Garage Door Repair Frequently Asked Questions

To determine your required door size, measure the width of the opening and then the height. Garage door sizes are always listed with the width first and then the height. Many garage door dealers, including Roadrunner, provide free estimates and will measure the opening for you at your home or business to determine the proper size.

R-value is a standardized measurement of thermal efficiency. The higher the R-value, the greater the garage door’s insulating properties. Insulated garage doors for residential and commercial applications come in a broad range of R-values designed to meet your needs.

Depending upon the damage involved to the garage door system, replacing only a section of your garage door is possible in some cases. Please contact us to get answers to your garage door questions, an evaluation of your situation and the recommended steps.

On average, an opener will last eight to ten years. However, there are openers which last as little as three and others that last more than 25 years! If your garage door opener is getting old, consider replacing it with a new opener with all the latest safety features.

Screw Drive - Powerful, fast and quiet. Maximum power for heavy doors.

Belt Drive - Quiet and smooth performance. Ideal for garages adjacent to living areas.

Chain Drive - Rugged and reliable. Suitable for most garage doors.

Garage door openers are all built with the same general mechanisms, though there are some differences. When there is a bedroom above or near the garage and noise is a factor, a belt drive would give you the quietest operation. On the other hand, chain drives may be loud but they are built tough and can last for years under poor conditions.

With the garage door fully closed, simply pull the red release cord on the garage door opener down toward the floor. Always be careful if you release the garage door opener when the door is not fully closed, since the door may slam down when released. To be safe, only release an open garage door in an emergency or for security purposes and close the door with caution. Some older garage door openers may not have a red release cord and may need to be released by pulling down a handle, a spring loaded clip, or even unbolting the arm from the door and opener. If you have an older door that is difficult to disconnect, you may want to replace with a new one with an easy pull red release cord.

Release the garage door first, open the door halfway by hand, and then let go of the door. The door should stay in the same position, with only some slight drifting. If the door drops or opens on its own, the garage door springs should be adjusted by a trained and experienced garage door service technician. To avoid severe injuries, do not attempt to adjust the springs yourself without proper training and tools.

You probably have a broken spring that should be replaced by an experienced and qualified garage door service technician. If you have torsion springs, with a shaft across the top of the door, you will see an approximately two-inch separation in the spring. If you have extension springs that stretch along the track on the sides, you will find that they are very obviously broken into separate pieces.

Roadrunner highly recommends that you change both springs at the same time, since both springs have been under the same amount of stress each time the door has been opened and closed. Unfortunately, a visual inspection of the spring cannot determine the remaining life expectancy of the unbroken spring. However, in many cases, it will actually cost less to have both springs changed at the same time than having only one spring changed at a time. In addition, if you have extension springs on your door, the door may not balance properly with one new spring and one fatigued spring. Please call us today to have both springs replaced and get your door back in proper working order.

The remaining unbroken part of the spring should never be reused. Not only is the old spring fatigued for the full length of the spring and could easily break again at any moment, changing the length of the spring will also distort the lifting power of the spring and will not balance the weight of the garage door properly. WARNING: Do not attempt to replace the spring yourself! Always have it changed by a qualified service technician.

First, verify that the opener is still plugged into the electric outlet. Secondly you should confirm that power is coming out of the electric outlet by plugging the opener into another outlet with a temporary extension cord. If there is power to the garage door opener, then there is some type of mechanical or electrical problem within the garage door opener itself and it should be diagnosed by a qualified service technician.

If the light comes on, the opener is obviously getting power, which means the problem is likely in the electrical or mechanical workings of the opener. Be sure to unplug the opener before attempting to remove the motor cover. To avoid the possibility of electrical shock, garage door opener repair should be performed by an experienced service technician. If your garage door opener is more than ten years old, you may want to replace your old garage door opener with one with the latest safety features.

It is very rare for batteries in two transmitters to go dead at exactly the same time. Most likely, the problem is in the radio receiver on the garage door opener in the garage. It is also possible that the problem could be inside the opener itself and it is no longer sending power to the receiver unit. (On some openers, the receiver and logic board are combined together on one solid state circuit board). We recommend having a professional technician determine the true problem.

It sounds like the photo-cell safety beams are blocked, misaligned, or malfunctioning. Move any objects that may be interfering with the signal and verify that the photo-cell LED lights are illuminated as per the manufacturer's instructions. If the infrared beams are not blocked and the photo-cells appear to be aligned, then please contact us to diagnose and repair the problem. You will not be able to close the door with the remote control transmitter until the photo-cells are back in proper working order.

The humming sound is probably caused by a burned out capacitor. Please call us today to schedule an inspection or repair.

Garage door springs are under high tension and require special equipment for adjustment. As a result, the springs, along with any parts associated with the counterbalance system, should ONLY be adjusted by an experienced garage technician. These parts include: springs, cables, corner brackets attached to the cables, cable drums, and the center bearing brackets. WARNING: It is extremely dangerous to service and repair your own garage door. Call us today to schedule an inspection or repair.

One of the garage door cables probably has come off of the cable drum (on the side that is hanging the lowest). WARNING: The cables may still be under spring tension and should not be touched without the proper knowledge and tools to make the repair. Please call us immediately.

Yes the bottom sections can be replaced, as long as the sections are still available (many older garage doors have sections that are no longer made and it may be very difficult to find an exact match). However, in many cases the cost of the damaged sections and labor to replace them may be very close to the cost of a brand new replacement garage door that will have all new track, springs, and hardware included along with the door sections.

Your level of concern should depend upon how much the cable is frayed, though the problem will only continue to deteriorate. If the cable is severely frayed to where there are only a few strands left, the cable may break at any moment and should be replaced by a qualified garage door service technician as soon as possible. Please call us immediately!