Emergency garage door repair
Car trapped in your garage by a stuck door?
If the door is closed and the springs look intact, the manual release can open it. If a spring has broken or the door is off track, do not force it. Call us.
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Is this what you're seeing?
Your car is inside and the door will not open.
You need the car now for work, school or a medical appointment.
The opener hums or clicks but the door does not move.
There was a bang or the door looks crooked.
The power is out and the opener is dead.
What's going on
A car sitting behind a stuck door is more of a problem than a stuck door alone, because the clearance matters. If the door has a broken spring, it is heavy and hard to lift, and it will not stay where you put it. If a cable is off, one side drops. If a roller has popped out of the track, the door is stuck at an angle.
Before you do anything, look at the door. A closed, straight door with both springs looking intact above it and no hanging cable usually means the problem is the opener or power. In that case a manual release is a reasonable step. A door that is crooked, has a visible gap in a spring, or has a loose cable is not safe to move by hand.
There is a second risk, which is the car. Anything that falls, even a few inches, can dent a hood or break a rear window. If the door is stuck partway open over your car, the right move is to stop and let us support it first. Replacing a window is a worse day than waiting for a technician.
What to do right now
Do
Check for power: a tripped breaker, unplugged opener or dead wall button.
If the door is fully closed, straight, and the springs look unbroken, pull the red release cord once and lift gently. Stop if it feels heavy.
Keep people away from the door and the path of the car.
Call us with what you see so we can bring the right parts.
Don't
Do not start the car and try to nudge the door open.
Do not pull the release cord if the door is crooked, partly open or a spring has a gap.
Do not use a pry bar or jack on the door.
Do not stand where the door could fall onto you or the car.
How we fix it
We support the door, find what is holding it, repair it and open it so the car can move out. The cause often falls under emergency garage door repair: springs, cables, track, or the opener. If the opener has failed, we may use a safe manual release and then repair it later. We check the car's path first.
Repair or replace?
Almost always the door is repaired. If the car damaged the door when it was already stuck, we will look at the sections and the track and tell you honestly if they can be saved. A damaged section may call for panel replacement.
If you keep running into this, a battery backup opener helps with power outages, but it will not help with a broken spring.
Related questions
How do I open my garage door manually?
How to open a garage door manually with the emergency release cord, the steps to reconnect it after, and when a broken spring makes it unsafe to lift.
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Get your car out of the garage safely
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