What to do if your automated garage door loses power or breaks?

From blackouts during thunderstorms to a fault in your garage motor system, problems with your automated garage door can crop up at any time and really put a crimp in your day. But if you’re prepared, your car, tools, or bicycle need not remain caged up in your garage until the engineer arrives or the power is restored. Here are a few ways you can regain access to your garage.

Opening Your Garage from the Outside

Your garage door will feature one of two designs that provide external access to your garage.

The first involves a cable running internally from the trolley to the handle on the outside of the door which, when unlocked and turned, will act as a release mechanism so that you can open and close the door manually.

Some frames, however, are fitted with a winding handle that can be accessed externally to roll the door open. Both methods provide simple solutions to entering your garage.

Opening Your Garage from the Inside

If you have access to your garage from inside your house or have found yourself locked in, getting out is relatively straight-forward, but you will need to bear a few things in mind.

Firstly, for the following to be safely carried out, you must ensure that the garage door is fully closed, as if your door has a broken spring, it may come barreling down once the trolley (the fixture that runs along the track rail in conjunction with the movement of the door) is disengaged from the motor track’s attachment point. This has the potential to seriously damage or harm anything or anyone unfortunate enough to be in its path, as well as the garage door itself.

If for any reason your garage door has failed in an open position, contact your engineer as soon as possible to avoid endangering yourself or your property.

Automated garage doors are fitted with a manual release rope that disengages the trolley from the attachment point, allowing for manual movement of the garage door. This is a small rope, often brightly coloured, that hangs from the trolley attachment along the track. After again ensuring that the door is fully closed, pull the rope down and towards the back of the garage (or toward the motor) so it both disengages the trolley and keeps the rope from getting caught on the tracks.

The door is now able to move along the rail, free from the constraints of the attachment point and the motor track, until you re-engage the trolley to the attachment point.

Re-engaging Your Automated Garage

Once the power has been restored you can restore automation to your garage door through one of two different methods.

The simplest involves pressing the button on the remote opener which will result in the track forcing the attachment spring back into place.

The other option requires that you manually reattach the components. This time, instead of pulling the release rope toward the motor, you should pull it toward the garage opening to keep the lever from re-engaging. Then pull the garage door up until the trolley snaps back into the attachment point and you will have restored automatic function to your garage door.

A Final Note

Before moving your garage door you must ensure that there are no problems with the components or mechanisms of the door. If the door opens unevenly, for instance, or you notice a broken spring or part, moving your door yourself could result in irreparable damage you could easily avoid. In situations like this, contact your local engineer.

Dimension Garage Doors have specialised in providing high quality automated and manual garage doors that are reliable and affordable throughout the North West of England for over 20 years. For more information on services including supplying, installing, maintenance and repairs of garage doors, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.