Have A Garage Door That's Crooked? 5 Tips For Repairing It

Posted on: 9 September 2020

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Is your garage door a bit crooked and not resting evenly on the floor when it is closed? If so, you'll need to take some steps to try to repair it. You can either hire a professional to do it for you or attempt to repair it on your own. Here are some tips if you try the DIY repair method.

Understand The Problem

The reason that your garage door is crooked is likely because the cables on each side of the door are not tightened evenly. It is not usually due to a broken track or a problem with the garage door itself that cannot be easily fixed. 

Get The Right Tools For The Job

It is crucial that you have the right tools when trying to repair your home's garage door. The only specialty tool you'll need are winding bars. These are essentially long bars that allow you to add or remove tension from the springs, which makes it easier to work on your garage door. Do not attempt to use other tools as a replacement for winding bars since you can hurt yourself if they are not used properly. In addition to the winding bars, you'll need a socket wrench to loosen various bolts.

Remove Tension From The Spring

Start by pulling on the emergency release to disconnect the garage door from the garage door opener. You can then use the socket wrench to loosen the bolt that holds the spring in place. Place the winding bar into the appropriate hole on the end of spring and turn it until the bar reaches the garage door. This will remove some tension from the spring and let you make adjustments to the spool and allow the door to rest evenly on the ground.

Adjust The Spools

Use your socket wrench to loosen the bolts on the spools on both sides of the door, which will allow the cables to become loose. Roll the cables back up into the spools so that it is no tighter than what a guitar string would be. Secure the spools in place by tightening the bolts with your socket wrench.

Add Tension To The Spring

You can now add the tension back to the main spring by performing the opposite motion that you did before. Use the winding bars to insert them into the end of the spring and give the same amount of turns used to loosen it. You do not need to over tighten the spring. Connect the garage door back to the opener, and your garage door should no longer be crooked.

Having trouble doing this repair on your own? Hire a garage door repair service to do it for you.