Are Garage Door Opener Sensors Required?

At one point, we all have faced bad experiences with our garage door opener sensors. While closing our garage, we may have seen that it was not closing due to something close to the sensor, despite it being a reasonable distance away from the garage door. Because of these types of experiences, many wonder whether they need to have garage door sensors! Let us take a look at important factors you should be aware of regarding your garage door and its sensors.

What exactly are garage door sensors?

Garage door sensors, or photoelectric eye sensors, are devices installed on your garage doors. They help prevent anything from facing injury as the garage comes down. Garage doors can weigh anywhere from 400-500 pounds, making them as dangerous as boulders if they were to come all the way down without a flagger to stop them.

The sensors sit opposite of each other; the garage door sits in between them. There is a laser that connects the two eyes when the garage door is up. When the door comes down, as long as nothing stops the laser from breaking connection, the garage door will come down with no issue. If, however, something is obstructing the connection, like a child running under the door, the garage will stop and reverse back to moving up, preventing an accident from occurring.

Do you need garage door sensors installed?

Without sensors, thousands of people and children can get injured. However, is it required for your garage door? The simple answer: yes. All garage doors in the U.S. have to have safety features, such as sensors, installed.

The U.S. Federal Law UL 325 requires all garage doors to include safety mechanisms, such as garage door sensors. Even though there are other safety tools, sensors are the most common. Your garage must have an approved safety device, like sensors, on your garage door.

If you require garage door services, you have come to the right place! Our expert garage door technicians can help fix any problem you may be facing, such as those related to garage door opener sensors. We are your local garage door experts in Houston, Texas, and we want you to have the best technicians in the greater Houston area. Visit our website at https://www.garagedoordoctor.biz/ if you have any questions. You can also call us at 281-578-7659 .

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Common Garage Door Issues

If you have a garage door, you may run into several common garage door issues. This may be due to the age of the garage door or how often you use it. Garage doors are designed to last for years, but they do require maintenance from time to time.

In this article, we’re taking a look at some of the more common garage door issues homeowners face over time.

Common Garage Door Issues

Your garage door is made up of a lot of moving parts, and over time you’ll see that some begin to fail. That means you can’t get the door open, get it closed, or even lock it. There are several reasons why you’re experiencing an issue with your garage door. 

Here are several common garage door issues.

Garage Door Keeps Auto Reversing

Is your garage door auto-reversing when you go to shut it? This is usually a safety feature, used to stop the garage door from shutting on you or your car if you happen to be standing in its path. If the door is auto-reversing even when the path is clear, that’s a sign that there’s something wrong with the photo eyes.

These sit at either side of the door, close to the ground. In most cases, you’ll see they’re just dirty. When they are, they are stopped from working properly, and so assume there’s something in the doorway. Wipe them off with a dry soft cloth, and try closing the door again. 

If this doesn’t work, the eyes may be misaligned. This causes the door to auto-reverse, as it interrupts the light beam between them. Tie a length of string between them, and adjust the mounts until the string is totally level. This should solve the problem. 

Dented Garage Door

It’s easier to dent a garage door than you’d think. Severe weather can do it, as well as a stray football or a tap from your car. A small dent can easily be removed, though. There are a couple of methods you can use to get that dent out. Firstly, you can try using a rubber mallet and a 2 x 4 of wood. Hold the wood against the spot the dent bends outwards, and use the mallet to tap the wood and push the metal back into place. You can also try the aluminum foil, canner air, and lighter method, which is popular with mechanics.

If the dent is too bad to be pushed out, you can replace the panel without replacing the whole door. You’ll see you can slide the panel out of your garage door and replace it with a new one. Talk to the supplier of your garage door to get the right panel for you. 

Garage Door Won’t Open

If the garage door won’t open when you press the button on your remote, there could be several reasons why. Firstly, let’s look at the most simple ones. Is the garage door locked closed? This could be stopping it from moving. The garage door opener may have been unplugged, stopping it from working. The batteries in the remote may simply be dead and need replacing. 

It could also be that the springs on the door have broken. These are what give the door the tension needed to open, but after so many uses they will break. 

We recommend contacting a professional for help with garage door spring replacement.

Garage Door is Making Squealing or Creaking Noises

When you use your garage door, are you noticing it making unusual noises such as squealing and creaking? That’s a sign that you need to lubricate the moving parts of the garage door. It’s important to do this regularly, as it helps the door work at full capacity for longer. 

It could also be a sign that the tracks are bent or dented, causing the noise. This needs to be dealt with as soon as possible, as it can actually damage the door and lead to you needing a replacement. If the dent isn’t too pronounced, you can use the same method described for removing dents to get it out. If you can’t though, you’ll need to look into having the tracks replaced. 

Garage Door Won’t Stay Open

You may find that when you open your garage door, it won’t stay open as it’s meant to. Instead, it’ll slide back down. This again will be due to springs being broken or worn out. As they’re worn out, they can’t provide the tension needed to keep the door open. Again, you’ll need to look into having them replaced in order to get the door working again. 

Garage Door Won’t Close Properly

When you close the garage door, does it hit the floor and then auto-reverse? This is going to be the fault of your limit switch. This is what tells your garage door opener that the door has reached the ground. If it’s not set properly, it will think that it’s hit something before the ground when in fact, it has just closed. This is why the door will auto-reverse when you try to shut it. 

This is something that usually happens when you have a new garage door, or a new garage door opener installed. The limits are probably wrong, and so the opener doesn’t know how far the door should go before it hits the ground. Check your manual to see how you can adjust the limits on your model. It may take some trial and error, but it won’t take long to get right.  

Garage Door is Sticking or is Totally Stuck

When you try to open your garage door, is it not opening all the way, or will it not move at all? This is a sign that there’s something wrong with the tracks. Again, a dent or bend in the track will be enough to cause problems, so you’ll want to repair them if you can.

If you can’t see a dent, it could be that something is stuck in the tracks, stopping the door from moving. Clean out the tracks and try the door again.

Request an Estimate

These are some of the most common garage door issues people experience with their garage door at some point or another. If you’re experiencing a garage door issue, contact Your Garage Door Guys and request an estimate.

We offer our service throughout the Ventura County and Los Angeles County areas.

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Garage Door Sensor Issues (And How To Fix Them)

Modern garage door openers include garage door sensors, which are designed to improve the safety of your garage and avoid personal injury. For this reason, it’s important to maintain the sensors so they work properly.

In this article, we’re exploring several garage door sensor issues and how to fix them.

Garage Door Sensor Issues (And How To Fix Them)

Since 1993, it’s been required that all garage doors come with sensors. These are there for your safety, and 99% of the time they work perfectly. Sometimes they do malfunction though, and you’ll need to fix the problem as soon as possible. If you’re experiencing any issues with your sensor, here’s what you can do in order to fix them. 

Here are several common garage door sensor issues and how to fix them.

The Importance Of Your Sensors

Firstly, it’s important you realize how essential your safety sensors are. They sit at either side of your garage door and shoot an invisible beam of light between them. This is what detects if anything is sitting in the path of the garage door. If anything does break that beam, they send the signal to the garage door to open up again. This helps keep you safe, as it ensures that the door won’t be able to shut on you if you’re still in the way as it closes. It keeps your car safe too, as the door won’t close on it and damage it. 

A closing garage door can cause more injury than you’d think, so it’s vital that your sensors are working properly when you’re using the door. Sometimes you may find that the door isn’t closing all the way, but auto-reversing even when there’s nothing is there. If you notice this happening, it’s time to troubleshoot it. Try the following steps:

Clean Off The Photo Eyes

The simplest solution is often the one that works. Your photo eyes sit quite close to the ground, so they’re going to get dirty over time. This is especially true if the weather is wet and windy. Wind and spray from your tires are enough to cover them in the dirt. 

If this happens, the eyes are going to be blocked. As far as they’re concerned, the light beam is blocked and so something is in the way. That means the door won’t shut until you do something to fix it. Luckily for you, it’s very easy to fix. All you need is a soft cloth, and you can simply wipe the dirt off the eyes to get them clean again. Remember, you don’t need any cleaning fluid to do this. A dry cloth should be enough to get the dirt off.

Once you’ve done this, test the door again to see if it will close. If it will, you’re good to go. 

Clear Out Your Garage

Another very common issue is that your garage door sensors may be blocked by something in the garage itself. Many people use their garage to store things, whether it’s the lawnmower or boxes of items you’re keeping for sentimental reasons. Even if you keep the garage as tidy as possible, you’ll find that sometimes there’s too much in there, and a box is blocking the photo eyes.

Look for anything that’s sitting near the sensors, and move it away. Even the smallest items can cause disruption, and stop the door from closing. Now’s a good time to clean out your garage, and see if there’s anything you can throw away. If you do, there’s less chance of something making its way between the sensors. 

Once you have clean the garage out and moved as much as you can away from the door, you can then try the door again. You’ll see in most cases this is enough to get it working again. 

Reshape The Sensor Mount

The mounts your sensors sit on are soft aluminum, and you’d be surprised how often they get bent out of shape as you use them. When you walk past them it’s very easy to kick them, knock them when carrying heavy objects, or even knock them in your car. When this happens, the sensor will not longer be in the right location, so you’ll see that the light beam can’t make it all the way to the other side. Again, the sensor will think something is in the way, so they won’t let the door close. 

If this happens, it’s very easy to fix it. The mounts are quite malleable, which is why they got knocked in the first place. You can try bending them back to see if you can get it back into the right position. This will, most of the time, get the sensors to work again. If the damage to the mount is quite severe, you may need to have it replaced. 

Realign The Sensors

If cleaning the sensors hasn’t worked, you may find that the sensors are slightly out of alignment with each other. If one sensor is off even a small amount, this is enough to break the beam between them. If you think this may be the case, there’s an easy way to fix this. 

Tie a length of string between the sensors, and use a spirit level to see if the string is level. If it isn’t, that’s a sign that the sensors are out of alignment. To fix it, you’ll need to loosen one sensor on it’s mount and move it up or down until you can get the string level. Once you’ve done that, try the door again. In the vast majority of cases, this will be enough to get the door closing again. 

Safety First

If you’re going to try to fix your sensors to get them working again, remember to keep yourself safe as you do so. Open up your garage door and secure it, and disconnect the garage door opener. This will stop it from closing on you as you work on the sensors. 

It’s also a very good idea to have someone with you, in order to keep you safe as you work. They can watch over you and catch any issues before they happen.

Now you know what to look for if you do experience any problems with your sensors. They’re easy to fix if you know what you’re looking for, so try getting them working again if you experience issues. If you’re ever unsure though, it’s always a good idea to call an expert for help.

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Tips To Help Improve Garage Security

Keeping your garage door safe for you and your loved ones is highly essential. Many take garage security lightly; however, it is a crucial point of entry that many take for granted. The most significant moving appliance in mostly everyone’s home is the garage. In order to understand more precisely, let us look at a few things you can do to increase garage security and the safety of your garage door.

1. Ensure the garage is safe for children

We all love our kids and want to make sure they are far from harm at all costs. Making your garage a safe place to play in can help decrease the chances of someone getting hurt. One crucial factor is to ensure there is no way for your child to open the garage, manually or automatically. Ensuring there are no places to climb and locking the garage can help ensure your child has no way of escaping out. You should also ensure your garage door opener is in a place that children can not get to. Ensure the garage is clean and that no nuts or bolts are lying around. This can help ensure your child does not swallow or eat something they should not touch.

2. Regularly inspect your garage door

Your garage door should always function to its highest ability to increase safety. Checking for faults such as loose hinges, dust and dirt on the belt, issues with the springs and pulleys, and damages to the cables are just a few examples of inspecting your garage. Even having one of these problems can cause the safety of your garage to decrease. Of course, this is a lot, and you probably don’t have time to do this. For that, you should always ask for help from garage door experts, like Garage Door Doctor, to help inspect your garage for any problems that could decrease its safety.

Even though these are just a few tips, they have significantly saved many lives from being put in danger. In addition, If you require Garage Door Services, you have come to the right place! Garage Door Doctor can help increase garage security and help ensure your garage door is safe for use. We are your local garage door company in Houston, Texas, and we want you to have garage door specialists who have experience. If you have any questions, call us today at 281-855-9300 . You can also visit our website at https://www.garagedoordoctor.biz/

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5 Garage Door Opener Issues

If you have an older garage door opener, you might encounter a variety of issues over time. The garage door opener carries a lot of weight and provides a function we often overlook. If you’re opening and closing your garage door several times per day, it’s important to keep the opener in prime condition.

In this article, we’re taking a closer look at 5 garage door opener issues and how to fix them.

5 Garage Door Opener Issues

Your garage door opener is something you often don’t think about. It’s a part of your daily routine, to be able to drive in and out of your garage without having to get out of your car. Sometimes though, things go wrong and the door opener won’t work. If this happens to you, there’s no need to panic. Instead, take a look through this list of garage door opener issues. One of them is bound to be what you’re experiencing, and in the vast majority of cases, you can fix it yourself. 

Here are 5 garage door opener issues and how to fix them.

1. The Opener Isn’t Sending A Signal

Whether you have a remote you have to push the button on, or one that sends a signal directly to the opener, you’re finding that it’s not doing as it’s supposed to. You press the button, and nothing happens. It’s worrying, but there are several reasons why you may be experiencing this. 

Firstly, open up your remote and check the batteries. If they’re dead, the remote isn’t going to work. Change the batteries out and see if that solves the problem. Check the battery contacts too while you’re at it. It may be that they’ve become rusted. This isn’t something to worry about, as you can polish them to get them working again.

If these don’t work, check to see that the garage door hasn’t been locked shut. If it’s been manually locked, the garage door won’t open even though you try and open it with the remote. Check the lock, and unlock it if needs be. Another very simple solution is to check the opener stop cord. This is a cord you pull to disconnect the opener from the track and is designed to keep you safe when you’re working on the door. If it’s been pulled, that door isn’t going to move. Reconnect the door to get it moving again. 

2. Garage Door is Opening of its Own Accord

It sounds bizarre, but it happens. You’re not doing anything, but the garage door opener is opening the door. Conversely, you’re trying to open the door, but it’s not actually opening. That’s because it could actually be opening your neighbor’s door instead. 

This is because of radio signals that openers use to communicate. If the signal is too similar to one nearby, the signals are confused. That’s how your garage door starts opening when someone else is trying to open theirs. Talk to your neighbors if this happens. Are they finding their garage doors are doing this too? If so, you can change the radio signal your opener uses, so they won’t be activating the other door anymore. 

3. Garage Door Won’t Shut All The Way

Are you find that the garage door gets most of the way down, but then auto reverses before it touches the ground? That’s because it believes something is blocking the door and is opening again as a safety precaution. This is an essential feature on most garage door openers, as it stops it closing on anyone or anything that may be in the way of it. 

If this is happening to you though, there’s going to be an issue with the photo eyes. These are what sense there’s something in the path of the door. They sit either side of the doors and shoot a beam of light between them. If the beam is broken, that’s what triggers the auto-reverse. 

As the photo eyes sit close to the ground, they can get dirty and this blocks the beam. Wipe them off with a soft cloth, and see if that helps. If not, the photo eyes may need to be realigned. This is much simpler than it sounds. To do this, you’ll need to tie a piece of string between them. Adjust the eyes until they’re both levels, which you can test with a spirit level on the string. Once you’ve done that, you can see that your auto-reverse should be working again. 

4. Limit Setting Problems

The limit settings on your garage door are another reason why the door may not close properly. These settings are what tells your garage door opener how far the garage door should go before it hits the ground. This is why the door opens back up again. If the limits are set too high, you’ll see that the garage door opener thinks that it’s hitting something in its path, rather than the ground itself. This is why it opens back up again. 

This usually happens with brand new garage doors or openers that have been reset. This is because the limits haven’t been set yet, so they won’t be correct. 

Luckily, this issue is quite easy to fix. Look for the dials on your garage door opener that manage the limit settings. If you’re not sure where they are, you should be able to check the manual in order to find them. Once you’ve located them, you can make some adjustments. You may have to keep trying the door until you can get it just right. 

5. The Springs Or Cables Are Broken

If your opener isn’t having any effect on the door, it may not actually be a problem with the opener at all. It could actually be that the springs or cables responsible for opening the door are broken. If you’re home when the springs break, you’ll know about it as they make a loud banging noise as they snap. As these are what provide the tension to open the door, it won’t be able to do so when you try and activate it. 

There are guides online to help you repair these, but it’s often better to get an expert to handle it for you. Garage springs in particular can be dangerous, and you don’t want to get hurt doing the repair. 

These are the five most common reasons why your garage door opener isn’t working as it should. Use this guide to locate the source of the problem, and often you’ll be able to fix it yourself. 

If you’re having trouble with your opener or you’re interested in purchasing a new LiftMaster garage door opener, give Your Garage Door Guys a call for an estimate.

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