How does a garage door jump the track?
Most doors come off track because a cable rusted and snapped, a spring broke, wind bowed the door, or a car bumped the track. Rusted, loose brackets can also let a track shift. Stop using the opener and call a technician, because the cables are under spring tension.
A garage door that has come off its track is one of the more alarming things to find in your garage. The door hangs crooked, a roller sticks out at an odd angle, and the opener may still be trying to move it. Here is what usually causes it in Punta Gorda, and what to do.
How the track system works
Rollers along each edge of the door ride inside two steel tracks, one on each side. Two lift cables run from the bottom corners of the door to drums on the spring bar. When everything is in line, the door rolls up and down evenly. If one roller leaves its track, or one cable goes slack, the door twists.
Cause 1: a broken or slack cable
This is the most common cause here. The bottom end of each cable sits close to the damp floor, and salt air rusts it from the outside in. When a rusted cable snaps or slips off its drum, that side of the door drops. The other side stays up, and the rollers on the low side pop out of the track.
Cause 2: a broken spring
When a spring breaks, the cables lose tension and can unwind from the drums. If the opener keeps pulling, the door can lift unevenly and come out of the track.
Cause 3: wind
During a strong storm, wind presses on the outside of the door. A wide two-car door can bow inward enough to pull rollers out of the track. Doors with missing reinforcing struts are especially at risk.
Cause 4: a bump from a car or cart
Backing a car or a golf cart into the door or the track can bend the track or knock a roller loose. Even a small bend can catch a roller on the next cycle.
Cause 5: rusted or loose brackets
The tracks are held to the wall with brackets and bolts. Rust can loosen them, and the track can shift out of line. Then the rollers rub, bind and eventually jump out.
What to do
Stop using the opener. Unplug it so nobody presses the button by mistake. Keep people and pets away from the door. Do not try to force the door back into the track, and do not loosen any bracket or cable, because they are under spring tension.
The repair
The technician secures the door, releases the tension, puts the rollers back in the track and replaces any cable, roller or bent track section. In our posted price ranges, putting a door back on its tracks comes to $150 to $245, a cable or drum repair comes to $165 to $325, and a new section of bent track comes to $225 to $365.
Call (941) 948-2166 at any hour.
See also our pages on garage door cable & track repair and garage door repair in Punta Gorda. You might also like What Your Garage Door Opener's Blinking Light Means.