How To Lift A Heavy Garage Door

If they have a lot of give you may want to consider replacing them.

How to lift a heavy garage door.

Consider updating the drums that guide the lifting cables. Use it like a lever by prying with the end close to the ground and you are lifting at the far end. Usually a properly working garage door will roll open easily due to the torque in the springs but it is important to lift with your back straight up. Pull up on the pry bars.

Raynor s new trubalance drums can provide 87 better balance throughout the full open close motion. The good news if you can inch the door up around 1 3rd of the way the door will get lighter as a portion of the door goes horizontal on the track and you are no longer fighting gravity. Smaller doors often have just one spring. Many older drums are not correct for doors with heavy top sections such as those with windows.

Listed below are the three different sizes and the suggested doors that can be used with them. Raise the door using the handle on the outside. How to open a garage door that has a broken spring. The most common problems with this system are broken springs or cables.

If your garage door spring is failing or broken it will not provide enough force to lift the garage door. A properly balanced garage door weighs about 10 to 15 pounds which can easily be lifted with one hand. If the door is hard to raise the tension at the hinge springs is too loose and the automatic closer must work too hard to raise the door. To help lift a heavy garage door the springs apply twisting force to the torsion tube.

Pull the emergency cord on your door opener and gently lift your garage door. A long 2x4 or steel pipe might get you started. Garage door openers are found in three different sizes which are determined by horsepower. Open it just as wide as you can without hitting the garage door opener s stop bolt and place a clamp on the track on both sides to keep the door in place.

Position a 6 foot step ladder at each side of the garage door. Is your garage door hard to lift by hand. Many doors we encounter do not have the proper size spring s installed. If the spring is not the proper size the door will not be balanced.

For example if you would like to lift a double garage door one might suggest using a 1 2 horsepower because the door is heavier and larger. There could be several issues preventing your door from lifting easily. Drums at the ends of the tube act as reels winding up the cables connected to the door. Remove any safety cables from the springs before loosening the springs themselves.

We recommend having a maintenance done to your garage door every 12 to 18 months. An unbalanced door can make the door difficult to raise manually and can cause damage to other. For safety reasons don t try to solve the problem yourself. Bending over and attempting to put your weight into the door may result in lower back injuries.