GARAGE DOORS EXPERT

There is More than Meets the Eye

If you find yourself flummoxed when there is no visible reason for your garage door to stop responding to your remote suddenly? Or refuses to move any further than halfway down the track? Be thankful for the slight aggravation or delay in your plans. 

If put another way, imaging the feeling and reaction of getting rid of a speck of dust in your eye or having to blink rapidly to keep a bright light glare, allergy attack, or cold symptom at bay. In essence, this is what your garage door sensor is doing when it stops.

 Garage door sensors are the eyes that keep watch on your garage door opening unit. If they “see” anything out of the ordinary that will cause additional risk of injury or massive damage malfunction, they will close until repaired or replaced.

Sensory Perceptions

Due to the wear and tear, construction material, and initial placement being so low to the ground, these little devices really do withstand a lot for their size. However, normally just hard molded plastic covered, a couple of hard kicks, bumps, heat or cold, other dirt and debris, and overall inner core alignment is easily damaged if exposed.

The frequency communication once meddled or broken with, sends the WiFi command to the sensors to stop operation. This is how closely reliant they are on each other. If the opener cycle is anywhere remotely offline or does not receive a clear sensor signal, if interrupted by weather, age, unnoticed damage, or factory malfunction, can cause the garage door to crash down in the middle of a cycle. Which can lead to some serious auto damage.

Due to a federal law passed in the mid-90s, all garage door opener systems are mandated to prevent serious risk to property, damage to vehicles, and most importantly severe injury to you or anyone else that may be caught under a falling garage door.

Don’t Weight for a Repair

While a DIY enthusiast can fix some senor issues, we don’t normally recommend it due to the possibility of the electrical wiring, weight-bearing spring mechanisms, or damaged rails possibly being the cause of the malfunction. A primary concern as to why to get a professional repair or replacement is the sheer weight of your door. Upon average: 

● A single uninsulated metal door 80 to 100 pounds.

● If wood, you can count on a significant upscale to 250 or 300 pounds.

● To both, add extra weight if insulated; and while only an additional 25 to 50 pounds, it can be enough to cause your garage door and components to graduate up to a higher safety mandated weight class.

● For double doors, it is safe to double all numbers.

● Commercial, heavy-duty, glass, and high-end warehouse doors are in an entire division altogether.

A small sensor carries a heavy burden. Thankfully, there are a few precautionary maintenance steps you can readily put into effect that don’t take an entire day or even more than half an hour:

Stop, look and listen.

● Every week, make it a point to stop and broom-sweep around the sensors, taking care not to use a leaf blower. 

● If you are using a blower in a heavier tasked spring or fall clean of your garage, consider covering the sensor lenses while doing so and uncovering IMMEDIATELY after your clean-up.

● Any trace dirt, sand, debris, or dry leaves can scratch the lens surface.

● Look at the sensor units and covers and make not if cracked, misaligned, or broken.

● If noticed, any blinking LED lights emitting from the eye can be the cause of a loose screw of the assembled unit. If you find it to be so, try tightening.

● Also, visually inspect your garage door rails, springs, and rollers.

● Replace and/or repair if needed.

● Clean and lubricate rollers, rubber, or moving parts.

● Listen for advanced warning signs that are indicative of a broken garage door sensor like creaking if the door slows to midway, any rattling as the door settles onto the floor or back in an upward position.

When you trust your repairs or replacements to our elite team of garage door professionals at Mass Garage Doors Expert, you are joining our masses of satisfied customers and routine maintenance tune-up clients. You are now considered our top priority. In Central Massachusetts and Boston regions, our reputation is exceeded only by our reliability, stellar business ethics, and core values that only a handpicked staff and trained experts can measure up to. The care, commitment, and consideration we proudly serve will serve your needs for each of your garage door needs. So, give us a call now at (888) 989-8758 or book a visit at www.massgaragedoorsexpert.com

At Mass Garage Door Experts, our simple name says it all.