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Colorado’s cold, snowy winters can present a variety of different challenges. One thing many homeowners have to deal with occasionally is their garage door suddenly not opening or closing as it should. While issues with a garage door can happen at any time, they tend to be more common in winter as a result of the impact that cold temperatures can have on the door or parts of the opening system.
How Cold Weather Can Impact a Garage Door
You may encounter a few different issues with your garage door during the winter, such as the door getting frozen to the ground or a spring suddenly breaking. When snow and ice melt, water can seep underneath the door and then refreeze overnight. Even a thin layer of ice can cause the door to become stuck to the ground, preventing you from being able to open it with the remote or keypad.
Steel garage door springs contract in cold temperatures, becoming more brittle. Sometimes, the steel can become brittle enough that a spring just suddenly breaks due to the amount of tension it’s under. This is especially common if the spring is old or already starting to fail.
Another issue you can encounter during winter is the safety sensors falsely thinking that something is in the path of the garage door, resulting in it only closing part of the way before reopening. Sunlight can reflect off snow and ice, interfering with the beam of light shining between the two sensors. Prevent this by installing sun shields on the sensors to block sunlight from reaching them.
What to Do if Your Garage Door Is Frozen to the Ground
If your garage door is frozen to the ground, you’ll be able to hear the opener running, but the door won’t move when you try to open it. This can also indicate that the torsion spring or one of the tension springs is broken. In this situation, disconnect the door from the opener, and try to open it manually. In some cases, you’ll be able to break the ice loose so that you can use the opener. If you can’t get the door to move, the next step is to pour warm water all along the base of the door to melt the ice. Don’t use boiling water or you could damage the door or cause the concrete to crack.
If the door then works normally, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. That said, you may want to apply lubricant to the weather stripping on the bottom of the door to help prevent it from freezing to the ground.
How to Deal With a Broken Garage Door Spring During Winter
You can easily tell if your door isn’t opening because of a broken spring because it will feel extremely heavy when you try to open it manually. The door also won’t stay open on its own when you let go of it. A broken spring is considered an emergency, as you won’t be able to use the door until you have the spring replaced. Replacing a garage door spring is always something that should be handled by an experienced professional due to the risk of serious injury or even death.
The best way to avoid having to deal with a broken spring during winter is to have your garage door professionally inspected before the cold weather arrives. An experienced professional will be able to spot signs that a spring may soon fail or any other issues with the opening system.
There are also some signs that can tell you that the spring is about to fail. This includes if the door often only opens halfway and then stops, if the door opens with a jerking, stop-start motion or if it makes loud squeaking or rattling noises as it moves. If you notice any of these signs, you should call for an inspection. The biggest concern is a tension spring breaking while someone is in the garage. When a tension spring breaks, it will often come flying off at high speed and can cause serious injury. There’s also the risk of the spring slamming into your vehicle and damaging it.
Get Trusted Help
At Above the Rest Garage Door Repair, our team of experts is ready to help you overcome any issues with your garage door. We’ve been serving Colorado Springs homeowners since 1990 and can safely and professionally handle the full range of garage door repairs.
To schedule service and see why we’re the number one garage door company in the area, contact us today.
