How Garage Doors Work: Your Garage Door Installation Guide
When it comes to garage door installation and overhead garage door services, you can count on our garage door company for honest and dependable service—call us today at 704-840-6785 to schedule a consultation in Farragut or the neighboring communities in the Greater Knoxville area!
Many Farragut area homeowners may think that understanding how garage doors work is....over their heads. Understanding how your garage door works can give you peace of mind, guide you through troubleshooting, and help you make important decisions about your garage door installation project. In this handy guide, our technicians explain the basics of garage door anatomy, opener systems, and garage door installation.
Uplifting Information
An average garage door can weigh anywhere from 125 pounds to 300 pounds or more. A garage door works using a counterbalance system that relies on high-tension springs and an operator motor to lift the heavy weight. A few key components include:
- Torsion or extension springs that store and release energy to help lift the door. Torsion springs are mounted on a bar above the door and wind up as the door closes, while extension springs run parallel to the tracks and stretch as the door is closed.
- Tracks and rollers guide the door's movement and hold it in place. The door's panels have rollers attached to their sides that move slowly along two vertical and horizontal tracks mounted on the walls and ceiling.
- Cables that connect to the bottom corners of the door to drums that are attached to the spring shaft. When the door opens, cables unwind from the drums; when it closes, they wind back up.
- A motor powers the opener, pulling a trolley that moves along a rail. While the motor provides the initial force to get the door moving, the springs do the bulk of the lifting.
If you want to ensure proper function from your garage door system, it's important to trust your garage door installation to a qualified professional who has the tools, experience, and know-how to get the job done right!
Step-by-Step
It's something most people don't think about: you push a button and the door opens. You may be surprised to learn how a garage door operates once it's installed. Here's a step-by-step breakdown of the process:
- On a properly functioning garage door, you press the button to activate the garage door opener.
- The motor engages and pulls the trolley along the track to start the door's movement.
- The stored energy in the springs is released, counterbalancing the door's weight and making the door easy to lift.
- The rollers guide the door along the tracks as the springs and motor work together to fully open the door.
- When closing the door, the process runs in reverse
Understanding basic operation can aid you in troubleshooting your system when your garage door isn't working the way it should. If that doesn't help, it's time to call a professional for safe, efficient, and reliable overhead garage door services.
Are you looking for an experienced garage door installer in the Greater Knoxville area? Find out why we're Farragut's premier garage door company—give us a call today at 704-840-6785 to schedule a consultation for garage door installation and overhead garage door services.