Some days, everything feels like it goes wrong. You don’t hear your alarm, you have to skip breakfast to get the kids to school on time, and then it’s a battle against the clock to get to that uber-important 9:00 AM meeting before it starts. The day feels like it gets a little better as it progresses, but just as you smile to yourself, thinking about the hectic morning upon arriving back home, the garage door now won’t open. It’s stuck!
S*** happens, as they say. And they’re right. Garage doors do sometimes get stuck and most of the time you won’t see it coming. But there are normally a few possible explanations for this. We’ve done plenty of garage door repair and helped free homeowners of the dreaded stuck garage door on numerous occasions in and around Littleton. Below we’ll explain what might be causing your problem.
Common Causes of a Stuck Garage Door
In our experience, the likely cause of the problem you're currently facing will be one of the following.
Your Garage Door Springs Might Be Broken
Your garage door's torsion springs are one of those components that are vital to its functioning - but they'll likely go unnoticed until something goes wrong with them. They are located above the door and are essential in the lifting and lowering of your garage door. If your door is stuck, it could be possible that one or both (if you’re extremely unlucky) of these springs is broken.
If they are indeed broken, the only solution is going to be to replace them. But this is something that should be left to a Littleton garage door repair pro. Trust me when I say that you don’t want the weight of a garage door falling on top of you. It’s simply not worth the risk to try and save a few bucks.
The Tracks Haven’t Been Lubricated in Forever
Among the regular maintenance that the average homeowner can do on their garage door is lubricating the moving parts. This is quick, cheap, and easy to do and is vital to ensuring your garage door continues to be able to move freely.
But wait a minute. When was the last time you did this? If the answer is “I can’t remember” it was probably too long ago. It could be possible that some of the components are no longer lubricated enough to move freely, and this might be the reason for your stuck garage door.
Garage Door Track is Jammed or Damaged
Your garage door opens and closes by running a set of rollers along a track. However, if there’s an obstruction in one or both of the tracks, the rollers won’t be able to travel along their full length, so either won’t be able to open or close the door.
Sometimes these tracks can get bent out of shape too. Maybe you were doing some DIY work and ran into one of the tracks with a set of ladders or a heavy tool and didn’t notice. If the track was bent, the end result will be the same. The rollers won’t be able to run down the track properly.
The Door is Off the Track
If your garage door rollers have somehow worked their way off the track, this can cause the door to become stuck. The door won’t move as the rollers won’t be able to do their job. It’s very easy to spot this problem as you just have to quickly scan each track and look for any rollers that are positioned outside of it.
Garage Door Sensors Obstructed or Misaligned
If you have a garage door opener, it could be a problem with the sensors that has caused your door to become stuck. There is normally a sensor set up on either side of the door. If either sensor detects anything, it'll put the garage door in reverse mode and won't let it open or close. This is to keep both you and your car safe.
Check to see if there is anything that is obstructing either of the sensors. It’s easy to forget about them and leave things lying around the garage door. Make sure that the path between the sensors is clear.
If that wasn’t the problem, you might want to check that they’re aligned. Most systems that have two sensors require them to be perfectly aligned. If one of them is off-center, it'll trigger the reverse mode and cause your garage door to become stuck. Misalignment of one of the sensors can occur accidentally just by knocking it.
Lastly...Check That It’s Not Locked
I'm not joking. This really does happen. It's rather like when you spend 20 minutes searching high and low all over your house for your car keys, only to realize that they were in your pocket all along. Don't go frantically searching for the number of a Littleton garage door repair company before you check whether the overhead door is actually open, as if it isn’t, it might just appear that it’s stuck.
The Company to Call for Littleton Garage Door Repair
With over 25 years of experience under our belts, servicing a wide range of residential and commercial clients in Littleton and the surrounding area, we’re the company you can trust to get your garage door “unstuck” and restore it to normal working order.
If you need help, call our overhead door company today on (303) 730-0232.