Your garage door is one of the hardest working parts of your home. It opens and closes multiple times each day, protects your vehicles and belongings, and often serves as a main entry point to your home. When something goes wrong, it can disrupt your entire routine and leave your home vulnerable. Understanding the most common garage door repairs can help you identify problems early, stay safe, and make informed decisions about choosing the right garage door repair company to fix your door quickly.
At Perimeter Garage Door Repair in Villa Rica, we've seen thousands of garage door issues over the years. While every situation is unique, three repairs come up more than any others. Let's walk through each one so you'll know exactly what to look for and what to do when these problems occur.
The springs on your garage door are the real workhorses of the entire system. Many homeowners mistakenly believe the garage door opener lifts the door, but that's not actually how it works. The springs do the heavy lifting, and the opener simply triggers the movement and guides the door through the tracks. When a spring breaks, your door isn't going anywhere, no matter how powerful your opener is.
There are three main types of springs used in residential garage doors, and knowing which type you have can help you understand what's happening when something goes wrong.
Extension Springs are the older style of spring system. These springs stretch and extend as the door closes, storing energy that helps lift the door when it opens. You'll find them running along the horizontal tracks on both sides of your door. When the door is closed, these springs are fully extended and under maximum tension. As the door opens, they contract and release that stored energy to help lift the weight of the door.
Torque Master Springs are a unique system that hides the springs inside a long tube or rod that runs above your garage door. This design was created as a safer option since the springs are contained and not visible. The springs wind up inside the tube to create the lifting force. While this system offers some safety advantages, it has a significant drawback. Since the springs are hidden inside the tube, it's nearly impossible to tell if they're broken just by looking at them.
Torsion Springs are the industry standard and the most reliable option for modern garage doors. These springs are most commonly mounted on a metal shaft directly above the center of your door. They work by twisting and storing torque energy. When the door closes, the springs wind and store the most energy. When you open the door, the springs unwind and transfer that energy from the springs and cables to the horiontal track. Torsion springs are more durable, provide better balance, and last longer than extension springs, which is why professional installers recommend them for most residential applications.
If you have torsion or extension springs, identifying a break is usually straightforward because these springs are visible. A broken torsion spring will have a visible gap in the coil, often about two to three inches wide. The spring essentially snaps and separates. With extension springs, you'll see that one spring is hanging loose and limp while the other side is still under tension.
Torque master springs present a bigger challenge. Since they're hidden inside the tube, you can't see the break. Instead, you have to rely on how the door behaves.
The clearest sign of a broken spring is when you press the button to open your garage door and it only moves up a few inches before stopping. This happens because the opener motor is trying to lift the full weight of the door without the help of the springs. A standard double garage door can weigh anywhere from 150 to 400 pounds depending on the material and insulation. Your opener motor simply isn't strong enough to lift that weight on its own.
When you discover a broken spring, it's critical that you resist the temptation to keep pressing the button to see if the door will open. This is one of the most dangerous mistakes homeowners make. The opener will strain against the weight of the door, which can damage the motor, burn out the components, strip the gears, or cause the trolley to break. At the same time, the massive weight of the door pulling down can bend tracks, break rollers, crack door panels, or cause the door to fall completely.
Most importantly, never attempt to work on the springs yourself. Garage door springs are under extreme tension, even when they appear to be broken. A single torsion spring can have between 50 and 300 pounds of force, and extension springs can snap violently when released. Serious injuries including broken bones, lacerations, and even fatalities have occurred when untrained people attempt spring repairs.
When your spring breaks, the safest and smartest choice is to call Perimeter Garage Door Repair. Our trained technicians have the proper tools, knowledge, and experience to replace your springs safely and correctly.
Spring repair costs typically range from $450 to $1,500. The price depends on several factors including the type of springs we're installing, the size and weight of your door, and whether any additional parts are needed. If you currently have an extension spring system and we're converting it to the superior torsion spring system, the cost will be on the higher end because we're upgrading your entire spring assembly for better performance and longevity. While this is an investment, remember that quality torsion springs can last 15,000 to 20,000 cycles or more, which translates to seven to ten years of reliable service for most families.
Your garage door sensors are small but mighty components that play a critical safety role. In 1993, the UL325 standard was passed, establishing requirements for garage door openers to prevent injuries and property damage. This regulation mandated that all automatic garage door openers include safety sensors that detect obstructions and prevent the door from closing on people, pets, or objects.
The sensors consist of two units mounted on either side of your garage door opening, positioned no higher than six inches from the floor. One sensor sends an invisible infrared beam across the opening, and the other sensor receives it. When this beam is unbroken, the system knows it's safe for the door to close. If anything interrupts the beam while the door is closing, the door will immediately stop and reverse direction.
These sensors must be properly aligned to each other for the system to work correctly. Even a slight bump from a bicycle, lawn equipment, or cleaning tools can knock them out of alignment.
The good news is that sensor issues are relatively easy to diagnose because most sensors have indicator lights that tell you what's happening.
If the lights on both sensors are solid and steady, your sensors are working properly and communicating with each other. If you're having door problems and the sensor lights are solid, the issue is likely somewhere else in the system.
If the lights are blinking or flashing, your sensors are out of alignment. They're receiving power but can't see each other properly, which means the infrared beam isn't connecting. The garage door won't close from your remote control or wireless keypad when this happens.
If the lights are completely out, the sensors aren't receiving power at all. This could indicate a wiring issue, a problem with the connection at the motor unit, or damaged sensor wires.
When your sensors aren't functioning, your garage door will not close using the remote control, wall button, or keypad in the normal way. However, there is an override feature built into the system. You can close the door by pressing and holding the wall button continuously until the door reaches the ground. This override tells the opener to ignore the sensor signal. It's a useful temporary solution, but it's not safe to operate your door this way permanently. The sensors exist for a reason, and disabling their function puts everyone at risk.
In many cases, sensors don't actually need to be replaced. A simple realignment solves the problem and gets your door working properly again. At Perimeter Garage Door Repair, we recommend taking advantage of this opportunity to have a complete door service performed. For an investment of only $150, we'll clean your sensors thoroughly, align them perfectly, and perform a comprehensive door service that includes minor track adjustments, lubrication of all critical moving parts, tightening loose bolts and screws, a door balance test, a force test on the opener to ensure it's operating within safe parameters, and a complete inspection of all parts for wear or damage. This preventive maintenance helps you avoid bigger problems down the road and keeps your door operating smoothly and safely.
The cables on your garage door work hand in hand with the springs to lift and lower the door safely and evenly. These heavy duty steel cables run from the bottom corners of your door, up and over cable drums mounted on the spring shaft, and then down to connection points on the door. When the springs create lifting force, that energy transfers through the drums and down through the cables to pull the door up.
When cables break or come off the drums, you have a serious safety situation on your hands. This is not a repair that unskilled people should ever attempt. The danger comes from the spring tension that travels through the entire cable system. When everything is working correctly, the cables remain tight and stay properly positioned on the drums. You can actually test cable tension by tapping it like a guitar string when the door is closed.
One of the most dangerous things a homeowner can do is remove a cable from the bottom fixture where it attaches to the door, or worse, remove the bottom fixture itself. These fixtures are holding back all the spring tension, and releasing them improperly can cause the cable and fixture to snap upward with tremendous force, causing severe injuries.
When a cable breaks or dumps off the drum, your garage door will not operate. Even more concerning, the door can fall out of the tracks, especially if one side releases while the other side still has tension. This uneven weight distribution can cause the door to twist, jam, or even collapse completely.
In some situations, particularly with single spring systems, a cable may appear to be broken when the actual problem is a broken spring. When the spring breaks, all the tension releases from the system, and the cables go slack and fall off the drums. A trained technician can quickly identify whether you have a cable problem, a spring problem, or both.
You might notice cables starting to fray or develop broken strands before they fail completely. You might hear unusual grinding or scraping sounds when the door operates. If the door begins to operate unevenly, with one side moving faster than the other, it could indicate a cable starting to slip or wear out. Any of these signs should prompt you to call for professional inspection before a complete failure occurs.
Cable repair typically costs between $300 and $800. The price variation depends on several factors including the type and quality of cables needed, the size of your door, how difficult it is to access the cable drums and bottom corners where the cables attach, and whether any additional components were damaged when the cable failed. Larger and heavier doors require stronger cables and more labor to install them correctly. If the cable came off violently and damaged other parts of the door, those repairs would be additional.
Understanding these three common garage door repairs puts you in a strong position to act quickly when problems arise. You'll recognize the warning signs, know what questions to ask, and understand why professional repair is the safest and most cost effective choice.
Your garage door is a complex mechanical system with components under extreme tension. While it might be tempting to try a DIY repair to save money, the risks far outweigh any potential savings. Professional technicians have specialized tools, training, and experience to diagnose problems accurately and fix them safely the first time.
When you're facing any of these common garage door issues, don't wait for the situation to get worse. Contact Perimeter Garage Door Repair today. We'll respond quickly, provide honest assessments, offer fair pricing, and get your garage door back to safe, reliable operation. Your family's safety and your home's security are too important to leave to chance.
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