If you have an electric garage door, one of your most essential tools is the motor that moves it. It’s a great convenience that many homeowners take for granted until it stops working.
When a motor fails, there are a few options for how to replace it and get your home’s garage door back in service. You can either call a professional garage door technician to help you out or do it yourself.
The first step is to determine what needs to be repaired or replaced. There are several reasons why your garage door opener may be failing, and you’ll need to address each issue before you can start the repair process.
Broken Torsion Springs
If you notice that your garage door doesn’t close properly, it could be because the springs are damaged. This is a common problem that requires a garage door professional to inspect the door and springs to fix it.
Sometimes, this problem is caused by something else, and you’ll need to address that before the springs can be repaired or replaced. This is why it’s a good idea to call a professional technician to come and check your door, so they can diagnose the issue and provide you with an estimate for the work.
Unbalanced Doors
If your garage door isn’t balanced, it can cause the opener to overwork and eventually fail. The best way to test whether your door is out of balance is to have a Precision technician perform a free 25-point inspection.
Another sign that your garage door is out of balance is if it feels heavy when you open and close the door manually. This can also indicate that your door has worn down the springs, so you’ll need to have them replaced before it gets any worse.
When you call a Brooklyn garage door expert, they will come to your home and perform a full inspection to find out what’s causing the imbalance. They can then make the necessary adjustments and repair your garage door so it opens and closes properly again.
A new motor is a major investment, so it’s important to make sure you pick the right one for your home. There are several different types of garage door motors, and choosing the right one will help your opener last longer and require less maintenance in the long run.
Soft-Activation Motors
The soft-activation motor is designed to help minimize the wear that garage door openers endure over time. They are a little more expensive than the standard hard-activation motors, but they are usually quieter and don’t need to be lubricated as often.
Belt Drive
A belt-driven motor uses a rubber belt to lift and lower the garage door, which is more durable than other types of garage door openers. This type of opener is slightly more expensive than the screw-drive or chain-drive models, but they are much quieter and less likely to break down in extreme weather conditions.
Depending on the manufacturer, you can purchase garage door openers that have a lifespan of about 10 years or more. However, this depends on the amount of strain you put on the motor, as well as the size and weight of your garage door.