Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Safety, maintenance, and tips are provided via State Farm Insurance, The Genie Company, and the DASMA – Door and Access Systems Manufacturing Association. We strongly recommend that you refer to your own users manual before attempting any adjustments. Garage Door Ottawa will not, and cannot be held responsible for any injuries or property damage. Garage Door Ottawa recommends that you seek professional help addressing any Garage door issues.

1. What opener do I need to purchase?
2. Who should I buy the garage door opener from?
3. Why do I need an insulated door?
4. What maintenance should I perform?
5. If my garage door has 2 springs and one breaks, should I replace both?
6. My garage door only opens or closes part way then reverses, what can I do?
7. I don't have access to my garage and the power fails/ The opener stopped working/ I left my remote inside. How can I access the garage?
8. The light bulb on my opener keeps burning out, why?
9. How do I program my remote?
10. How do I program a keyless pad?
11. What can I do when the chain on my opener is loose?
12. How do I use the manual release on the garage door opener?
13. What do I do if my door is noisy, struggling, or too heavy to lift?
14. Why is my opener safety sensors not working or flickering?
15. Should I replace my own broken spring or cable?
16. How do I measure to buy a new door?

1. What opener do I need to purchase?

Understand that both Belt drive and Chain drive openers are built using the same mechanisms. The underlining distinction between the two is as followed:

  • Belt Drive: Quieter openers. Recommended for garage located under bedrooms, to avoid loud noises and disturbance.
  • Chain Drive: Built tougher for the purpose of continuous strain for the garage door opener’s life, lasting several years.

2. Who should I buy the garage door opener from?

Purchasing an opener from a hardware or retail store will entitle you to do you own installation with no warranty. This is something to consider because it becomes crucial later, should you find trouble with the opener. Retail stores do not offer diagnostic or repair warranty, leaving you to hire a professional should you run into issues. Garage door openers purchased from a garage door company are built differently than those of retail stores. Openers purchased from companies come with a solid rail and chain that avoid bending and buckling with time. The retail stores’ openers lack these features.
The average cost of an opener purchased from a hardware store or retail is around $200.00 - $300.00, and should you require installation that would be an additional $115.00. The average cost for a garage door opener purchased and installed by a garage door company is around $350.00 to $450.00.

3. Why do I need an insulated door?

Consider the two following factors with regards to an insulated door:

  • Durability: This would make the door more rigid, dent, and resistant in comparison to a non-insulated door. The feel would be as if though the door was wooden.
  • Energy Efficiency: This would resolve the temperature problem if there is a room attached to or above the garage.

4. What maintenance should I perform?

  • Check Cables: Visually only, inspect the cables attaching to the spring system to the bottom brackets on both sides of the door. Should the cables be worn out or rusted, they present a danger hazard and must be replaced by a trained technician. Do not attempt to do them yourself.
  • Check Spring: Ones in awhile, manually activate the door to insure the spring is lifting the weight of the door properly. A 10-year-old child should have no trouble lifting the door. Do not attempt repairs to the spring, or any adjustments. Do not overload the turns onto the spring beyond its abilities; this must only be done by trained technicians, do not attempt to do them yourself.
  • Check Rollers: A noisy door is a sign for upcoming trouble. Your opener can be reversed because of bent tracks or roller bearings, due to the fact that openers push the door down, rather than pull it down.
  • Preform Lubrication: Silicone with Teflon spray lubricant is recommended for your springs, drums, rollers, track, opener, and belt every 6 months. *Do not use heavy grease because it will harden the collected dirt and influence the door’s operation.

5. If my garage door has 2 springs and one breaks, should I replace both?

Important: Do not attempt to replace only one part or the other. Always replace door springs as a set. The reason being is of safety. If one spring has broken, and is of old age and use like the other, than the second spring is not far behind in breaking as well. Should this not be reason enough, realize that an old spring with a new spring will cause an imbalance for obvious reasons, which will influence the door’s operation. If you have two different doors, and only one spring breaks from door A, it is suggested that you replace door B’s springs as well, if they are of similar age. A broken spring can cause some serious injuries depending on door position, and can also cause damage to the door opener.

6. My garage door only opens or closes part way then reverses, what can I do?

1. Make sure nothing is trapped under the door, and insure the area under the door is clear.
2. Insure safety sensors are functioning properly.
3. To easily identify obstructions, operate the door manually. The door might feel light when pushing up or down, depending on the opener and how it pushes the door.
4. Do not attempt to increase the travel force because it is the way it is for a reason. If you choose to do so, you are instructing the opener to perform a job that it is not meant to accomplish. This could damager the opener gear or housing.

7. I don't have access to my garage and the power fails/ The opener stopped working/ I left my remote inside. How can I access the garage?

You’ll be glad to know that you are not alone on this one. It has happened to the best of us. When the electricity goes out, the garage door opener fails, and you’ve managed to leave the remote inside, accidentally. Have no fear, in case of emergencies; the garage contains a feature called the emergency release kit. The lock mechanism is installed in the garage door. When that key is turned, the lock can be pulled through the hole pulling a cable, which is attached to the opener. This will release inside the garage, which will then allow you to manually lift the door open. In case of emergencies, and you have not installed the release kit, we are able to drill a hole in the door and attempt to “fish” the release opener. Later, we can then replace the hole with an emergency key release.

8. The light bulb on my opener keeps burning out, why?

The door is constantly shaking as it opens and shuts, this is the general causation of the light bulb burning out. It is normal.

9. How do I program my remote?

1. Dip Switch Style: On the inside of the remote, there is a set of about 1-10 switches that you can switch into different positions. Those same switches are located on the back of your garage door opener or receiver box. Insure that the settings are matching in each.
2. Learn Code Style: Activate the learn button by pushing it, and then follow with pushing the remote button 2 times. This is only if your opener is equipped with a learn code button technology.

10. How do I program a keyless pad?

A. Dip Switch Style: You will require the original programming instructions for an opener containing dip switch numbers on the back of the keyless pad. Worse case scenario, you can purchase a new version of the keyless pad to operate with the older garage door opener.
B. Learn Code Style: Generally, most brands follow the same, if not similar coding instructions. Push the “learn code button” on the back of the garage door opener, followed by entering the code in the keyless pad, and then pushing “enter” or “learn code” 2 times to accept the code.

11. What can I do when the chain on my opener is loose?

This could be the result of excessive pulling on the opener, or a broken chain sprocket. Double check to whether or not the chain sprocket above the garage door is damaged. Afterwards, check to see if there is any extra weight or drag by simply lifting it manually. You can tighten chain if so. You can tighten the tension screw, which is generally located on the chain itself in the form of a locking nut, right above the garage door opener.

12. How do I use the manual release on the garage door opener?

In order to release the manual release on the garage door opener, most brands require you to pull down on the rob. There might be a slight difference in the way, depending on the model of the opener. To reattach the manual release, pull the metal leveler up to go into the position, and then run the opener till it is mechanically secured.

13. What do I do if my door is noisy, struggling, or too heavy to lift?

A. As previously mentioned above, the door should be light enough for a 10 year old kid to lift with ease. If that is not the case, then your springs are worn out. They require immediate replacing because they may cause damage to your opener or a sudden spring breakage which can cause a safety concern. Do not attempt to do adjustments. Please refer to a professional trained technician.
B. Age of the door itself is irrelevant to how it should be functioning. The age of the door does not justify loud noise or rough lifting/closing. Lubricate what is necessary, and do the visual inspection on the rollers, tracks and cables. All door components depend on one another, the door itself should not be struggling, or else you are damaging the door and the door opener components.

14. Why is my opener safety sensors not working or flickering?

The safety beam sensors must be operating in order for your garage door opener, itself to work. If you notice the light is off, the following could be occurring:
A. Be sure nothing is blocking the path between the two sensors.
B. Look to see if the sensors are out of alignment, and if they are, move them, so that the beams are facing one another.
C. Visually check for any damage to the wires from the sensor to the garage door opener. Remember: There should always be a solid light, no flickering.

15. Should I replace my own broken spring or cable?

You should not attempt to replace any broken springs or cables for the reason that the spring is under high tension, requiring special tools for adjustment. The high torsion spring and other parts linked or relevant to the counterbalance system should only be replaced and worked with by professionals. If unsure of what parts exactly, they include the following: The cable, Spring, Corner Brackets attached to cables, cable drums, and the center bearing brackets, holding the tension spring shaft.

16. How do I measure to buy a new door?

Step 1:
Firstly, measure the width and height of the door opening, in feet and inches. This will determine the size of the door you need to buy. The rough opening should be the same size as the door.

Step 2:
Measurement for sideroom required: 3-3/4? is needed on each side to install the vertical track for the standard extension spring, standard torsion spring, and EZ-Set Torsion Spring SystemT, 5-1/2? for EZ-Set Extension Spring SystemT.

Step 3:
Measure the area that is labeled as the “Headroom”. It is the distance between the top of the door opening, to the ceiling. 10? is needed for the standard extension spring or EZ-Set Extension Spring System. 12? is needed for standard torsion spring and EZ-Set Torsion Spring SystemT. Special hardware is available, should you have restricted headroom. Note that additional headroom is required in order to install an automatic garage door opener. Also note that if the door height extends past the opening, make sure to insure the accurate measurement of headroom.

Step 4:
Lastly, measure the area “backroom”. –To measure the distance is measured from the back wall of the garage to the door opening. The door height plus 18? is also required. Please note that additional “backroom” space may be required for installation of an automatic garage door opener.