# Ask Doors Done Right - Answers to Questions About Your Garage Door Or Opener



## doorsdoneright

Hi everyone,

My name is Scott. I own a garage door and opener installation and repair business in New Jersey. I have twenty seven years of experience and have some pretty extensive knowledge about all the ins and outs of installing and repairing doors and openers.

I'm new to this forum, but I am happy to help out where I can.

If you have a question, feel free to reach out. I am subscribed to this thread, so this is the best place to ask. I'll get back to you ASAP.

Scott


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## havasu

Thank you for your help Scott. I know many, like myself could sure use someone with knowledge when it comes to garage doors. 


1) Your first question... I purchased my house a year ago, and it came with a new, cheap, roll up door. Do they make universal insulated interior garage door panels that I could add for soundproofing and insulation, of would I just be better off tossing this cheap door and purchasing one that already has the insulated panel?

I've seen the styrofoam panels that you cut and glue, but found that to be unsightly and seems the little styrofoam balls are always breaking off, so I want to avoid this.


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## oldognewtrick

I have a Genie, shaft drive opener that sounds like a 747 taking off. I tried lubing the shaft drive and rollers. I can disconnect the door and it moves freely. I tried using rubber washers on the mounting bracket. Is there anything I can do to lower the noise or do I hope it soon fails so I can replace it? 

View attachment image.jpg


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## doorsdoneright

Havasu,

Yes, you can certainly do that, and you should get some benefit out of it, but I generally find they end up being a poor fit. With most manufacturers the foam panels are put into place while the door is being put together, so they tuck under the end caps. You won't really be able to do that with the foam insulation kits. You'll just be tucking under the upper and lower rails. It probably won't look so pretty and will provide incomplete benefits.

If you do give it a try, I would use the styrofoam-with-vinyl backer type. The vinyl backer on the styrofoam kits reduces breakdown of the styrofoam to some extent. I have gone into houses where people used the big blanket-type kits and the doors weighed a ton - not good for safety and not good for your opener. You would probably also need to replace your springs to counter-balance the door properly, which might be tricky to get just right. Those blanket-type insulation kits also make it impossible to do any work on the door, such as remove hinges to replace rollers, etc. 

If it's in your budget, the best way to go would be to get a new 3-layer door - steel + insulation + steel. They cost only a little more than 2-layer doors but are leagues better as far as strength and durability. Depending on how much insulation you want, most brands provide you with these four 3-layer construction options:
1-3/8" with polystyrene insulation: r-value = about 6.5 (a big jump up from your current r = 0)
2" with polystyrene insulation: r-value = about 9
1-3/8" with polyurethane insulation: r-value = about 13
2" with polyurethane insulation: r-value = about 18

In my area, a new 8' x 7' 3-layer steel raised panel door would start at around $750 installed. Windows with designs would add about $150.

Hopefully that helps.


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## doorsdoneright

oldognewtrick said:


> I have a Genie, shaft drive opener that sounds like a 747 taking off. I tried lubing the shaft drive and rollers. I can disconnect the door and it moves freely. I tried using rubber washers on the mounting bracket. Is there anything I can do to lower the noise or do I hope it soon fails so I can replace it?



Those screw drives are supposed to be lubed with some sort of low-temperature grease, such as white lithium grease. If you're using something lighter (WD-40, silicone spray or oil), you might not lose the rattling of the screw in the casing. Anything heavier and the screw might seize up in cold weather. 

If you buy a tube (not a spray can) of white lithium grease and run a bead down the full length of the screw and then run it, it should make a huge difference in the noise level. 

It might get a little messy, but shouldn't be too bad.

Home Depot's white lithium grease is very liquidy and doesn't allow you to get a good bead to stick to the screw, so if you can find it somewhere else, I would recommend that.


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## oldognewtrick

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I did use grease from my grease gun a long time ago, I think I'll pull the shaft out, clean it, use the white grease and see if that helps.


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## ConcettaParsons

I have a garage door recently repaired by http://www.dooronthego.ca/. I had few difficulties opening it. It was better after the repair. Recently I again felt difficulties opening it. Do you know the reason behind constant door jamming? How shall I overcome this??


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## Ron Carter

doorsdoneright said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> My name is Scott. I own a garage door and opener installation and repair business in New Jersey. I have twenty seven years of experience and have some pretty extensive knowledge about all the ins and outs of installing and repairing doors and openers.
> 
> I'm new to this forum, but I am happy to help out where I can.
> 
> If you have a question, feel free to reach out. I am subscribed to this thread, so this is the best place to ask. I'll get back to you ASAP.
> 
> Scott


Hi, I have a 30 year old one piece steel sheet metal door, double with, that’s on its last leg.  Need to replace this door.  My garage has extreme restricted head room of about 4”.  Had a sectional door company give me an estimate and they want to reduce the door height 6” to get more headroom.  Unfortunately this puts the garage door rail in front of my fuse panel and side entry door.  Does anyone make a one piece door anymore that I could replace this one with? Anyone in middle TN?


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## havasu

Don't reduce the door height. They make low slung brackets. I had one installed at my old house but I kept the door height maximum, and when all mounted was only 4-5" off the ceiling.


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## billshack

Scott, i  have a relatively new garage door  installed by experts that did a very good job. I do not know if you have ever come across a problem like mine . i live in montreal canada , where the temperature can get down to 20 below F. if this very cold temperature continues for a couple of weeks the ground freezes all the way down and the driveway lifts . so when i push the button to close the door goes down but then hits the ground about an inch before its normal height. the door then thinks that it has hit something and bounces back up. this has happened during very cold years like last year but when spring comes everything in back to normal. I guess if i ripped up the asphalt and installed a couple of layer of high density foam insulation and then poured concrete with mech that would  fix it . but i am not ready for that.  have you seen this before and what can do done ?


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## Johnboy555

There should be an adjustment for the "travel" of the door. Usually a very easy adjustment. Just back it off a little bit until it doesn't kick back. Look for a pair of "shafts" that you can turn with a screwdriver the are labeled "up" and "down".


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## sthole

good evening.  i have a 9' wide x 7' high roll up garage door that hangs uneven when partially up and when it closes (with an opener) one bottom corner is 1/2" up off the floor.  when i measure the pulley wheels on the front of the springs there is 1" diff in them when the door is closed.  i checked the brackets that the springs mounts to on the end of the rail and both sides are in the same place.  could one spring be weaker than the other or what should i look at or do.  thanks,


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## Johnboy555

Pictures would help to explain the problem.  Without them we can't recommend a solution. As they say … "a picture is worth a thousand words".


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## Johnboy555

This is a "sectional" door.



This is a "roll-up" door.


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## sthole

pictures: b=door in opening, c=roller at left side, d=roller at right side, e&f brackets at back of horz track, g=door in opening, i= door shut, shows right inside of door on parallel to floor.  hope this helps.  and yes the door is a sectional, thanks.


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## Johnboy555

Hmmm..  I've been doing this for many years and can't remember ever seeing a sectional door with "extension" springs. Always "torsion" springs.  

With this type of spring set-up both sides of the door always lift and lower at the exact same time/rate. They would need to be installed by a professional since they can be dangerous to someone that doesn't know.

OK. No 2 springs degrade (lose their spring) at the same exact rate. So extension springs usually have some adjustment on each side.  
Is there a cable and pully on the end of the springs? Take a pic of the other end of the springs and I may be able to tell you how to adjust them.  You can adjust extension springs fairly safely as it is done with the door fully up and blocked. I use a pair of vice grips on each track, below the bottom roller.
If you step on the "high" side of the door does it close the gap?
Also.. I can't tell if there is a "safety cable" running inside the spring. It's an important item to keep the from damaging or hurting anyone or thing if it breaks.


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## sthole

thanks for the reply.  yes there is a cable and pulley on the front of the springs (3rd j-peg below).  one end of the cable attaches to a stud on the bottom of the side of the door, slips over a welded stud (see 1st j-peg below) and the other off the pulley attaches to the mounting angle at the door jamb as shown in the pulley picture/j-peg.  the rear of the spring attaches to the bracket (second j-peg below).  i see no way to adjust the springs.  the two pictures of the hinge roller at the curve of the track i sent yesterday show the difference of the out of level horizontal position of the door in partially up/down position and when i measure from the jamb to the pulleys at the front of the springs when the door is in down position the diff is about one inch.  with the side of the door that is off the floor when closed being greater.  if i push down on that side of the door it does goes tight to the floor and stays there.  the overall issue is when the opener is operated the action in not smooth and the door does not close tightly on one side.  yes there is a safety cable inside of the spring which is a good safety feature.  if it is a matter of the springs need to be replaced where/how do i find the correct springs?  the door is about 26 years old and all parts are original.  the door is operated maybe 30 times a year.


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## Johnboy555

Good.
First thing to do is make sure that the door is "balanced" correctly.  Disconnect the opener from the door and open it by hand. If it works correctly and smoothly we're halfway home. If it binds or is crooked, that needs to be corrected.   It should also stay in place when opened about halfway, neither opening or closing by itself. This is an "ideal" situation, no big thing as long as it doesn't "fall like a rock" or rocket up.
There are a few vids on YouTube to show how to do the adjustment on the springs. You may have to tighten the left side (looking in to out) or loosen the right to get it balanced "left to right"
On YouTube search " garage door side spring tension adjustment "
Let us know if that works out for you.


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## Mancolt

Hey Scott - Thanks for offering this service. My garage door spring snapped on Sunday night which prevented me from getting my car out, so I called one of the highly rated Garage door services and they came out the next morning. I was put on the spot to make a few decisions, and in retrospect, I'm not sure if I made the right ones (financially, that is). So here's the rest of the story.

My garage door had the original assembly that was installed by the home builder. The garage door tech that came out said home builders use a small diameter spring (maybe 3/4") that goes inside the tube, because it doesn't require special tools to install. I have an 87lb garage door and this original spring lasted right around 7-8 years, which was about the expected life according to the tech. He said that size spring was rated for maybe 10k cycles. He recommended a torsion conversion, which included 1 spring, 1 tube, 2 drums and 36 month warranty on parts and labor. He said this much larger (maybe 2" or 2.5") spring was rated to 20k cycles. But this whole process cost me $463. On top of that, I seem to have lost the ability to do my own repair in the future. I wonder if I could have just had him replace the same smaller 3/4" spring that's good for 10k cycles for maybe $100. And now knowing what spring failure looks like, if the builder was capable of installing the internal spring, then I could probably figure it out from some youtube videos too. The ship has sailed on my 1 garage door, but my 2nd garage door is still on it's original (internal) spring. I want to make sure I make the right decision on that one...I'm thinking I could get a replacement spring for that door online for pretty cheap and be able to install it myself whenever it breaks.

Please help me understand what I gained by the torsion conversion. Because right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I feel like I paid ~4x (or more) as much for 2x the life. Granted I don't have to deal with it breaking for another 15+ years hopefully, but financially this seems like the wrong decision.


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## bud16415

Mancolt said:


> Hey Scott - Thanks for offering this service. My garage door spring snapped on Sunday night which prevented me from getting my car out, so I called one of the highly rated Garage door services and they came out the next morning. I was put on the spot to make a few decisions, and in retrospect, I'm not sure if I made the right ones (financially, that is). So here's the rest of the story.
> 
> My garage door had the original assembly that was installed by the home builder. The garage door tech that came out said home builders use a small diameter spring (maybe 3/4") that goes inside the tube, because it doesn't require special tools to install. I have an 87lb garage door and this original spring lasted right around 7-8 years, which was about the expected life according to the tech. He said that size spring was rated for maybe 10k cycles. He recommended a torsion conversion, which included 1 spring, 1 tube, 2 drums and 36 month warranty on parts and labor. He said this much larger (maybe 2" or 2.5") spring was rated to 20k cycles. But this whole process cost me $463. On top of that, I seem to have lost the ability to do my own repair in the future. I wonder if I could have just had him replace the same smaller 3/4" spring that's good for 10k cycles for maybe $100. And now knowing what spring failure looks like, if the builder was capable of installing the internal spring, then I could probably figure it out from some youtube videos too. The ship has sailed on my 1 garage door, but my 2nd garage door is still on it's original (internal) spring. I want to make sure I make the right decision on that one...I'm thinking I could get a replacement spring for that door online for pretty cheap and be able to install it myself whenever it breaks.
> 
> Please help me understand what I gained by the torsion conversion. Because right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I feel like I paid ~4x (or more) as much for 2x the life. Granted I don't have to deal with it breaking for another 15+ years hopefully, but financially this seems like the wrong decision.


This thread was started in 2016 and I haven’t seen the OP around in a long time, but other members that have posted are.

IMO you made the right choice and I feel for a service call and parts you got a good price. It is water over the dam at this point, but for what it is worth I would have went with the better setup. Not having to go thru it again sooner would be worth it for me. Any of these springs is not a fun DIY job.


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## Guzzle

Mancolt said:


> this original spring lasted right around 7-8 years, which was about the expected life according to the tech. He said that size spring was rated for maybe 10k cycles.
> *>Someone paid $X for 8 years.*
> 
> He recommended a torsion conversion, which included 1 spring, 1 tube, 2 drums and 36 month warranty on parts and labor. He said this much larger (maybe 2" or 2.5") spring was rated to 20k cycles. But this whole process cost me $463.
> *>You paid $463 for possibly 16 years.*
> 
> On top of that, I seem to have lost the ability to do my own repair in the future.
> *>I don’t see this.*
> 
> I wonder if I could have just had him replace the same smaller 3/4" spring that's good for 10k cycles for maybe $100.
> *>Unknown.*
> 
> And now knowing what spring failure looks like, if the builder was capable of installing the internal spring, then I could probably figure it out from some youtube videos too.
> *>Maybe.*
> 
> Please help me understand what I gained by the torsion conversion.
> *>longer spring life at $29 per year.*
> 
> Because right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I feel like I paid ~4x (or more) as much for 2x the life.
> *>Uncertain.*



And there is a risk to this job.  You paid him to assume the risk.


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## Mancolt

Thanks for the replies, makes me feel a little better about the decision. 

In regards to risk, the same could be said for pretty much every repair around a house. I can change out a toilet, or I can pay a plumber to do it. If you do anything yourself, aren't you assuming the risk?

As for losing the ability to repair it myself: The torsion spring requires special tools (and is apparently more dangerous to attempt to DIY) so I can no longer do my own repair. Granted there is no guarantee I could have replaced the internal spring on my own, but according to the tech, the internal spring does not require special tools and is a simpler install, which is why the home builders use them in the first place. They don't have to pay for a qualified/specialized garage door tech to do do a torsion install.

Don't get me wrong, if I were building a house, I'd almost certainly go torsion from the beginning. I was wondering if there was some other element to torsion that I was missing...For example, the garage door is able to be opened faster, or there's less wear and tear on the garage door motor (meaning that also lasts longer), it's safer, etc. Something other than 2x the life for 2x (or more) the money.


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