My Garage Door is Crooked!
How To Fix a Garage Door That is Off Track and Uneven
Does something seem a bit off with your garage door? Is it opening or closing unevenly? A crooked garage door is a problem that can pop up, especially with older garage doors.
A crooked garage door may be a bigger problem than you realize. Many homeowners who find their door is opening unevenly may think that as long as it’s mostly opening or closing the door, it isn’t something they need to deal with right away. We will explain the various reasons you have a crooked garage door and why you want to get it fixed sooner rather than later.
Our repair experts at Cheney Door Company have dealt with many crooked garage doors over our half-century in business. Our team of experienced technicians can handle whatever problem is causing the garage door or will diagnose when the better solution is a complete garage door replacement.
How To Spot a Crooked Garage Door
While some uneven doors may be obvious, some unbalanced garage doors may start off too subtle to notice quickly. There are more signs of a crooked garage door than simply seeing it being uneven.
Less Obvious Signs of a Crooked Garage Door
- The garage door makes odd sounds when opening or closing
- It takes longer to open than usual
- The door won’t move at all
What Causes an Uneven Garage Door?
A garage door system includes a lot of components. For it to work correctly, the system must be properly balanced. A working door’s weight is supported evenly by the tension of the garage door springs.
But if a garage door is not even, that means those springs are not providing enough tension or creating too much tension. A broken torsion spring is the most likely cause of a crooked garage door.
Other issues can result in a crooked door. Sometimes it means there is a problem with the rollers. If the rollers have any obstruction or issues moving along the track, that can put it off balance.
Trust the experienced door repair professionals at Cheney Door to accurately diagnose the problem and get your garage door fixed. Call us for service in Wichita at (316) 262-2098. Or you can reach out to our Hutchinson or Salina location.
Potential Dangers of a Crooked Garage Door
A crooked garage door is not a minor problem. This weight imbalance means something is significantly wrong and needs to be addressed. If left ignored, a spring could snap and put your garage door entirely out of order.
Garage door springs are dangerous and should not be handled by a non-professional. A garage door spring is under intense pressure and has a lot of force. If it snaps it can hit a person and cause injury or even death. It is much cheaper to pay for professional garage door repair than for emergency room service.
A garage door out of balance also puts a significant strain on your garage door opener. That machine at the center of your system now has to lift more weight which can damage other components such as gears, sprockets, or carriages.
The Balance Test
- Close the garage door.
- Using the manual release, detach the door from the opener.
- Lift the door manually up halfway and let go.
- Notice if the door remained in place, which indicates that it IS in balance.
Uneven Door Requires Professional Repair
While many of our Garage Door help guides from Cheney Door Company provide a list of troubleshooting steps for a homeowner to try themselves, we do not have one for this problem. Because the issue is likely with your springs, that is dangerous for a non-professional to handle themselves.
Unless you can spot a problem with the rollers that you can safely address without affecting the torsion spring, your safest bet is to call a licensed professional like the Cheney Door team.
Call on Cheney to Fix a Crooked Garage Door
If you need any help with your garage door, contact Cheney Door Company at (316) 262-2098.