ATLANTA GARAGE DOOR CONTRACTORS
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Few homeowners spend much time thinking about their garage doors and garage door openers, until a problem develops. However, routine maintenance and prompt repair can prevent a potentially dangerous and/or inconvenient situation.
Garage door openers
Automatic garage door openers are a welcome convenience for most homeowners. Garage door openers are available in a variety of sizes, quality levels, and designs that fit almost any door. The opener motor is usually between one-third HP (Horse-Power) and one-half HP depending on the weight of the door; the heavier the door, the more power the motor must have to start it moving. Most openers either use a screw drive, a belt drive, or a chain drive to move the door. The screw drive is typically quieter but more expensive than the chain drive.
Current government regulations require all new door openers to be equipped with an automatic stop/reverse and photocells to prevent injury or damage to people and objects in the door's path. The sensitivity of the stop/reverse can usually be adjusted at the opener.
When the remote control is used to open the door, it transmits a specific code to the opener signaling the door to open. To prevent criminals from obtaining and using the code to enter the house through the garage, the code should be changed periodically. Some openers allow the owner to manually change the code, however most newer openers use rolling codes and automatically change the code every time the remote is used.
Common garage door problems
Broken springs. Garage doors are designed with springs that allow easy opening. During proper operation, much of the weight of the door is supported by these springs. Most doors use either extension springs or torsion springs. Extension springs run parallel to the track and are stretched as the door is lowered. Torsion springs are located above the door on a shaft and are wound up as the door is lowered. When a spring breaks, the door is no longer properly supported and will become difficult or impossible to move. If the door opener is working but the door only moves a distance of 6 to 36 inches, the chances are good that a broken spring is to blame. Replacing a broken spring, especially a broken torsion spring, is an extremely dangerous job and should always be left to the experts. Many individuals have been seriously injured attempting to replace broken garage door springs. Springs should always be replaced in pairs to keep both sides of the door equally supported.
Opener is not working. If nothing happens when the opener button is pushed, make sure the opener has power. Openers are often plugged into a normal electrical outlet, located directly above it. Before calling for help, try plugging a common household appliance, such as a hairdryer, into the outlet to see if it is working. If the outlet is not working, check the circuit breakers in the main service panel. (See electricians section for more information.)
Broken or locked rollers. Rollers are mounted to the sides of the garage door to allow the door to smoothly move up and down in the track. Over time, rollers naturally wear with normal use. Periodic lubrication minimizes the wear and the noise created when the door is raised or lowered. Locked or broken rollers should be replaced to keep the door functioning properly.
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