There are several things you need to do if your garage door is off track. Our informative guide right here has you covered.

 

Have you noticed that your garage door is crooked and won’t shut properly? Is the garage door not going all the way down when you go to close it? If so, then your garage door is off track and needs to be fixed right away.

Thankfully, while it might look serious, fixing this issue isn’t overly complicated. Some people choose to do it themselves, while others prefer to have a professional technician work on any issues regarding their garage door.

If you’re part of the former, see below for a guide on what to do if your garage door is off track and needs fixing ASAP.

 

How Do Garage Doors Come Off Their Tracks?

 

Before we get into fixing the issue, let’s first ask ourselves one question: how did this happen? Knowing the main causes can help you prevent them from happening in the future.

Please be warned, if you choose to put the garage door back on the track with a DIY project, it’s likely to happen again. For those of you looking to nip it in the bud, contact a garage door repair service in Portland OR, Bend, Hillsboro, Beaverton, etc.

There are many reasons a garage door might come off the tracks. First, it could be due to the quality of the tracks. If they’re worn out or bent out of shape, they can’t hold the weight of the garage door and give it out.

Next, a garage door might come undone from its tracks if it’s hit by a car. Even if hit slowly, such as accidentally hitting reverse before the garage door is up, is enough to damage the door and the tracks.

The garage door might also come off the tracks due to its rollers or cables being worn out or the wrong size for your door.

 

How to Fix the Garage Door

 

The good news is that whether you use your garage for storage, as a man cave, or anything else, the method for fixing a garage door off track is the same.

To do this, you’ll need pliers, a rubber mallet, and locking pliers. First, if you have an automatic door, you’ll need to disconnect the opener to give you manual control. Simply pull the rope that extends from the door to the opener.

Once that’s done, lift the garage door to open it all the way up. Make sure that you have several people here to help you do this. That garage door is several hundred pounds, and depending on the severity of the issue, it might not cooperate much at first. Get one or two people to help you lift it.

After the garage door is opened, locate the wheels that are off the track. Once found, use your locking pliers and set them underneath the jammed wheels to ensure they stay in place.

Grab the outside edge of the damaged tracks with your pliers, then pull them to give yourself a bit more space to try and get the wheels back inside and on the track.

Align the wheels with the track, then use your rubber mallet to knock the track back into its upright position (where it was before you pulled it out of place).

Grab your friends again, remove the locking pliers, then try to slowly close the garage door. Pay attention to how smoothly it closes. Once it’s closed, reconnect the rope from the door to the opener so that you can test it.

Once the rope is in place, give it a go! Use your remote control to test out the garage and make sure it opens and closes seamlessly. When it opens, is it hanging parallel to the ground? When it closes, is the entire garage door body touching the floor?

If there continue to be issued, give us a call. We’ll be happy to assess the condition of your garage door and find the root of the problem right away.

 

The Risks of a Damaged Garage Door

 

Most of us take our garage door for granted. When we notice that it’s having issues, such as one side being off track, we tend to shrug it off, rather than fixing the problem. Doing so can land you in a world of hurt.

First, if a garage door is off track, it won’t close properly. That can lead to water damage on your property due to heavy rain sneaking in and getting entrapped in an enclosed space.

It can also cause the climate inside your garage to fluctuate. In the summer, your garage (and all the cars/belongings inside of it) will have less protection from the humidity and heat. In the winter, it will expose your belongings to the brutal cold (and snow).

Simply put, a damaged garage door is too risky for an Oregon property. It’s best to schedule an appointment with a professional garage door repair expert to fix the problem right away.

If you’ve noticed that your garage door is getting up there in age, it might be time to replace it with a new, state-of-the-art model for improved results.

 

Garage Door Is Off Track: Hire Professional Help Today

 

Now that you have seen a guide on why your garage door is off track and how to try and fix it on your own, perhaps you’ve decided it’s better to leave it to the experts.

Be sure to read this article for more information on the reasons why your garage door remote won’t work.

For more inquiries, please be sure to reach out to us via our contact us page or call us at 855-427-2434 and we will be happy to assist you further.