Diagnose your garage door first. Then decide.
Straight answers to the garage door questions we get asked most, written by the people who fix the doors, not a content mill. Figure out what's wrong, learn what a fair fix costs, and skip the repairs you don't actually need.
4.9 from 111 Google reviews
When the door won't work right
Figure out what's wrong and what's safe to check yourself.
Why won't my garage door open or close?
The 8 likeliest reasons a door stops moving, and which are safe to check yourself.
Noisy doorsWhy is my garage door so loud?
What grinding, squealing, popping, and rattling each tell you about the door.
Won't close all the wayGarage door won't close all the way (or reverses back up)?
When a door closes then pops back up, it's usually the photo-eye sensors or a limit setting.
Off-track safetyOff-track garage door: what to do (and not do).
If your door jumped the track, here's why to stop using it and what's unsafe to attempt.
Power outageHow do I open my garage door during a power outage?
The manual release cord every door has, and how to use it safely when the power's out.
Crooked or sagging doorGarage door crooked or sagging on one side?
Why one side hangs lower, what's safe to look at, and why you shouldn't run a crooked door.
Springs
How they break, how long they last and what a new pair means.
Broken garage door spring: signs, cost & next steps.
Spot a broken spring, understand why it failed, and know the real replacement cost.
Spring lifeHow long do garage door springs last? It comes down to cycles.
Cycle life explained: what a 10,000-cycle rating means in real years for your door.
High-cycle springsAre lifetime garage door springs worth it?
When the higher-cycle upgrade pays for itself, and when a standard spring is plenty.
Balance testHow do I test if my garage door is balanced?
A two-minute test that tells you if the springs are still doing their job, and when to stop and call.
Openers and remotes
Remotes, sensors and openers that act up.
Garage door opener troubleshooting, step by step.
Dead remote, humming motor or no response: a step-by-step triage before you call.
Opens by itselfWhy does my garage door open by itself?
A stuck remote, a shorted wall button or an old fixed-code opener: the real causes and the security fix.
RemotesWhy does my garage door remote only work up close?
Weak battery, cold, a blocked antenna, or a new LED bulb: why the remote lost its range and what to try.
Michigan weather
Cold, heat, humidity and storms, and what each does to a garage door.
Garage door frozen to the ground?
Why the bottom seal freezes to the slab, how to free it without forcing the opener, and how to stop it.
Wind and stormsCan a garage door blow in during a storm?
What actually fails when wind hits a garage door, and a storm myth you can ignore.
Summer heatGarage door acting up in the summer heat?
Why heat trips the opener and blinds the sensors, and the quick checks before you call.
HumidityGarage door sticking in the humidity?
Why humid West Michigan summers make a door drag or stick, and what's actually a repair.
WeatherstrippingGarage door letting in drafts, light, or leaves?
The three seals on every garage door, how to check them, and when to replace them yourself.
Cold weatherGarage door acting up as the weather turns cold?
Why cold stiffens the springs and frosts the sensors, and the checks to run before the first hard freeze.
Winter checklistHow to winterize your garage door.
Seven checks worth doing every fall, before the first hard freeze finds the weak one.
Keeping it running
Simple upkeep that makes a door last.
New doors
Buying a door and deciding when to replace one.
Cost and choosing a company
What things cost and how to pick who fixes it.
More guides
Garage door cable frayed or loose? What it means
What a frayed, slack, or off-the-drum cable means, why to stop using the door, and what a repair involves.
Stops partwayWhy won't my garage door open all the way?
Door rises a few inches or stops halfway: the open-limit setting, a weak spring, a bound roller, or a frozen seal, and which are safe to check.
Free estimates. No after-hours fee.
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