Our garage door repair team has helped homeowners all over Littleton resolve this issue many times over the years. A crooked garage door doesn’t always require a new garage door installation to fix. In fact, often the door itself is in good condition, and it’s usually one of the other components that are to blame. Below we’re going to run through a number of the likely reasons why your garage door isn’t straight, and also touch on why this is something you’re going to want to get fixed as soon as possible.
Common Causes of a Crooked Garage Door
When our Littleton garage door repair team gets called out to fix this problem, we typically find that one of the three things below has resulted in the door becoming slanted. They're the most common culprits by far.
You Have Broken Garage Door Springs
“Wait, what springs?” If that’s what you’re thinking, don’t worry. You’re definitely not alone. Most people never pay attention to the torsion springs for a garage door until something goes wrong. But they do play a very important role in the functioning of your door, supporting the bulk of its weight as it opens and closes.
These springs may be located over the top of your garage door or to the sides. Over time and repeated use, the condition of these springs will deteriorate (the standard lifespan is 10,000 cycles). What often happens is they may break completely or lose a high degree of their “elasticity”. It’s rare for both springs to go at the same time, so if one side breaks or gives way, it’ll lead to your door looking wonky, as one spring is still supporting the door properly, but the other one isn’t.
Worn Garage Door Cables
While torsion springs for a garage door do a lot of the heavy lifting when opening and closing, they aren’t the only component involved in the process. There are cables fitted to the door that help to lift some of the weight too. These play an important role in keeping your garage door straight.
Just like with the springs though (and anything else really), they won’t last forever. After going through thousands of cycles, these cables can wear, become frayed and even snap. When this happens, it can throw the whole door out of whack, put more pressure on other components and give it that “sagging” or wonky appearance.
Worn or “Jumped” Garage Door Rollers
Another important part of your garage door when it comes to smooth opening and closing are the rollers. These are the parts that roll up and down the track. While they might not bear as much of the weight as the two components we discussed above, they help to keep everything in line, and also make sure opening the door is a smooth experience.
If your rollers are worn, they may not turn freely, and you'll notice that the door kind of jumps as it opens, rather than it being a smooth roll as it should be. A damaged or worn roller can also cause one side to raise and lower quicker than the other, making the door look crooked.
And it’s not just the condition of the rollers that you will need to check on. You should pay close attention to their position too. Are there any rollers out of the track? If there are, this could be what’s causing your crooked garage door, as one side will roll up and down the track like normal, while the other one (with the jumped roller) will lag behind and make the door crooked.
Others Possible Causes of a Crooked Garage Door:
The 3 things that we’ve outlined above are definitely the first things we’d recommend checking. In our vast experience of crooked doors and garage door repair, 95% of the time one of those issues is to blame.
However, if you do check these things and they’re not the cause of your wonky door woes, here are a few other possible causes:
- Bent or damaged tracks
- Debris clogging up your tracks
- Door is not properly balanced
Why It’s Important that You Fix a Crooked Garage Door Quickly
Some jobs around the house can wait. You don’t need to paint your garage door right this minute. Sure, it maybe looks a little shabby and might be affecting your home’s curb appeal. But it’s not life or death. But a crooked garage door is a job that you’re going to want to have done right away, whether you sort it yourself or contact a garage door repair pro to handle it for you. Here’s why:
- It’s an Accident Waiting to Happen – A garage door needs to be kept in shape, otherwise it can be a huge safety hazard. And remember, a typical garage door can weigh hundreds of pounds. That's not something you want falling on top of you. When a garage door is wonky, it's putting extra pressure on one side of the door, and if the cable or spring on that side gives way, it won't be pleasant.
- Extra Pressure on Other Components – This is linked to the point above. But even if a sagging door doesn’t come crashing down, it’s still putting a lot of extra pressure on the other components, from your tracks and rollers, to your garage door opener, and this can increase wear and tear and cost you more in the long run.
If you’re in Littleton and you’re having problems with a crooked garage door, call our garage door repair experts. We’ll have it fixed for you in no time!