Nobody actually wants to call a garage door technician, let alone have one visit. You’ll probably have to spend money on something you don’t particularly want to. However, when it’s the difference between spending a small amount compared to something much larger, it can turn out to be the right call to make. Costs to fix minor problems, or even pre-empting problems with a maintenance visit can really help your bank account balance. Especially when compared to the nightmare scenario of having to pay for a massive repair or replacement job for something that started off so small.
So with that in mind, you might want to do a little research into scenarios of when it’s best to pick up that phone and just call a professional straight away. With decades of experiencing every kind of garage door issue you can think of (not to mention a few you wouldn’t believe) here is our rough guide to knowing what’s what...
It might just be the oldest trick in the book, but there is a reason why it is still the one we always mention on the phone! We couldn’t count the times we have received a call for a ‘broken remote garage opening system’ only to be able to fix it then and there on the phone! In order to save everyone time and money, we always ask the customer if they have tried changing the batteries in the remote control or clicker. 8 times out of ten this works, and everyone is happy with the outcome of money and time saved!
What about the other 2 out of 10 situations, where changing the batteries does not make any difference at all? Then we recommend a couple of things: First, there are a few more really simple checks you can make yourself, which we have covered in an earlier blog in regard to a garage door not closing in much more detail. But should none of these simple checks work then it could be a more mechanical issue and then it really is time to call a professional garage door technician out.
Remember the last thing you want to do is poke around trying to find the problem yourself - More than likely you are just going to exacerbate the issue, or even cause some different damage in your search.
If you happen to be around and hear a loud bang coming from within your garage it can be quite scary! So many of our customers tell us they immediately think something really bad has happened to their car or other appliances they have in the garage. Panic usually turns into relief and puzzlement when they enter their garage and see nothing has exploded - This is when we get a call asking what on earth made that noise!
Our answer? That loud bang was the sound of your Garage door springs snapping, and if you find no damage to anything else then you can count yourself very lucky. These springs have so much torque wrapped up in them that if there is no safety cable attached and they snap, anything in the vicinity is liable to be damaged - Including humans!
That’s why we advocate a policy of ALWAYS calling a professional to deal with garage door springs - From replacement to maintaining, it is always better to be safe than sorry. We also advocate EVERYONE who uses garage door springs should install safety cables, which will stop the springs from recoiling and lashing out around the vicinity if they snap. To find out more about this important subject check out our in-depth blog article we wrote on garage door springs earlier.
Sometimes your garage door just doesn’t behave in the way you expect. It could be opening halfway and then closing. Maybe when closing it doesn’t reach the floor or it touches the floor and then starts to reopen. Erratic garage door behavior is annoying, and can quickly become a security or safety issue.
Whilst there are many basic and easily fixable solutions to many of these issues - If you cannot easily find the solutions we would again advise on the side of caution and swiftly call in a technician to help. Faulty doors can draw attention to your home as being vulnerable and also could damage property inside your garage, your car, or even worse, a person.
Unless you understand exactly what the problem is and know exactly how to fix it - We would always say it is best to call in a professional garage expert to take a look. 9 times out of 10 when we are called out to help someone with a faulty or broken garage door we can identify the problem and fix it on the spot. Not to mention give our customers an overall check of the entire garage door and opening system. It usually ends up saving them time, money and a whole load of stress!
So next time your garage door is playing up or not working the way you want it to give us a call here at the Pena Garage Door Company and let one of our friendly technicians help you out. 1-(800) 960-7362.