When you are trying to rush out of the house in the cold weather, the last thing that you need is to not be able to get your car out of the garage. Several problems could cause your garage door to get stuck in the cold. Many issues you can fix yourself, though more significant problems require a repair professional.
First, you’ll want to troubleshoot to see if you can determine the cause of your garage door problem. If you look for the simple fixes first, you could be out of the house faster and avoid a service charge for something that you could’ve done yourself.
DIY Fixes
Frozen Weather Seal
The weather seal is the rubber strip along the bottom of the garage door. If ice builds up near a closed garage door, it can cause the weather stripping to stick to the ground preventing the door from opening. If this appears to be the issue, you can try scraping away the problem ice with an ice scraper or use a heat gun to thaw the ice. If you have a problem with water building up at your garage door threshold, be sure to check this on icy days before attempting to open your garage door to prevent damage to the weather stripping.
Hardened Grease
All garage doors need to be properly lubricated along their tracks so that the rollers slide up and down easily. In cold weather, the grease that is there to lubricate those tracks can begin to harden. Visually inspect the tracks to see if there are any noticeable areas where grease may be stopping the movement of the garage door. Use a grease solvent, like WD-40 to loosen some of the hardened areas and then wipe it away. After you have removed the old grease, apply new lubrication to the tracks and your door should operate smoothly again.
Repairs that Require a Professional Garage Door Technician
If grease wasn’t the issue and the lubrication looks good, you may have a repair that requires a professional. One last check that you can perform to get a better idea of the situation is to try lifting the garage door manually. While the garage door is in the down position, disconnect the opener and try to raise the door. If the door raises and lowers easily by hand, the opener may need adjustments.
Metal Components Warping
If the door raises easily to a point and then gets stuck, you may be looking at warping of the metal components. When the weather goes from warm to cold the metal components of your garage door and garage door tracks can contract and shrink out of shape causing the door to get stuck. In most cases, this will require a professional technician to fix the issue
Broken Garage Door Springs
Most garage door systems utilize a spring system which helps balance the weight of the garage door during lifting and lowering. Eventually, these springs will reach their life-cycle and break. More often than not, this will occur in the winter months. Once one starts to go bad, it can be near impossible to get the door open. If you have tried to manually lift the garage door and it is too heavy or will not budge, call a professional garage door company immediately. Attempting to repair a broken garage door spring without proper training is extremely dangerous.
If you are having problems getting your garage door to open, give us a call at Raynor Garage Doors & Gates of Lexington (859) 233-0802. We are located at 1033 Rushwood Ct. in Lexington, KY and service all of Central Kentucky.