How to Maintain a Garage Door

Garage doors use safety contact reversal to prevent them from closing when there is an obstruction. Test this system to make sure your garage door is operating safely.

Open the door and place a scrap 2-by-4 on the ground at the center of the opening, then close the door. When it contacts the board, the door should reverse directions and reopen. If it doesn’t, the downforce control limit needs to be adjusted. Set it by following the directions on your garage door, then do a force control test following the manual. Repeat the test as needed.

Another important part of a garage door's safety is its photo eye sensors, which also prevent the door from closing if there is something blocking them. Unlike the safety contact reversal, photo eye sensors detect an obstruction without making physical contact with it.

First, make sure the sensors are aligned. Typically, sensors have lights to indicate when they are aligned. Then close the door and wave something through the beam between the sensors. The door should reverse direction. If not, clean the sensors with a damp cleaning cloth or cotton swab and try the test again. If the photo eye sensor still does not operate correctly, contact a professional to keep your garage door operating safely and avoid accidents.

If you have a squeaky garage door or notice unusual movements, check that your hardware is in good shape. It's also useful to routinely check the hardware even if everything seems to be working normally.

To do this, inspect all the door hinges. Use garage door lube to lubricate them and make sure everything is tight. Then clean the tracks with a carburetor or brake cleaner. Don’t use a lubricant on the track, as it could cause the door to slip and become unbalanced. Then make sure all door hinges and track hardware is tightly secured.

Sometimes garage door openers get a little sag in the chain or belt, but it can be fixed.

Open the door until the carriage is about midway. Disengage it and manually close the door. Loosen the nuts on the turnbuckle with wrenches and rotate it counter-clockwise until the slack is gone. The chain or belt should be at least 1/4 inch from the bottom of the rail on the other side. Finally, tighten the nuts and manually open the door to engage the carriage to the turnbuckle.