Garage doors are not overly complicated, but the adjustment of the door is critical to its operation. Sometimes even a small misalignment of the door or a problem with the tracks can cause the door to bind enough that it becomes difficult to open.
Partial Opening
A garage door that opens partway and stops often has a problem binding up as it moves, especially if the door uses an electric door opener to move the door. The binding door can overwhelm the door opener and cause it to stop right where it is at.
A garage door repair company can check the door to see if it is binding, but if it is not, the door opening can cause the same situation if it is no longer strong enough to lift the door. Over time, the lift motor can wear and eventually just stop working, but the garage door repair tech will check the entire system to determine if that is the issue or if there is a problem with the door.
Garage Door Not Opening
Sometimes the garage door on your home will stop working at all, and when this is the case, the culprit is often something in the door opener system. Check the breaker panel and make sure the opener has power first. If the power is on and the door opener will not open the door, you may have a problem with the door sensor, and it is time to call a garage door repair company to come to look at the door.
The garage door repair company will open the door manually to check all the components of the system. The tech will check the sensors for the openers, the rollers, brackets on the door, and the tracks to ensure there is no damage to them. In some cases, the lift assist spring above the door is damaged, and the door becomes so heavy that the opener can't lift it anymore.
Damaged springs need replacing, but it is critical that they are correctly tensioned, and the job can be dangerous if you do not know how to do it. If the springs are broken, they need replacing with the correct spring for the door, so it is essential that the garage door repair company gets the right ones.
The garage door repair company will replace the springs for you if they are the issue and then adjust the door rollers so that the door opens and closes smoothly.