There is absolutely nothing good about a garage door slamming shut. Not only can it be extremely dangerous (they are heavier than they look) and noisy, but a door that slams shut is likely to sustain serious damage and need garage door repair.
We’re proud to have been Arvada’s overhead door company of choice for many years and, with that title and status, we feel obliged to explain the possible reasons your garage door is slamming shut. Read on to learn more...
Broken Springs
We find that one of the most common reasons a garage door slams shut is having broken garage door springs. These springs allow the garage door to be opened and closed smoothly, but in doing so take on a lot of pressure and weight – meaning they are prone to sustaining damage.
According to manufacturers, springs can last between as little as 5,000 cycles and as many as 20,000 cycles. Oh, and when we say cycles, we mean the door opening and then closing. That’s a cycle!
Once springs hit these kinds of numbers, they may weaken and are less able to sustain the high tension that comes with doing the job they do. The result? The door starts to slam, as the springs simply aren't holding the weight.
Our advice is to get your springs replaced and/or fixed by a professional overhead door company that specializes in garage door repair, as soon as possible. Because if they are starting to struggle under tension, it is likely only a matter of time before they break entirely.
And when a garage door spring breaks completely, you’ll have a heavy load coming down on you. This can not only damage your garage and destroy your existing door, it could seriously hurt anyone that is in the area at the time.
Loose Chains
So you don’t have broken garage door springs – or they certainly don’t look to be broken or suffering from wear and tear? Well, here’s another potential reason your door could be slamming.
Most automatic doors will have a chain that a door opener uses to lift and lower the door. And as with any moving part, these chains are susceptible to getting worn over time.
This general wear and tear, which very often can’t be helped, will result in the chains getting looser. This results in said chains having less control and hold over the door. This results, you’ve guessed it, in a garage door that slams shut!
Fortunately, there’s a tell-tale sign that your chains are faulty – they will make more noise and knock against other parts. This won’t sound good, and it will be obvious that there’s a problem.
Fortunately again, loose chains are something that our garage door repair experts deal with every day, and we are happy to help.
Beware – overhead door repair is not a DIY job!
Faulty Tracks
So we’ve covered broken strings, and we’ve talked about loose chains, but there’s one more thing that could be causing you a garage door headache.
You will no doubt have spotted the tracks on either side of your garage door. Well, these are pretty important! When your door opens and closes, the rollers attached to your door travel through these tracks. They keep it in line and straight.
The problem is, sometimes these tracks can get damaged. This can either prevent your door from closing, or make it close uncontrollably!
Once common issue is that the rollers come away from the tracks, and the door is out of control when it comes down. This is clearly not ideal.
To remedy this, your tracks will need to be straightened out, and your overhead door will need to be realigned. This is best left to an overhead door company, such as ourselves, as playing with garage doors is a potentially dangerous game.
Prevention Tips
When it comes to broken garage door springs, there's really not a lot you can do yourself. This is very much a job for a professional that specializes in overhead door repair.
However, if your springs are not broken (yet), there is one thing you can do to try and reduce the slamming. This is while you wait for an overhead door company to come out to your Arvada home, of course.
If your overhead door has an opener, you should be able to adjust the settings to reduce the force being placed on your door when it closes. So, if the opener is set too high, it could potentially be sending the door down with too much force, prompting the slam.
Your garage door manual should explain how you can adjust the opener settings, to reduce the force being applied. Or increase the force being applied, if the opener is struggling to control the door.
Beyond this, our expert staff will be able to give you advice on garage door repair and general maintenance during their visit.
Get Help from Garage Door Service Pros
Here at A Well Hung Garage Door, we are a long-standing, experienced and trusted overhead door company that can handle all your garage door repair needs.
So, whether it is broken garage door springs that need repairing, a track that needs realigning, or an entirely new door needs reinstalling, we would love to help.
Get in touch today and one of our friendly service team members will do their very best to solve all your garage door problems!