Before repairing a garage door, it is necessary to establish the exact cause of its occurrence. For example, the weakening of the spring can occur both with natural wear and with a malfunction of the coupling. To do this, specialists make an inspection and diagnostics, find out the initial problem and make situational repairs. In this article, we will figure out what are the main types of garage door breakdowns.
Damages of Lifting Sectional Doors
Specialists from Fix Garage Doors highlight the following reasons for residential garage door repairs:
1. Rope jump off drums:
- objects getting under the door leaf;
- cables of different lengths are installed (horizontally skewed gates);
- incorrect installation of guides vertically and horizontally.
2. Rope break:
- natural wear of the rope;
- the diameter of the cable for the drum for lifting the gate is not correctly selected;
- incorrect cable length setting.
3. Drum damage:
- natural wear of streams for cable laying;
- the appearance of chips and cracks on the drum.
4. Torsion spring break:
- wrong torsion spring;
- incorrect installation.
5. Rollers, hinges, bolts:
- side loop with roller holder;
- fastener loosening;
- pulling the roller out of the guide.
6. Door leaf deformation:
- impact of external and internal forces;
- aggressive environment (washing);
- the door leaf is not horizontal.
7. Electric drive and security system:
- power wire break;
- faulty motor or control board;
- broken wire of photocells;
- the photocell sensor is faulty.
By the way, Fix Garage Doors was awarded the Best of the Best Homestars Award — 2022. This indicates that its specialists know exactly how to quickly and efficiently repair your garage door.
Types of Breakdowns of Sliding Doors
The main reasons for the need to repair garage doors are the following:
1. Roller support:
- roller bearing failure;
- natural wear of the roller bearing;
- loose roller bearing.
2. Guide knots:
- natural wear and play of the sliding roller;
- catchers deformation.
Possible Malfunctions of Automatic Doors
One of the most common system malfunctions of automatic doors is the false alarm of motion sensors, the principle of operation of which differs for different manufacturers (frequency, microwave and hybrid sensors that combine both of these technologies).
Operations occur due to interference created by equipment that has a different operating principle and is installed close to automatic doors (for example, Wi-Fi routers). In this case, it is necessary to adjust the sensors of door operators and eliminate the spectrum of false signals in the sensor.
Another common system failure is a controller (signal processor) error. Effective analysis of the operator circuit pulses characterizes the device and allows you to determine the presence of errors in the controller, as well as program the controller, excluding logical errors.
Mechanical malfunctions of automatic doors are associated with wear or damage to parts (basic profile, carriages, floor guides, motor gearboxes, etc.). Depending on the degree of wear and damage, a complete or partial replacement of components and assemblies is necessary.
Possible Problems with Shutters
Modern roller shutters, despite their excellent technical characteristics, break from time to time. As a result, you have to buy a completely new shutter or make repairs. We recommend that you pay attention to the second option because it is much cheaper to repair the shutters with high quality than to buy new ones.
The most frequent malfunctions in the operation of roller shutters are:
- closing locks;
- jamming;
- blocking;
- mechanical noise when lifting and lowering roller shutters.
It should also be noted that often the repair of roller shutters with automatic control (electric motor) is much more complicated than the repair of manually operated roller shutters.
Professionals strongly recommend not to repair the doors on your own, as unqualified maintenance and repair of roller shutters can further aggravate the situation, which will lead to large material and time costs in the future. It is better to order a visit of a technical specialist to diagnose the failed equipment.
For garage doors to serve you as long as possible, inspection, maintenance, and replacement of consumables should be carried out promptly. Experts recommend carrying out a preventive inspection of the gate structure at least 2 times a year — this is convenient to do along with the timely replacement of the lubricant. Prevention will allow you to avoid future major breakdowns and additional expenses.