Most sectional doors are designed for long service life. Their minimum resource is 25 thousand opening and closing cycles. However, even with such reliability, the gate can break – like any other mechanism. In this article, we will talk about frequent breakdowns, their causes, ways to avoid them, and the importance of having 24-hour garage door service in mind. A garage is a necessary part of premises, for example, for car storage as well as for work, repair or just get-togethers.
Garage doors are an integral part of it, from reliability and the correctness which depends on the safety of things in the garage. As this constructive element is mobile, and everything that moves is early or late breaks, it regularly is under stress, which in the end leads to its breakdown.
Let’s look at the most frequent reasons for garage gate breakdowns.
1. Rope break
There are several reasons why the cable breaks:
- too intensive operation of the gate, as a result of which the cable simply wears out;
- installation errors;
- pulley wear or damage to the drum, due to which the cable receives mechanical damage.
The design of most sectional doors uses double protection against the falling leaf. It will automatically lock if the spring fails. To avoid breaks, cables with a sixfold margin of safety are used. With regular maintenance, the condition of the cable must be checked, and if there are signs of wear or damage, current repairs are carried out. If, in spite of everything, the cable breaks, it is replaced/ repair, having previously eliminated the cause of the break.
2. Broken torsion spring
The torsion spring can burst if it is heavily worn if the gate is very actively used in difficult conditions if the gate is not serviced, and if the coupling breaks.
For most lifting gates, springs with a resource of 25 thousand working cycles are used. On average, this corresponds to 17 years of daily operation. When the resource is depleted, the spring can be replaced and the door can continue to be used. When a spring breaks or weakens, a diagnosis is first made and the cause is determined. If possible, it is eliminated, for example, by replacing the coupling. If the spring is loose, balancing can be performed. If it breaks, the spring is replaced.
According to David Miller of HappyHomeQuest.com, torsion springs can be challenging and even dangerous to replace on your own if you’ve never done it. You’ll need a special tool known as a winding rod to release the tension before working on them. We recommend getting the right rod for your springs and then watching several YouTube videos on how to do it before attempting it yourself.
3. The door leaf is skewed
When skewed, it is impossible to open or close the canvas because it goes unevenly, and the whole machine stops working. This can happen for several reasons:
- guide bars damaged or deformed;
- winding does not work properly due to problems with the drum, brackets, or rollers;
- uneven cable tension.
Blade distortions most often occur due to careless operation, whop, and damage. Less commonly, this occurs due to wear and tear of parts of the lifting mechanism. The best protection against distortions is careful operation according to the instructions or the installation of automation.
If the canvas is skewed, the repair is carried out by eliminating the cause of the skew. This may require alignment or replacement of the guide bar, adjustment or replacement of the cable, and replacement of brackets, rollers, or a drum.
4. Extraneous noise or difficulties when lifting the blade
The appearance of squeaks, vibrations, clanging, and whistling during the movement of the canvas, as well as any difficulties when moving it, are most often associated with malfunctions of the lifting mechanism or mechanical damage due to careless operation. Panels may be worn or damaged or skewed. The problem may be in the deformation of the guide bar, the incorrect installation of the rollers, the damage to the shaft, in the wear of individual parts.
For garage door repairs, it is necessary to determine which parts of the mechanism interfere with the normal operation of the gate, and replace or adjust them.
5. Gate does not open or close completely
First, you need to inspect the canvas and elements of the lifting mechanism to make sure that there is no ice or dirt on them that interfere with the movement of the canvas. After that, check if the canvas is skewed. Even a slight misalignment can prevent the gate from closing completely. Also, the cause may be too much tension in the torsion spring. Sometimes the problem is related to the failure of automation.
6. Problems with automation
When using automatic garage doors, there may be problems with the operation of the remote control, as well as with the operation of the operator itself.
If the remote control does not work or does not work correctly, you need to check the batteries in it and make sure that no water gets inside it, and that nothing interferes with the free movement of the buttons on it. If the gate does not open and close from the remote control, the problem may be a breakdown of the system. If the drive fails, first check whether there is voltage in the network.
After that, a diagnosis is made. Some automation models allow you to read error codes. If the problem is in the settings or in the elements to be replaced, the repair is carried out on the spot. In case of more serious breakdowns, the drive is removed and repaired in a service center.
7. Prevention of breakdowns of sectional doors
Most often, garage sectional doors break due to careless operation or lack of maintenance. Too sharp lifting of the canvas, opening and closing the gate with effort, shocks, improper use of mechanisms – all of this can cause breakdowns, and damage to the structure. The use of automation can reduce such risks. The electric drive lifts the panel with optimum force and moves it in the right direction.
With this in mind, gate automation is a good way to prevent mechanical damage. Thus, if you have any problems with garage sectional doors or automatic systems to control it, you are welcome to contact STI Garage Door to get advice on any questions or get help at any time of the day.
Conclusion
Timely maintenance is very important to prevent garage door malfunctions. It allows you to monitor the condition and wear of parts, replace them in a timely manner, and carry out preventive maintenance to prevent serious breakdowns. https://familychristiandoors.com/ offers reliable service to install, maintain and fix garage door systems.
Also read: Important Changes for a Child-Safe Home
