Garage door sticking

[kabo]

I had a new garage door installed last year by the local dealer. The house is about 10 years old. Not long afterward, when I used the opener it would stick about half way going while opening. I could not find where it was sticking, so I called them back out. The guy said that the force was not proper (why he didnt adjust it the first time, I have no idea). He turned it up and it worked for a while. Well now, less than 1 year later, it is doing the same thing. (which didnt surprise me since the force had the same setting for the old door which was identical and worked fine for about 2 years with no adjustment).

I tried to open the door by hand and I didnt feel it bind up anywhere. Any suggestions? it is a 16ft wide aluminum door and I have a genie screw drive opener that is 2.5 years old or so.

[Nehmo Sergheyev]

- kabo -

- Nehmo - Genie customer service number: [phone] (800) 35-GENIE Email: NOSPAMgenie [e-mail] Support page:

You might need to adjust the Open Force. It could be a small adjuster in the back of the unit, probably facing downward. You turn it with a screwdriver.

[Joseph Meehan]

Is it balanced so with the opener detached the door will stay closed and will stay open and does not require any serious effort opening or closing?

[William W. Plummer]

One of my two Genie openers has the same problem. I took a look and believe it is traceable to the horizontal bar from the door header back to the motor. Mine are chain-drive units, but I think it is the same with screw-drive. The bar flexes and acts like a leaf spring. When one of the door panel goes over the bend, the stress is released and the whole thing bounces a bit. I'm going to try putting a few braces between the bar and the ceiling. Or, maybe I'll let it go for another 16 years!

[GD_Co.]

The springs could need adjustment. If the springs are balanced properly, when you disconnect the door from the opener, you should be able to stop the door at any point without it wanting to go up or fall down. Based on the fact that you don't feel the door binding in any position, the tension bolts being adjusted on your opener, the age of your opener and the fact that it's a screw-drive unit, this seems to be a likely scenario.

If the springs seem to be adjusted properly, it could be an issue with the placement of the opener. The ideal placement for an opener is down the middle of the door. When closed and opened, the arm connecting the door to the opener should be perfectly vertical at both points, or pretty close to it, and there should always be a slight amount of play on the arm at both points showing that it's not being bent and forced by the opener's placement.

My best recommendation to you would be to call another door company. Someone who knows what they are doing should be able to spot the problem and fix it in minutes. However, if the guy who came to your house saw everything looked good and the only issue was truly an adjustment to the opener's tension bolt. Your issue could very well be with the opener itself.

Good luck!