How do I check and balance my garage door?

You can test balance yourself, but correcting it means changing spring tension, which should be left to a technician. A balanced door lifts evenly by hand and stays near halfway open instead of drifting up or down. Check it once or twice a year, or whenever the door starts to feel heavier or behave differently.

How to test it

Only test a door that is fully closed with springs and cables that look intact. If it is open, off track, or a spring or cable looks broken or loose, skip the test and call for service.

1. With the door closed, pull the emergency release cord to disconnect the opener.
2. Raise the door slowly by the lift handle toward halfway, staying out of its path and away from panel joints. Stop if it feels heavy, binds or moves unevenly.
3. If it lifts easily, carefully ease your support while keeping hold of the handle. It should stay near halfway.
4. Lower a smooth, controllable door fully, then follow your opener manual to reconnect it.

What the result means

• Stays put: the door is balanced.
• Drifts down: the springs are not carrying enough of the door's weight.
• Rises on its own: spring tension is too high for the door.
• One side hangs lower: a cable, spring or hardware problem.

Do not reconnect and run a door that failed the test. An unbalanced door strains the opener and can lead to a cable or spring failing next.

How it gets corrected

A technician resets spring tension to match the door's weight and retests before leaving, and a balance test is part of every tune-up. If a door still will not balance after service, that can point to the wrong spring size or damaged hardware and is worth a follow-up call. See why spring tension is not a DIY adjustment.

Read more

• How to balance a garage door
• Garage door tune-up

Related questions

• Will a tune-up fix a garage door that won't open?
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• What is the difference between a garage door tune-up and a repair?
• Can I fix a noisy garage door myself?
• How often should a garage door be serviced?

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