Garage door buzzer not working? Motor isn’t turning on? Power outage in the neighbourhood? Unless you want to commit to walking as your main mode of transport, you’ll probably need to manually lift your garage door. But is it safe to do this? Only sometimes. There are times when manually lifting your garage door could be incredibly dangerous. Let’s have a look at the different situations in which you’d need to manually open a garage door.
Find out what the problem is
You want to make sure that the problem is properly diagnosed before deciding whether to open or close your garage door. If you heard a large snap or bang sound coming from your garage door before it stopped working, then this is a good indicator that the spring has broken. If your garage door motor isn’t opening or closing the door, then this could be a cable problem. Go behind the garage door to check if the cables are broken or not.
For cables and springs, DON’T lift it
Whether it’s open or closed, don’t attempt to move your garage door if it has a broken cable. It’s really dangerous to either open or close a garage door with a broken cable and it can lead to serious injury. Because there is less support to hold the door up, it could slam shut very quickly, coming into contact with whatever lies below it. Simply call a professional garage door technician to come to take a look and promptly repair your garage door cable.
Power outages
If your neighbourhood is experiencing a power outage, then you’ll need to manually lift your garage door. It should be said firstly: don’t attempt this if you’ve got back problems or are under doctor’s orders not to partake in heavy lifting. If you’re OK with this activity, then you’ll need to unplug the motor and locate the emergency release cord – it’s red with a little handle at the bottom. Pull this handle to release it (only if the door is closed). Then, you’re able to safely lift the garage door to an open position.
Still not opening?
If the garage door is difficult to move or seems to be jamming, then don’t attempt to open the door any further and instead call a garage door technician. It’s not worth the risk of injuring yourself!
If you’ve got a problem with your garage door, then the team at Star Door Service & Repairs are here to help. They’re one of Perth’s top garage door repair teams, offering experienced technicians and reliable services at affordable rates. The team at Star Door Service & Repairs will get your garage door back to A1 condition on time and to budget. Give them a call for a quote and inspection today.
