To avoid the headache of getting your overhead garage door fixed; which is a tedious process, get it checked regularly as it has a lot of components and all its components should be properly inspected for potential problems. Whenever the overhead garage door starts malfunctioning, the chief cause could be one of the listed items below. The brackets or the tracks becoming loose due to the screws becoming un-mounted, the door getting stuck while moving could be due to the rollers getting worn out or the hinges coming off while basic issues like the eroding of the rollers and other components.

There are only two categories of overhead garage doors. There is the one piece variety which has a simple and light panel in a single unit as well as sectional garage doors consisting of horizontal panels linked by hinges and folds and the other variety is of the section is a more version of the same sectional garage doors. Both the models need to be serviced from time to time.

The doors inspection should begin by looking at the hardware, the brackets, the hinges and the rollers. Check and be sure that the nuts are placed correctly and correctly do their holding. A loose nut with an eroded threading will not get screwed properly and a carriage bolt should be its replacement. Drill a hole through the door and insert the carriage bolt from the outside, secure it with a nut and washer from the inside.

To check the proper functioning of the door rollers, the roller spindles need to be located and they should be parallel to the door seams and not be bent at any place. A newer substitute must be brought out if the roller is broken. The spindles, the door hinge pins and the roller bearings need to be lubricated at least twice a year.

There is a specific panel which allows the overhead door to slide up or down. The single piece category has two such panels which are hanging from the axle on the ceiling. Sectional overhead garage doors have a dual set of tracks which curve into a vertical set along the bottom. Rollers, mounted in door brackets, travel in the tracks to keep the door on course.

The tracks shouldn't be dirty and the plumbing shouldn't be irregular, in addition, they should be level or slightly pitched inwards. The friction will not allow the door to move smoothly if there is any bend in the track causing the rollers to pop out. Dirt particles may cause the rollers to get stuck.

Ensure that the horizontal section is level and the vertical section is plumbed properly. The distance between both the tracks should be measured and should be made equal so that they are parallel. If the alignment of the tracks isn't proper, they should be slightly loosened using a wrench and tapped back into place.

Once adjusted, the brackets should be well tightened. Lubricate the track using silicone oil after you clean the tracks. Large and strong springs can be fixed to the door using a cable. They assist the operator in lifting and closing the door.

The tensile strength of the spring will manage to hold the door firmly till a height of three feet from the ground, only if it has been adjusted correctly. Beyond a height of three feet, the door can be made to lift itself. The other components should be properly lubricated and serviced before an attempt is made to readjust the spring.

The S hook at the end of the braided lift need to be repositioned for adjusting the tension spring. This hook, above the opening on either side the door, fits into one of a series of holes in an overhead bracket. Use clamps or blocks to lift the block and keep it in place. The hooks should be shifted forward to multiply the tension but both the hooks should be shifted similarly.

An iron bar goes into a slot at the end of the spring which then twists to tighten the spring thereby adjusting the torsion spring. The spring is under a lot of tension and this is a very dangerous procedure which may sound simple. The torsion spring adjustment is best left to a professional.