Door and we will send a technician out to replace your spring and get you back up and running.

Grinding Noises or Intense Squeaks

This typically means that you have loose hardware, hinges, or worn out parts. Tighten your hinges, clean your rails, inspect your rollers, and grease all of your hardware components. If the problem persists give us a call at 262-783-4004.

Garage Door Closes and then Immediately Opens Again

This typically means that there is an issue with the alignment of your photo-eye. This device is a safety feature that prevents the door from shutting on something in its path.

Make sure that the photo eyes on both sides of your door are aligned to face each other and nothing is obstructing their path. It never hurts to measure and confirm these photo eyes are at the same height as well.

Garage Door Opener Won’t Work

This is probably the most common issue we get calls about and it comes with a number of potential causes, ranging from the batteries in your remote are dead to there being too much friction somewhere in the system.

• If you push the button and the opener makes a sound, then it is likely not an issue with the button or the fuse.
• If there is no sound check your batteries (if using a wireless remote) then examine the fuse that handles your garage door opener and push switch.
• If you do hear a noise when you push the button, examine the chain and apply a generous amount of silicone-based lubricant the full length of the chain to make sure that it can move freely.

Also confirm that the garage door is not manually locked using a slide bar lock that connects with the rail.

Be sure to examine the door and rail to make sure there is nothing obstructing the path of the garage door.

If the problem persists please reach out and we will send a technician to help troubleshoot and get your door opening and closing like a dream.

Safety is our number one priority, so we recommend trusting us to help you, whether the issue is large or small.

These are just a few of the most common causes of a garage door failing to open. If you’re having any of these problems, or perhaps a problem we have not yet explained, we’d be glad to give it a thorough look-over.

We have numerous service locations across the Milwaukee area, including Brookfield, Waukesha, Madison, Racine, Kenosha and West Bend.

We would be happy to schedule a time to send one of our garage door experts to help you get your door back on track.