How to Tell a Garage Door Spring Is Broken
The sounds, sights and door behaviour that point to a broken garage door spring, how to check safely from a distance, and what to do next.
Homeowner guides
Garage Door Guides
Practical answers to the questions homeowners ask before and after a garage door repair, written for South Florida homes.
Why a Garage Door Opener Hums but Will Not Lift the Door
What a humming opener is telling you, the four usual causes, and which ones you can safely check yourself.
Why Garage Door Lift Cables Fray and Snap
How lift cables carry the door, what makes them fray, and why a loose or broken cable is never a do-it-yourself fix.
What to Do First When a Garage Door Comes Off Its Track
The first five minutes after a door jumps its track: what to do, what to avoid, and what usually caused it.
How Salt Air Corrodes Garage Door Hardware Near the Coast
How salt in coastal air attacks the steel parts of a garage door, and a simple routine for catching rust early.
Repair or Replace a Garage Door Opener After a Lightning Surge
What a power surge does to an opener's electronics, and how to decide between repairing the damaged part and replacing the unit.
Garage Door Remote Not Working: Batteries, Range and Reprogramming
A step-by-step way to find out why a garage door remote has stopped working, from the battery to reprogramming.
Garage Door Opener Battery Backup for Hurricane-Season Outages
How opener battery backups work, how to test one before June 1, and what to plan for when the battery runs out.
What a Garage Door Tune-Up Should Include
The checks and adjustments a thorough garage door tune-up covers, and how to tell whether a visit actually did them.
Why a Garage Door Reverses Before It Closes: Safety Sensors Explained
How garage door safety sensors work, why they make a door reverse, and how to tell a sensor fault from a force or track problem.
Extension Springs vs Torsion Springs: Which One Your Door Uses
How to identify extension and torsion springs at a glance, how each one lifts a door, and why the difference matters at repair time.
What Changes the Price of a Garage Door Repair
The real factors behind a garage door repair bill, and what makes one repair cost more than another, with pointers to national cost ranges.
Grinding, Squeaking or Banging: Garage Door Noises Explained
A sound-by-sound guide to garage door noises, what usually causes each one and which ones mean the door should not be used.
Lubricating a Garage Door: What to Oil and What to Leave Dry
A homeowner's guide to lubricating a garage door: the parts that need oil, the parts that should stay dry, and the safe way to do it.
Wind-Load Labels on South Florida Garage Doors
How to find and read the product approval label on a South Florida garage door, and what its design pressure and NOA number mean.
How to Open a Garage Door Without Power Using the Manual Release
How to use the red emergency release safely during a power outage, and how to reconnect the opener when the power returns.
Garage Door Bottom Seals: Keeping Out Rain, Debris and Pests
What a worn bottom seal looks like, why some gaps under the door are not the seal's fault, and how replacement works.
Chain, Belt or Screw Drive: Choosing a Garage Door Opener
How the main opener drive types differ, and the questions that decide whether an old opener is worth repairing.
Signs Your Garage Door Rollers Are Worn Out
How to spot worn garage door rollers by sound and sight, and why ignoring them can lead to a door coming off its track.
How Heat and Humidity Affect a Garage Door Opener
What a hot, damp garage does to an opener's motor, sensors and wiring, and the seasonal checks that help.
Garage Door Care for Townhomes and Attached Garages
How shared walls, rooms overhead, association rules and coastal air change the way a townhome garage door should be looked after.
Repair or Replace? When an Old Garage Door Is Worth Replacing
Which garage door problems are usually worth fixing, the signs an old door is ready to go, and what a replacement involves in South Florida.
Nylon vs Steel Garage Door Rollers: Which to Choose
How nylon and steel rollers are built, where each one makes sense, and what to check before choosing a replacement set.
How Long Before You Can Park on a New Epoxy Garage Floor
What one product's data sheet says about cure times, why other systems differ, and how humidity, prep and the garage door affect a new floor.