Common garage door questions, answered straight

First, don't force it. If the door is stuck, something's holding it, usually a broken spring, a snapped cable, or a track problem, and forcing it makes the repair bigger and can hurt you.

If you need to get a vehicle out, pull the red emergency release cord hanging from the opener rail. That disconnects the door from the opener so you can lift it by hand. If it's heavier than you can manage, stop. That's a spring problem and the door can come down hard.

Then call us. We handle emergency calls, including nights and weekends.

Usually you'll hear it. A broken spring makes a loud bang, often at night, and people say it sounds like something fell in the garage.

After that, the door either won't open at all or feels enormously heavy when you try to lift it by hand. You may see a visible gap in the coiled spring above the door, or a spring hanging loose.

Don't operate the door once a spring is broken. Running the opener against a broken spring can burn out the motor and turn a spring job into an opener job. Call us and we'll take care of it.

No. Estimates are free.

Yes. We work on doors and openers no matter who put them in.

We sell and service garage doors and openers. That's all we do, and we've been doing it in central Maine since 2002. If it's a door or an opener, we can work on it.

Most single door residential installs are done in a day. Two door jobs and anything with unusual framing or an odd opening can take longer.

We'll tell you what to expect when we come out and give you the estimate, so there aren't surprises.

If you have two springs and one breaks, we recommend replacing both.

Springs wear at the same rate. When one goes, the other is usually close behind, and replacing both means one service call instead of two. It also keeps the door balanced, which is easier on the opener.

We'll walk you through it either way and let you decide.