The garage door is the largest moving object in most homes, and it moves several times a day for years with almost no attention. Springs weaken, rollers wear, the bottom seal cracks, and the opener pulls harder to compensate until something gives. The Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission both say to inspect and test the door monthly. A thorough check twice a year, at the change of seasons, is what most people will actually do, and it catches almost everything.
Everything in this article is done from the garage floor with the door in sight. Nothing here involves touching a spring, a cable, a bracket or the opener's force settings; those are the technician's job. If any test fails, stop using the opener and call a garage door company.
Look and listen first
Start with the door closed and the opener connected. Run it up and down once and watch and listen. A healthy door moves smoothly at a steady speed with a low hum from the opener. Jerking, hesitation, a door that goes up crooked, grinding or squealing, or a loud bang at any point are all signs of worn or failing parts.
- Look at the rollers in the track. Cracked, flat-spotted or wobbling rollers are a common cause of noise.
- Look at the cables on each side for fraying or rust. Do not touch them; they are under spring tension.
- Look at the spring above the door or along the tracks for a visible gap in the coils, which means it has broken. Do not run the opener if you see one.
The balance test
The balance test tells you whether the springs are doing their job. DASMA's procedure: with the door fully closed, pull the opener's manual release cord so the door is disconnected from the opener. Then lift the door by hand using the handle or the bottom edge. A balanced door lifts with moderate effort, moves smoothly, and stays put when you let go at about waist height, roughly three to four feet off the floor. CPSC describes the same thing: a properly balanced door stays in place when stopped partway open.
If the door is heavy to lift, drifts down on its own, or shoots upward, the springs are worn or mis-tensioned, the opener has been doing the lifting, and the door can slam shut if the opener or a cable fails. Reconnect the opener and call a technician. DASMA is explicit that turning up the opener's force to compensate is the wrong fix.
- Only do this with the door fully closed before you pull the release. Releasing a door that is open can let it drop.
- If the door is too heavy to lift comfortably, stop. That is the result.
The reversal and photo-eye tests
Openers made since 1993 have two safety systems: the door must reverse if it hits something while closing, and a pair of photo eyes near the floor must stop and reverse it if the beam is broken. Both DASMA and CPSC recommend testing them monthly.
- Reversal test: lay a 2x4 flat on the floor in the door's path, then close the door with the wall button or remote. The door should reverse within a second or two of touching the board. If it keeps pushing or stops without reversing, stop using the opener until it is serviced.
- Photo-eye test: with the door open, start it closing and wave an object through the beam, which should be no higher than about six inches above the floor. The door should stop and go back up. If it keeps closing, the eyes are misaligned, dirty or failed.
Weather seal and the bottom of the door
The rubber seal along the bottom of the door keeps out rain, wind, leaves and pests, and it is the first part to wear. A seal that hardens over a hot summer cracks in the first cold snap, and a worn seal lets a surprising amount of water across the garage floor in a storm.
- With the door closed, look along the bottom from inside with the lights off. Daylight at the corners or along the length means the seal is worn or the floor has settled.
- Look for cracks, flattened sections or a seal that has pulled out of its track, and check the weatherstripping along the sides and top of the opening for gaps and brittle rubber.
- A new bottom seal is a quick job for a garage door technician and is often done during a tune-up.
What a technician does during a seasonal tune-up
A garage door tune-up addresses the parts you only looked at. The technician adjusts spring tension so the door balances, lubricates the springs, hinges, rollers and bearings with the right products (the wrong lubricant attracts grit), tightens hardware that vibrates loose, and checks the cables, drums and bottom brackets that are under tension. On the opener, they set the force and travel limits, align the photo eyes and check the drive. The visit is usually under an hour, and it is the best way to keep a door quiet and safe between seasons.
- Adjust and lubricate springs and check for wear; replace both springs on a two-spring door if one has failed.
- Lubricate hinges, rollers and bearings; replace worn rollers.
- Inspect and replace frayed cables, worn drums and loose bottom brackets.
- Set opener force and travel limits and re-test the reversal and photo-eye systems.
Questions people ask
Can I lubricate the door myself?
Lubricating hinges and rollers with a garage-door-specific product is something many people do, but the springs, bearings and cables are the parts that need it most and they are under tension. A technician's tune-up covers all of it with the right products and checks tension at the same time.
My opener is from the early 1990s. Is it safe?
CPSC requires reversing systems on openers made after January 1991 and photo eyes or an equivalent since 1993. If your opener has no photo eyes or fails the reversal test, CPSC's advice is to replace it.
The door reverses on its own for no reason. What is wrong?
Usually the photo eyes are misaligned or blocked, often by a stored item or afternoon sun hitting the lens. Sometimes the door is binding in the track or the force setting is marginal. If a quick look at the eyes does not explain it, have it checked.