Check your garage door once a month. Look over the springs, cables, rollers, hinges and panels for wear, then run three tests: a balance test, an auto-reverse test with a 2x4 laid flat under the door, and a photo-eye test. Leave any work on springs and cables to a trained technician.
That monthly routine comes from the Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA).
The association calls the garage door the largest moving object in the home, and the springs that lift it are under enough tension to cause serious injury. Everything below is safe for a homeowner. Anything involving the springs, the cables, the bottom brackets or fasteners painted red is not, and DASMA says only trained door technicians should loosen or adjust them.
Monthly garage door checklist#
| Check |
What you're looking for |
If it fails |
| Visual inspection |
Frayed cables, gaps or rust in springs, cracked rollers, loose hinges, damaged panels |
Stop using the door and call a technician for cables and springs |
| Balance test |
Door stays put when lifted halfway by hand |
Call a technician; don't adjust springs yourself |
| Auto-reverse test |
Door reverses when it hits a 2x4 laid flat |
Stop using the opener until it's fixed |
| Photo-eye test |
Door won't close when the beam is blocked |
Clean and realign the eyes, then retest |
| Wall button and remotes |
Button at least 5 feet up, remotes out of children's reach |
Move the button |
How to inspect a garage door#
Start with the door closed. Look at:
- The springs. On most doors these are either one or two torsion springs on a bar above the door, or extension springs running alongside the horizontal tracks. Look for a visible gap in the coils, rust or stretching.
- The lift cables running from the springs down to the bottom corners. DASMA's garage door safety tips say frayed or worn cables are in danger of breaking and should only be replaced by a trained technician.
- Rollers that are cracked, wobbly or flat-spotted, and hinges with loose or missing bolts.
- The panels, especially the bottom section, for cracks, dents and rot on wooden doors.
- The rubber seal along the bottom. A torn or flattened seal lets in water, leaves and cold.
Keep your hands out of the hinges and section joints while you look. If you find a broken spring or frayed cable, don't open the door, by hand or with the opener, until it's been repaired.
How to do a garage door balance test#
The balance test tells you whether the springs are doing their job. A badly balanced door makes the opener do the lifting, and it wears out faster.
- Close the door.
- Pull the opener's manual release (usually a red cord) to disconnect the door from the opener. Do this only with the door closed.
- Lift the door by hand using the handles. It should move smoothly without much effort.
- Let go when it's 3 to 4 feet off the floor. A balanced door stays there.
- If it slams down or shoots up, the springs need adjusting. That's a technician's job.
- Close the door and reconnect the opener. Many reconnect automatically the next time you run the opener.
How to test the auto-reverse#
- With the opener reconnected, open the door.
- Lay a 2x4 board flat on the floor in the middle of the door's path.
- Close the door with the opener. When it touches the board, it should stop and reverse.
If it doesn't reverse, or doesn't reverse promptly, stop using the opener. DASMA's opener safety tips say the sensitivity adjustment may be set wrong and recommend a trained technician make the adjustment. Don't turn up the closing force to get a sticky door to shut, and never test with your hand, foot or a person.
How to test the photo-eye sensors#
The photo eyes are the two small sensors on either side of the door near the floor. With the door open, start closing it and wave something like a broom handle or a box through the beam. The door shouldn't close at all while the beam is blocked, unless you hold the wall button down the whole time.
If the test fails, check that the eyes are clean, that nothing's in the way, and that both indicator lights are on. A sensor knocked out of line by a bin or a bike often shows a blinking light. DASMA also says the eyes should be no higher than 6 inches off the floor, so a child or pet can't slip under the beam.
According to DASMA, every opener made for the US market since 1993 has to include a second safety reversing feature such as photo eyes. If yours doesn't have one, DASMA's advice is to replace the opener.
Lubrication and noise#
Check the door and opener manuals for which parts need lubricating and with what. DASMA says squeaky springs are often just normal wear and suggests a spray-on lubricant made for garage doors before you call anyone out. If the noise continues, have it looked at. Grinding, scraping or a door that suddenly sounds very different is worth a service call.
What to leave to a garage door technician#
- Adjusting, replacing or releasing tension on any spring. If one of two springs breaks, DASMA recommends replacing both.
- Cables, bottom brackets and anything painted red.
- Adjusting the opener's force or travel settings when the reversal test fails.
- A door that's off its tracks, hanging unevenly or binding.
- Older doors whose springs have never been inspected. DASMA recommends having them checked by a professional.
If you rent, report any of these to your landlord or property manager rather than calling someone yourself.
Keep a note for the technician#
If something's wrong, write down whether it happens when the door opens, closes or both, where in its travel it stops, and any flashing lights or error codes on the opener. Photos taken from outside the door's path help too. Keep the door and opener model numbers (the opener's is usually on the back of the motor unit) with the manuals.
Garage door checks sit naturally on a wider home maintenance checklist. Replacing the bottom seal and weatherstripping before the cold arrives belongs in your winter preparation, and remote controls, keypad codes and smart opener access fit into a home security review. A monthly ChoreLists.com reminder makes it easier to actually run the three tests instead of meaning to.