The Calls We Hear Most
Most garage door trouble falls into a few groups, and each one has a page with what it usually means and what it usually costs.
- A loud bang, then a door that won't lift. That's almost always a broken spring.
- A door hanging crooked or a cable dangling. Stop using it. Cables and tracks are under spring tension.
- A door that opens but won't close. Often the safety sensors near the floor, which is sometimes a free fix.
- An opener that hums, clicks or does nothing. Sometimes it's the opener. Often it's the door.
- Rust on the springs, hinges and rollers. Salt air works on steel fast here.
Test the Door Before You Blame the Opener
A technician's first move is to check the door by itself. You can do the same, but only with the door fully closed.
Pull the red release cord and lift the door by hand. A healthy door rises smoothly and stays put about halfway. If it feels very heavy, drops or sticks, the trouble is in the springs, cables, rollers or track, not the motor.
If you think a spring might be broken, skip this test entirely and call. Never pull the release with the door open.
Living With a Garage Door on the Gulf Coast
Doors here face things doors in Ohio never see. Wet summers, salty air and a hurricane season that runs half the year.
Salt and humidity rust springs, hinges, bearings and the bolts that hold the track to the wall. Rusty springs break sooner. Rusty track brackets can let go when the wind pushes on the door.
The garage door is also the biggest opening in most houses. If wind pushes it in during a storm, pressure inside the house can lift the roof. That's why Florida cares so much about the wind rating on a new door.
Repair or Replace
Plenty of doors only need new springs, rollers or hinges to run well for years. A sound steel door is worth fixing.
Replacement starts to make sense when the door is 15 years old or more and the repair would cost a quarter or more of a new door. It also makes sense when panels are rusted through or cracked, or when you want a door rated for hurricane winds.
Read about hurricane rated doors or see what people typically pay in the cost guides.
What a Fair Technician Does
- Checks the whole door before quoting, because a "broken spring" call is sometimes worn rollers.
- Gives you the choice of one spring or both, and standard or longer life springs, with the trade off explained.
- Tells you when the fix is free, like a sensor knocked out of line or the lock button left on.
- Doesn't sell a new door to someone whose door just needs parts.
Where Our Technicians Go
Pensacola itself, from East Hill and Cordova Park out to Perdido Key and Myrtle Grove, plus the towns around it. That includes Gulf Breeze, Pace, Navarre, Milton and Cantonment.
Door stuck right now? Send the short form or call (850) 555-0147.