A quick way to decide: if the problem keeps you from securing the house, puts someone at risk, or traps a car you need, call now. If the door still opens, closes and locks, it can usually wait for a daytime visit.
Call now
- The door won't close and the garage is attached to the house
- A spring snapped and the door is stuck partway
- The door is tilted, off its track, or hanging from one cable
- The door closes but no longer reverses when something is under it
- A car you need in the morning is behind a door that won't lift
Usually fine until morning
- A door that is louder than usual but still opens and closes
- A remote that quit while the wall button still works
- A worn or torn bottom seal
- A small dent that doesn't affect how the door moves
Still unsure? Call anyway and describe it. A short conversation often answers the question.
What to have ready when you call
- What you heard or saw when it happened
- Where the door is now: down, up or partway, and level or crooked
- Whether the opener still responds to the button
- Photos of the springs above the door and of both bottom corners, taken from a safe spot
- Your address, and whether the garage is attached to the house
We will give you an honest sense of timing based on the hour and the weather. We won't quote an arrival time we can't stand behind.
A door stuck open on a January night
This is where Northeast Ohio makes a bad night worse. The normal January low at Akron-Canton Airport is about 20°F, and the area averages roughly 13 inches of snow that month (NOAA monthly normals). An attached garage left open overnight lets that cold reach the shared wall, the door into the house, and anything stored in the garage that shouldn't freeze. Blowing snow can also land on the floor and refreeze around the track and the bottom seal.
While you wait, lock the door between the garage and the house, bring inside anything that can't take a hard freeze, and keep people clear of the opening if the door is hanging. Don't try to force it down by hand.
When the power is out
Winter storms and summer thunderstorms both knock out power, and a door with no power is not broken. If the door is fully closed, pull the emergency release cord and lift it by hand, as long as it moves easily. If it feels heavy, lower it and call, because that points to a spring problem. After the power returns, pull the release handle toward the door (or run the opener once) so the trolley reconnects. Our guide to opener battery backup during a power outage covers the options for next time.
Safe steps until help arrives
- Stop using the remote and the wall button.
- If the door is crooked, jammed or off its track, pull the opener's plug.
- The red release cord is for a fully closed door that lifts with little effort. A heavy door means stop.
- Stay away from the springs, the cables and the bottom brackets. They store enough force to injure.
What happens on site
The first priority is making the door safe, then getting the house secure. After that we track down the cause and give you the price for the repair before starting. When the fix needs a part that isn't on hand, the goal is to leave the door closed and secure until we come back with it.
The usual culprits behind an urgent call:
- A broken spring that turned the door into dead weight
- A failed lift cable leaving one side low
- A door knocked out of its track
- An opener that quit with the door up
Next step
Call (330) 947-4591. It is answered 24 hours a day, weekends included. If the situation can wait, the request form on this page works as well.
