Your garage door sees a lot of use over its lifetime. If you’re opening and closing it even twice per day, that adds up to over 1,000 uses per year! With that kind of use, it’s inevitable that your garage door will see some wear and tear eventually, such as becoming unbalanced.

An unbalanced garage door can pose safety issues and is expensive to repair if left to worsen over time. The strain and stress that a malfunctioning door puts on the coil springs and cables could cause them to snap, leading to injury or property damage. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at garage door balance and how you can tell if your door has lost its balance.

What Does It Mean for a Garage Door to Be Balanced?

A balanced garage door is a garage door that has its weight evenly managed by the tension of the springs in the system. A balanced door makes the opener’s job much simpler, allowing it to move it up and down the track with ease.

If a garage door is considered unbalanced, that means the springs aren’t holding the door properly. Either they aren’t providing enough tension to balance out the weight of the door, or they are exerting too much tension over the door. Either way, it puts extra strain on the opener. If you don’t address this issue in time, it can cause the opener to fail or a cable or spring to snap, leading to expensive repairs. Even if your garage door is perfectly balanced at installation, the balance can shift over time.

Adding even a modest amount of weight to the inside of your garage door such as a light fixture after the door is installed can disrupt the doors' balance and should be avoided.

What Are the Signs of an Unbalanced Garage Door?

How do you know if you have an unbalanced garage door? There are several signs you can look for that indicate your garage door may be unbalanced, such as:

Your Door is Misaligned

If you notice that your garage door appears loose or uneven while opening or closing it, this could be a sign that it has come out of alignment. Misalignment can result from broken springs or frayed cables on one side of the door and requires immediate repair.

It’s Making Unusual Noises When Opening or Closing

If it sounds like your garage door is working hard to open or close, it’s likely because it is due to imbalanced weight on the springs. Permanent damage to the mechanism could occur if the problem is left unaddressed, which leads to much more costly repairs or replacements in the long run.

Your Door is Bent Out of Shape

An unbalanced garage door can be an unsettling sight, as it causes the door's panels to flex and buckle while ascending or descending. Fixing the problem will spare you the cost of having to replace a damaged door down the line.

It Requires Manual Labour

If you have to strain or force your garage door up when opening it manually, aging springs may have caused the door to become unbalanced. This can also cause your garage door to close by itself after being manually opened. If your door isn’t opening at all, that can mean it has become too unbalanced and it is too heavy for the opener to lift.

It Takes Longer Than Usual to Open or Close

If your door is opening or closing more slowly than it used to, that indicates your opener is having trouble with the weight and balance of the door.

Test the Balance of Your Garage Door

The signs of unbalanced garage doors may be easy to spot, but in many cases they might be very subtle. Your best solution is to test your door periodically. Follow these steps to perform your own balance test:

1. Close your garage door from the inside
2. Detach the door from the opener
   1. If your opener operates on a square rail or screw-driven opener, you can pull the manual release rope straight down
   2. If your door uses a T-shaped rail, you can pull the manual release rope down and then back towards to motor unit.
3. Manually move your door open or closed. It should move freely and easily. If it sticks, try applying lubrication to the rollers and hinges as indicated in the owner’s manual. If that doesn’t fix the problem, or if your door is too heavy to move, you should seek out professional assistance.
4. Lift the door carefully to the halfway point and release it. It should remain in place, supported by the springs. You may see gentle movement in one way or another.
   1. If the door slams shut or opens forcefully, you have an unbalanced garage door.
5. If your door is balanced, you can reattach your opener.
   1. If you have a square rail or screw-driven opener, pull the manual release cord straight down and back towards the motor unit.
   2. If you have a T-shaped rail, pull the cord straight down and then activate the opener. It should reconnect automatically.

What do you do if your garage door fails the balance test? Adjusting the springs can be tricky and even dangerous, as they are under a lot of tension and need to be handled with care.

Call Creative Door Services™ for Repairs to Unbalanced Garage Doors

An unbalanced door is a problem you should correct as quickly as possible. Call the professionals at Creative Door Services™ and we can help you out.

We offer comprehensive repair and maintenance services for residential garage doors. Our technicians have the tools and expertise necessary to troubleshoot your garage door imbalance and put it right, ensuring you get smooth and easy operation of your door once again.

To learn more about our garage door products or request a quote, contact us today. We’re happy to serve you from one of our eight locations. You can find us in Kelowna, British Columbia; Vancouver, British Columbia; Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Fort McMurray, Alberta; Regina, Saskatchewan; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.