Start Here: What Is Your Door Doing?
It went up a few inches, then the opener quit
A broken spring. Look for a gap in the coil above the door
You heard a loud bang from the garage
Almost always a spring snapping
It opens fine but won't close, or it reverses
The safety sensors near the floor are blocked or out of line
The remote stopped working but the wall button works
A dead battery, the lock button, or interference from a bulb
One side hangs lower or a cable is loose
A cable or spring problem. Stop using the door
It grinds, squeals or pops on every trip
Worn rollers, dry hinges or a dented section
The Door First, Then the Opener
Most people blame the opener. Most of the time the opener is fine and the door itself is the problem.
A garage door is heavy. A two car steel door can weigh well over a hundred pounds, and an insulated or wood carriage door weighs a lot more. The springs do the lifting. The opener only guides the door up and down.
So when a spring breaks, a cable slips or a roller seizes, the opener strains, flashes a light or gives up. Replacing the opener won't fix that. A good technician checks the door's balance before touching the opener, and so should anyone quoting you.
If you want to check for yourself, there is one safe test.
With the door closed, pull the red release cord and lift the door by hand. A healthy door lifts smoothly and stays put about halfway up.
If it feels like lifting a car, don't force it. That's a spring, and it's a job for a pro.
Repairs People Call About Most
Springs are the most common repair by a wide margin. A standard spring is rated for about 10,000 cycles, and one open plus one close is a cycle. If your garage is how your family comes and goes, that can run out in well under ten years.
After springs come the jobs that look scary but are usually simple: a door that won't close because of the safety sensors, worn rollers that make a door loud, and remotes that quit.
Then there are the ones you should never touch yourself, like a cable that came off its drum or a door hanging crooked in the opening.
Here is where to start for the common ones:
- Broken spring repair, including whether to replace one spring or both
- Opener repair, and when an old opener isn't worth fixing
- A noisy door, which often costs less to fix than people expect
What Repairs Cost in Durham
Prices swing a lot from company to company, which is why it pays to know the usual ranges before anyone shows up.
In many markets, a standard torsion spring job for a one or two car door runs roughly $450 to $650. Longer life springs cost more but can last about three times as long.
The parts in a spring job are not expensive. Most of the bill is labor, travel, tools and the warranty.
If a quote for one standard spring comes in far above the usual range, get a second opinion. Our spring cost guide lists what to ask so you can compare quotes fairly.
Durham Weather Is Hard on Garage Doors
Durham summers are hot and sticky, with thunderstorms most afternoons in July. Humidity dries out old lubricant and rusts cheap hinges. Storms push rain under worn bottom seals, and the red clay that comes in on tires sticks to everything.
Spring pollen coats the tracks and the sensor lenses every April. Winter is usually mild, but an ice storm can freeze a bottom seal to the slab, and an opener that tries to pull it free can tear the seal or strain itself.
None of this means your door is doomed. It means a yearly tune-up and a clean set of sensors go a long way here.
Repair It or Replace It?
A solid steel door with new springs, rollers and hinges can keep going for many more years.
Replacement makes sense when the door is old and needs a big repair, when panels are cracked or rusted through, or when you simply want a quieter, better insulated door. Our repair or replace guide walks through how to decide.
A good technician will tell you when a repair is the smart money and when it isn't. They'll also tell you when the fix is free, like a sensor knocked out of line by a trash can.
How This Works
Send the short form or call (919) 555-0136. We pass your request to one local garage door company that serves your part of Durham, and they call you back to talk through the problem and set a time. There's no charge to you for the call back.
If your door is stuck open, hanging crooked or has a snapped cable, say so in the form or on the phone, and don't run the opener in the meantime. Request a call back and we'll get it moving.