Is your Garage Door Unbalanced?
What is an unbalanced garage door?
The best way to describe an unbalanced garage door is by first explaining what a balanced door is. A properly balanced garage door the tension system carries equal weight across all parts making for smooth easy operation. For example, hand operating your door should be similar to lifting a 5-10 lbs weight. Unbalanced doors can take time to present, but also can rapidly lead to sudden repairs in many cases.
What does it look like/ warning signs?
When a garage door is unbalanced it can lead to many problems such as cables snapping, springs breaking, and complete opener failure due to increased force to open or close the unbalanced door. One of the most common signs of an unbalanced garage door is uneven opening or closing of the garage door. Other signs include slow or inconsistent operation, strange noise during regular use, and if left ignored can possibly lead to a door that cannot operate without repairs.
Are you worried your garage door may be unbalanced? You can do a quick home test to find out!
Release your garage door from the opener by pulling the emergency release cord. Most openers release when the cord is pulled straight down while others are pulled down and towards the opener to lock into manual operation.
Take a moment and observe if your door is level with the ground. Then lightly lift the garage door by hand (should operate with similar force to lifting a 5- 10 lbs weight).
While operating the door it should move freely as well as should not fall or open quickly without guidance.
Close the door by hand with similar force as opening the door should safely shut. Listen for any strange noises in operation and note if the door is unlevel when fully shut.
Is your garage door Unbalanced?
If you feel your garage door is unbalanced you should call a professional out to take a look and review your options available to make the needed repair. Depending on what is causing the door to be unbalanced is the first thing to solve; a few main causes of unbalanced doors are incorrect or worn out springs, improper drums or cables for the tension system, improper track placement, as well as broken or improperly installed hinges and rollers. The best way to avoid sudden repairs on your garage door is to have annual or semi-annual tune-ups done by a professional to ensure proper operation year round.