Garage door openers are a luxury most people take for granted. By just pressing a button, we can gain access to our garage. They are simple mechanisms that could last for a long time, with an average lifespan of about 15 years, which could extend to up to 20 years if you regularly maintain the springs and rollers.
Every day, we open and close the biggest door in our homes and expect it to work without any issues. This doesn’t always happen. When your door begins to wear out, it shows some signs. There are several problems that could show that your opener needs replacement. Whether it is issues with the moving parts or suspicious sounds, the bolts and nuts of the machine can result to problems when they get worn out. Even if it is still working, it can lead to safety problems. Look out for these signs that your garage door needs to be replaced:
1.Vibration
If the opener vibrates, it might appear harmless at first, but keep an open eye. Motors that are older having worn out armatures or bent shafts may vibrate. The opener might even shake loose from the mounting point on your building. When this happens, watch out! A door that vibrates might eventually break loose and fall on the ground or on your car. When important mechanical areas like this begin to fail, it is time to get a new door opener.
2.Automatic reversal
It has been required for garage door openers to have safety reversing mechanisms. This feature makes use of two sensors that are placed six inches over the floor level on each sides of the door. Whenever an object or a pet runs along this light beam as the door closes, it stops immediately and reverses its movement. If you notice that your garage door opener doesn’t reverse safely, as a safety measure you should consider replacing it.
3.Strange noise
Noise is another red flag. Older models of garage doors were intentionally designed to be noisy. Their chain drivers are particularly obnoxious and noisy. The noise from the chain drives are mostly the first thing someone hears when you get home. Ideally, chain drive openers are loud. Their chains were not made to keep noise low, and the older they get, the more noise they’ll make. To have a quieter operation, consider getting a new belt drive opener. If your new opener is also very noisy, have a technician inspect it to find the source of the sound.
4.For better security
Thieves can easily break in with older models of garage door openers, since their remote controls work with a particular code, someone having a special device might easily find the code, allowing them control the door. Newer versions of garage doors come with a rolling code feature that changes the code of the door each time you use the unit.
5.Unresponsive opening
If the door fails to open every time you press the remote control or the wall-mounted control, there are some things that could be wrong. Ensure you double check that the remote control is still fresh and has functional batteries. It that is not the problem, it could be that there’s an issue with the wiring or the logic board of the opener. Although these can be repaired, it is safer to buy and new unit.
