Performing regular maintenance on your door is very important. We recommend that you check the balance on your equipment at least once a year. Here are the instructions on how to balance your garage door.
If you didn’t know, your garage door needs to be balanced in order to function properly. It is the same principle as having your tires balanced. When one side is heavier than the other, it can throw off the function.
Determine Which Side is Off Balance
Before you work on balancing your door, you need to determine which side is off balance. Do this to check which side needs the work:
- Unplug the garage door opener
- Pull the emergency release cord to unhook the door from the opener
- Look at how the door hangs without the support of the opener
- Manually open and close your door to see how well it moves
- Push the door halfway open and see if it hangs in place
If you notice that the equipment is not opening and closing with ease, then you should determine which side seems to be getting stuck. Also, if your door doesn’t stay in the halfway position on its own, that is an indicator that the tension is off.
How to Adjust the Springs
In order to balance your door, you will need to adjust the springs. We recommend that if you have torsion springs, that you do not do this on your own. Torsion springs are very dangerous to work with and can cause fatalities.
However, if you have an extension spring, you should be able to do this adjustment on your own. Of course, if you have any hesitancies, be sure to contact us for assistance.
Remove Safety Cables
Take the cables off before you work on loosening the springs. Extension springs have cables as part of the assembly, so if you do not have cables, you likely do not have extension springs. Be sure to have a professional handle your torsion springs.
Take the Spring Off the Door
You will need to unhook the spring from the door once the cables are down. Then, hook the spring into the next hole. Make sure to do this on both sides. This is important to make sure that the door becomes balanced.
What If The Door is Still Out of Alignment?
If you have done everything you can to tighten up the springs evenly, but it is still not working, then give us a call. Our technicians will come out and do this maintenance call for you. It is important to balance your door.
Should you continue using the assembly when it is out of balance, you can expect other parts to wear out. We often see that the rollers become worn on one side or the other. Also, it puts extra strain on the opener.
Call us now so we can get someone out to your location. We look forward to working with you.
