Why is your garage door slipping or sticking?

You can hear the garage door opener working but, somehow, the garage door isn’t opening as fast as it should – as fast as it usually opens. What the heck is that all about?

There are several possible reasons that your garage door isn’t opening as expeditiously as you’re accustomed, including:

The door is binding in the tracks: With rollers, the garage door rides up and down in the tracks on either side of the door. If the tracks are out of adjustment, bent or otherwise damaged, the garage door may stick when it’s supposed to roll. Your garage door opener is working its little heart out but the garage door isn’t cooperating.

The garage door opener requires adjustment: If the sensors are not adjusted properly, it can throw the garage door opener out of whack. An adjustment is in order.

The rollers and chain require lubrication: If the rollers aren’t lubricated with an appropriate amount of frequency, the rollers can stop rolling. Before they get that bad, they will stop rolling as smoothly. The hinges between the door panels need lubrication from time to time. Even the chain and the tracks require occasional lubrication.

Foreign objects and dirt could impede the travel of your garage door: If a stick got stuck in the track of your garage door, it could very well stop or slow the travel of the door. Dirt can build up in the track. Dirt does not provide a smooth surface for travel, its buildup can affect the spacing between the rollers and the door.

The belt drive needs adjustment: There is a certain amount of tension required when your garage door opener has a belt drive. If it’s too loose, or too tight, this can affect the way the garage door opener operates.

Assuming that your garage door was installed properly (if not, the problem was probably apparent from the beginning of the operation of the garage door), problems that can affect the smooth operation of your garage door are generally rectified with a fair amount of ease. That assumes that the person rectifying the problem knows what they’re doing. 

What to do if you drive into the garage door

Probably the worst thing about backing into your garage door is explaining to your spouse how that happened. The next worst thing is the cost of repairing your garage door. After that, it’s a matter of inconvenience and security until the garage door is fixed.

One of the first things to do is to remind yourself that you’re not the first person to drive into their garage door. It’s happened before and it will happen again.

We all try to be as careful as possible but sometimes things happen. You may not have realized you were that far forward, or backward, as the case may be. Or you may have thought the car was in drive when it was in reverse, or was in reverse when you thought it was in drive.

Other times, garage doors may suffer because a driver was in a bit of a hurry and didn’t wait long enough. They pulled through the garage door opening before the garage door was completely out of the way.

Now, before you get out of the car, it’s important to ensure that it’s safe to do so. There may be sharp debris on the floor that could cut your feet or legs. When you open the door, portions of the damaged garage door can fall on you and cause injury, sometimes serious injury.

You may be better off to back out of the danger zone before exiting the vehicle. Even then, however, be careful that you haven’t dragged some of the garage door with you where it can still cause injury.

The first thing to do, once you’re safely out of the vehicle, is to call your agent for your homeowners of business insurance, depending on which applies. They may have instructions on how to proceed.

They will most likely suggest that you call a trusted garage door repair service. It’s possible that you’ll need emergency clean up of the garage door debris and boarding so you can secure the opening until repairs are completed. 

Depending on how badly you hit the garage door, it’s possible that repairs can bring the garage door back to life. This is generally the case if you’ve only bumped into the door a bit. But if you’ve hit it a solid blow, there’s a good chance you’re garage door is beyond repair.

In either case, your garage door technician will want to examine the tracks, springs and the garage door opener to ensure that they are still properly aligned or whether they require repair or replacement, too.

If you do need a new garage door, hopefully, you have time to do some shopping to find the right model. Even if you have to pay a little more than the insurance covers, this is an excellent time to get the garage door you’ve always wanted.