Safety & FAQs
Because a shoddily-maintained overhead door can be a critical safety hazard!
- First of all, garage doors weigh 300-400 pounds. It stands to reason that if the door closed on a human being or pet, the damage can be significant or fatal. That’s why you should stay away from the door as it is moving. Know how to use the emergency release in case a person or pet is trapped under the door.
- Never let a child put the garage door up or down with the remote control or transmitter. Don’t let them get into the habit of this dangerous practice.
- Make sure the wall control is mounted at least 5 feet high and where it can clearly be seen. KEEP CHILDREN AWAY from the button, explaining why garage door controls are not toys!
- Keep clothing and body parts away from all parts that come in contact with each other during the movement of the door. Section joints, tracks, rollers, hinges, cables, and springs can pinch and injure as the door is operating – whether you’re using an electronic opener or not.
- If your garage door was manufactured prior to Jan. 1, 1993, it may not have an automatic feature that reverses the door if it encounters an object while closing. After that date, such mechanisms became federal law. Replace the opener if it’s too old to have this feature. Test by placing a 2x4 board on the ground, closing the door, and checking to see if the door reverses.
- Continually look for loose or worn parts on your door’s springs, pulleys, cables, track, or rollers. If a moving part on your garage door were to come loose during operation, the results could be dire.
Yes! Just checking over the cables that attach the springs to the bottom brackets can save you grief if you can avoid fraying, breakage or rusting. But operate your door manually every now and then to make sure it opens easily. If it doesn’t, call Brant Overhead Door and have the springs replaced.
Inspect rollers and track by listening for unusual noises. Lubricate your rollers or call us for service and we’ll replace them. In fact, every 6 months you should apply silicone with Teflon spray lubricant to springs, drums, rollers, track, hinges, and opener chain and belt. (NOTE: Heavy grease will ruin your door operation, and WD-40 will strip the parts of the lubrication already inside them. Remove any grease that has been used previously.)
If your door isn’t easy to lift, your springs are worn out and need to be replaced by the trained professionals at Brant Overhead Door. Call immediately, as worn springs can actually damage your opener and cause you bodily harm!
First, measure the width and height of the door opening in feet and inches. Measure the distance between the door opening and the wall on either side. Then, measure the distance between the top of the door opening and the first obstruction: the roof, the floor joist, or racking possibly. Special attachments are available if you need extra “head room.”
Now, measure the distance from the garage door opening to the back wall of the garage. You’ll need door height plus 18 inches, plus additional room if you plan to have an automatic garage door opener.
The door opener won’t work unless your safety beam is showing a solid light without any flickering. If your indicator light is off, make sure nothing is obstructing the path between the two sensors. Make sure one sensor isn’t simply out of alignment with the other. Check for broken or cut wires between the sensor and the garage door opener.
Most brands require that you pull down on the rope and either backward or forward to release. To reattach, try pulling the rope once, pull the metal level up, or place the pin at the end of the trolley in position. Then run the opener until it engages automatically.
After checking to make sure the chain sprocket above the opener isn’t broken or bent, test your door manually for extra weight or drag. You can tighten the chain yourself by tightening the tension screw. You’ll find the chain tensioner on the chain itself, usually – it’s a locking nut above the garage door opener. Of course, you can always call Brant Overhead Door for repairs.
This will happen if your door shakes too much. Call Brant Overhead Door right away for repairs.
Turn on your vehicle’s ignition. Erase any existing code by holding the outside buttons until the indicator light flashes. Put the hand-held remote 1 to 3 inches away from the button in your car. Use both hands to push and hold the garage door remote and the car button at the same time, moving your remote closer to the button until the indicator flashes repeatedly (not slowly). Push the learn code button on the back of the garage door opener, then return to your car and push the button again to activate.
If your opener has dip switch numbers on the back, you will need the original programming instruction of the keyless pad you’re programming. If you need to, purchase a new keyless pad to operate with an older garage door opener.
Most brands of learn code style keyless openers follow these coding instructions: push the learn code button on the back of the garage door opener and input your code into the keyless pad and push enter or learn code twice.
It depends on the style of the opener. If you have a dip switch style remote, you’ll find a set of numbered switches inside the remote. This set of switches matches the set on the back of your garage door opener or receiver box. Just make sure you flip the same sequence of switches on the remote as on the opener.
If you have a learn code style remote, first push the learn button to activate it and then push the remote button twice.
If the power fails, or you’ve lost your opener, you’ll need to find the emergency release kit. Look for a hole on the garage door and find the lock mechanism inside. After you turn the key, pull the body of the lock through the hole. This action will pull a cable that will operate a release inside the garage so you can lift your door manually.
If you can’t find your opener and are locked out, you’ll need to call Brant Overhead Door technicians to come help.
First, don’t keep pushing the opener – forcing it can damage the opener gear or housing. Examine the track of the door to make sure nothing is obstructing the door’s path. Are your safety sensors operating properly? You might try putting your door down manually in order to find the obstruction. Listen for unusual noises. If you’ve gone through these steps without success, call Brant Overhead Door for garage door service. We’ll be there right away.
These repairs require special tools. And remember, the springs are under high tension and are dangerous! It’s important to call the trained technicians at Brant Overhead Door for work that involves springs, cables, corner brackets attached to cables, cable drums, and center bearing brackets that hold the tension spring shaft.
Yes! Always replace both springs at once. Here’s why: if one spring has broken, the other is probably wearing out and will need to be replaced soon, anyway. Furthermore, you can seriously imbalance your garage door operation and even injure someone with one new spring and one old one.
The biggest reason to purchase an insulated door is energy-efficiency. Don’t let the heat or air conditioning in your home slip out into your garage and then outside! An insulated door will keep indoor air where it belongs. Also, insulated doors tend to be more rigid and resistant to damage.
While both openers operate similarly, the belt-driven openers tend to be quieter, while the chain-driven openers usually last longer
Have a question you don't see here? Be sure to contact us for questions on garage door installation, service and repair in Caledonia, Simcoe, Ontario, and surrounding areas.