Having a malfunctioning garage door is an issue that most homeowners can relate to. Whether it’s due to old age, faulty parts, or external obstructions, discovering that your garage door won’t open can be incredibly frustrating. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the situation and start trying anything just to get out of your house and on with your day, but doing so could end up leading to more damage than necessary.
To help you better understand why your garage door might be stuck, let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons behind jammed garage doors.
External Obstruction
The first thing you should check when your garage door gets stuck are any potential obstructions blocking its path. You might not think that something as small as a piece of wood or a loose screw would do much harm, but it’s amazing how much such objects can interfere with the track and cause the mechanism to become jammed. Before getting into more involved problems like faulty springs or opener engines, make sure that everything appears clear along the track.
Faulty Springs
Another common cause for jammed garage doors are faulty springs. The industry standard for residential garages are either extension springs or torsion springs, both placed at the top of the door in either horizontal or vertical positions respectively. In case of torsion springs, check if there is an obvious gap between them—this usually indicates breakage. In case of extension springs, you should look out for hanging pieces near the sides of the door. If any of these issues occur, it’s best to call a professional garage repair service rather than try and fix it yourself; attempting too much may lead to further damaging the entire mechanism rather than simply replacing one set of broken torsion springs.
Check The Opener
If your garage isn’t operated manually and instead requires you use a remote control to open it up, then there’s a chance that something has gone wrong with its engine or opener system. Oftentimes when this is the case you will hear a grinding sound coming from inside when attempting to open it up via remote; this usually means that one of its main gears needs replacement. If this happens don’t hesitate in calling for professional help since they will have all necessary tools required for proper replacement and repair services
Track Issue
It also possible that something went wrong with your tracks themselves although this tends to be less common than other causes abovementioned ones such as spring breakage or engine failure issues; regardless however one should still pay attention if they suspect that their problem lies within their tracks being bent or misaligned in some way shape or form. Some cases may require assistance from professionals while simpler ones can often be straightened out without needing additional help; this is why it’s important always take care when manually handling garage door tracks as mishandling them can potentially lead entire mechanisms falling apart due improper gear alignment affecting their safety performance overall .
Bottom Line
Jammed garages doors can occur due various different reasons from external obstructions blocking paths all way up complex mechanism malfunctions requiring specialized equipment and expertise fix them correctly thus why important always seek professional help whenever possible instead risking further damaging expensive components which could end costing far more replace than just repair existing ones.
