Modern garage doors are designed to move flawlessly when in perfect balance. In other words, they need to be at the point where they hang exactly at the level you decide to set them, and feel neither too light nor too heavy during use.
Unfortunately, improper use and irregular maintenance can cause even the sturdiest garage door springs to break or become damaged, resulting in the garage door becoming unbalanced or (if the springs have failed completely) utterly unusable.
So how do you know if your garage door has become unbalanced? Is it possible to install new springs on your own, or do you need to call San Diego garage door springs repair services? That’s what we’ll be discussing in the following article. Keep reading to learn more.
How do you balance garage door springs?
First off, you should never attempt to adjust a garage door yourself unless you’ve been trained in garage door installation and repair. Not only is the door extremely heavy (some models can weigh over 400 pounds), the springs it uses are under tremendous pressure.
To say that improper repair can result in serious injury would be a massive understatement. For safety reasons, you should always have your garage door springs repaired by a professional garage door repair company.
Here are the steps experts use when rebalancing a garage door:
- Step #1: Close the door, disconnect the power cord, and pull the emergency release lever.
- Step #2: Manually raise the door to determine what causes the imbalance.
- Step #3: Close the door again and vertically attach the locking pliers to the torsion rod.
- Step #4: Loosen the adjuster nuts with your wrench by putting a winding bar into the lower hole on the spring adjuster. Doing this should make the spring push the bar against the rail.
- Step #5: Put the second winding bar into the perforation above the first bar and grip the outer end with one hand.
- Step #6: Hold the first bar in place and lift the second one so that they form a 45 degree angle.
- Step #7: Put the first winding bar into the lowest hole on the adjuster. Apply upward pressure as you do this. The bar should come to rest against the rail.
- Step #8: Tighten the lock nuts and rotate the adjuster using the second winding bar. Your goal is to safely take the first bar out.
- Step #9: Manually raise and lower your garage door, section by section. Keep repeating the process until the door stops closing on its own. At this point, you can re-engage the emergency lever and reconnect the power.
Not sure if your door is unbalanced? Here are some telltale signs:
- It lets out strange noises during use. Balanced garage doors tend to be relatively quiet while closing and opening. If it’s suddenly letting out strange sounds, you likely have a problem.
- It won’t open. If your garage door springs are too weak, the opener simply won’t be able to lift the weight of the door.
- It’s slow. Unbalanced doors tend to take a lot longer to open or close.
- Door is slanted. If your door looks uneven while going up or down, that’s a sure sign that the power isn’t being transferred correctly to all parts of the door.
Who provides the most reliable San Diego garage door springs repair services?
Has your garage door recently let out a bang like a gun going off, and now it’s refusing to open? Or perhaps you’re looking to replace your door with a more modern model? Whatever your needs might be, don’t hesitate to contact Dlouhy Doors.
In addition to providing the full range of garage door repair and installation services, we also boast 24/7 emergency response teams that can promptly arrive at your location regardless of whether you’re located in Marston Hills or Downtown San Diego. Contact us today.