A garage door can add a lot of monetary and aesthetic value to your home. It can help keep your belongings safe and improve the security of your property. However, these complex mechanisms aren't without their disadvantages, though. Your door is not free from risks, and there are some aspects of it that can be dangerous. One of the leading causes of injury related to these systems involves homeowners attempting DIY repairs. This can result in many different accidents, including an opener that's incorrectly adjusted, a sudden release of torsion spring tension or even a scenario where the door gets off track or collapses. However, there are other possible ways for you to get injured, and it's important that you know what they are in order to learn how to avoid them.
The Door Falls
There are a few things that can cause your garage door to fall down. When a spring breaks, the tension that the panels rely on to support their weight gets released suddenly, and the door is more than likely to slam shut. A falling door can damage other parts of the system, like the tracks and the cables, but if anyone happens to be standing near it when it slams down, they could get seriously hurt.
Don't Get Pinched
A sectional garage door offers a major benefit when it comes to repairs. If some part of it gets damaged, usually only the affected sections will need to be replaced. However, this type of door adds the risk of pinching, as your fingers can get caught in the gaps between the panels while it's in motion. Newer models have panels with edges that are designed to push your finger out while they move. Still, if you have to open or close the panels manually, you should avoid grabbing them anywhere other than the designated handles.
Inadequate Force Setting
This setting tells your electric garage door opener how much resistance it can encounter before it kicks into reverse. This auto-reverse feature helps to prevent a situation where the door keeps trying to close while a person or an object are caught underneath it. It should reverse as soon as it meets the slightest resistance, and you can test this fairly easily. Place a block of wood under the open door and close it using the opener. If your door hits the piece of wood and keeps trying to close instead of reversing, the force limit needs to be adjusted.
High Tension Parts
A lot of different parts of the system are under a tremendous amount of tension on a regular basis. This includes the cables, springs, and lower brackets, amongst several other components. When these parts break, they can not only cause substantial damage to the door, they can also lead to serious bodily injuries if anyone happens to be standing nearby when this occurs. That's why you should always call our experts at Garage Door Repair Valley Center as soon as you discover a problem.