Garage doors seem to cause trouble at the worst possible times. You may have had a rough day at work or got caught up in rush hour traffic on the way home. As soon as you get home, you want to park your car and unwind for the night, but your garage door has other ideas.
It’s extremely frustrating, but for many homeowners, there will come a point where your garage door doesn’t close properly. The best way to prevent it is by identifying issues early through proper garage door maintenance. Regardless of when it occurs, it’s always valuable for homeowners to know the causes behind their faulty garage door. This can not only help you fix a door that won’t close all the way but also prevent future occurrences.
Something‘s in the Way
As big as garages can be, they always seem to get cluttered. Especially if you store a car or two in your garage, there’s only so much space for other items. If you have enough appliances or products stored there, you’ll miss a few things, resulting in a wayward item finding its way into the view of your safety sensors. When this happens, your door won’t close properly as it recognizes the object as something in the way. Simply removing the object should do the trick, but if it doesn’t, you likely have more severe problems at play.
Faulty or Misaligned Sensors
Maybe you removed your object, but the door still reacts as if the thing is in the way. In this case, your safety features may be malfunctioning or clouded by dirt and debris. These safety sensors are responsible for keeping your door working properly, so when they malfunction, there’s nothing you can do but fix them.
If your sensors are not receiving power or not giving off the proper signal to each other, they will not alert your door to close safely. You might need to call a local garage door company to either replace one faulty sensor or install a new pair.
Misaligned sensors, on the other hand, occur over time as you use your garage door. Sometimes you bump into the sensor by accident, but fortunately, they come with a light that alerts you if the sensors are misaligned. When the light blinks, simply return the sensors to their original alignment. If this fails, turn your eyes to the equipment responsible for moving your garage doors.
Broken Springs
Garage door torsion springs and extension springs are responsible for the movement of your door, so if they’re damaged or broken, they’ll stop the door from closing properly. Is your garage door opening and closing crookedly or making weird noises when it operates? Do you notice a large gap in your torsion springs? Broken springs can be a challenge to deal with — which is why professionals like ours exist — but they can also be caused by other issues like damaged cables that make them impossible to operate.
Damaged or Broken Cables
So your springs don’t seem to be the issue, but your garage door is still stopping before it hits the floor. Take a look at your door’s cables. Cables are also responsible for lowering and raising your garage door. You can identify problems with cables through a visual inspection, but remember that broken or damaged cables require professional intervention. If cables are not the issue, check the tracks for problems with the functionality of your door.
Damaged Tracks and Rollers
Tracks are what your door travels on, so they must be in good condition. Like a train, damaged tracks make it virtually impossible for your garage door to operate, and if in the right (well, wrong) spot, your garage door will fail to close properly. Take note of the condition of your tracks. Are they damaged, warped, or blocked? Simple blockages and damage can be cleared and repaired, but sometimes a replacement is the best way to ensure safety.
You’re probably frustrated if you’ve made it this far and still haven’t identified the problem with your garage door. However, there’s one more thing you can check. Your garage door could be failing to close correctly because of an issue with a small switch that makes a big difference.
Faulty Limit Settings
Sometimes, your limit switch can cause your garage door to stay open. What exactly is a limit switch? Garage doors are built flexible enough to adjust for different settings, so they need to know how far to travel to operate. Travel limits are adjusted depending on the distance from the top of your garage door to the bottom and tell the door how far it needs to go to operate. If your limit settings were improperly set during maintenance or installation, your garage door wouldn’t be able to close all the way.
Don’t Let a Faulty Garage Door Mess Up Your Day
Whether you’ve got to head to work, school, or some other important event, you don’t want to be held up by a garage door that doesn’t listen to your commands. If your garage door won’t close all the way, consider getting some help from your local garage door pros. At Howell Door Company, we offer garage door repair services for West Chester, PA, residents suffering from broken springs, faulty sensors, or any of these common problems.
If you need the expert advice of garage door technicians, don’t hesitate to give us a call today! Together we can tackle your door problems, extend your garage door lifespan, and make it easier for you to operate your door daily. Contact Howell Door Company today and schedule an appointment ASAP!