Your Garage Door Question Answered By Our Professionals
At Grand Openings Garage Door, we believe knowledge is power. We hope this page helps clear up some basic questions we get on garage doors and their associated services. When it comes to specific products from different manufacturers, it is much more beneficial to speak with an expert directly. Please feel free to contact us directly at (919) 669-0532 .
Measure the width of the actual finished opening and then the height. Garage door sizes are always shown and listed as the width first and then the height. In addition, we provide free in house estimates and will measure the opening for you while we are at your home or project site to determine the proper size.
With the garage door fully closed, simply pull the red release cord down toward the floor and back towards the operator. Always take special caution whenever you release the garage door opener if the door is not in the fully closed position, since the door may want to slam closed when released. If at all possible do not release the garage door when open, except for emergency or security purposes, and close the door with caution. Some older openers may not have a red release cord and may need to be released by pulling down a handle, a spring-loaded clip, or even possibly unbolting the arm from the door and opener. If you do have an older door that is difficult to disconnect you may want to replace the opener with a new garage door opener that has an easy-pull red release cord.
Open the door halfway by hand (release operator first) and let go of the door. The door should pretty much stay in the same position, although some slight drifting may occur. If the door wants to drop or if it opens on its own the garage door springs should be adjusted by trained and experienced garage door service technicians. To avoid possible severe injuries do not attempt to adjust the springs yourself without having the proper training and tools.
It is very highly likely that you have a broken spring that should be replaced by an experienced and qualified garage door service technician. If your springs (torsion springs) are on a shaft across the top of the door, you will see an approximate 2″ separation in the spring. If your springs (extension springs) stretch along the track on the sides you will find that they are very obviously in two separate pieces.
We highly recommend that you change both springs at the same time since both springs have been under the same amount of stress each time the door has been opened and closed. Unfortunately, a visual inspection of the spring can not determine the further life expectancy of the spring. In many cases, it will cost less to have both springs changed at the same time than if you only had one spring changed at a time. In addition, if you have extension springs on your door, the door may not balance properly with one new spring and one fatigued spring. Place a service order today to have both springs replaced and get your door back in proper working order!
If the light on the garage door opener comes on, the opener is getting power and therefore the problem would be in the electrical or mechanical workings of the opener. Be sure to unplug the operator before making any attempt to remove the motor head cover. To avoid the possibility of electrical shock, have your garage door opener repair made by a knowledgeable service tech. If your garage door opener is more than ten years old you may want to consider replacing the garage door opener to one with the latest safety features.
Very seldom will the batteries in both transmitters go dead at the same time. Most likely the problem is in the radio receiver that is in the garage. It is also possible that the problem could be inside the operator itself and that it is no longer sending power to the receiver unit. (On some openers the receiver and logic board are combined together on one solid-state circuit board). It may be to your advantage to have a professional service call to determine the true problem.
Most likely one of the garage door cables has come off of the cable drum (the side that is hanging the lowest) from closing on something. The cables may still be under spring tension and should not be touched without the proper knowledge and tools to make the repair.
Yes, the two bottom sections can be replaced as long as the sections are still available (many older garage doors have sections that are no longer made and it may be very difficult to find an exact match). However, in many cases, the cost of the two sections and the labor to replace them may be very close to the cost of a brand new replacement garage door that will have all new track, springs, and hardware included along with the door sections.