Why Your Garage Door Went ‘Off the Rails’

Considering its weight, size and how often it needs to open and close, the system that supports your garage door and its operation is relatively simple.

First, because it would need too much space to open like a conventional door, your garage door is built with hinged panels that let it roll up and down, as opposed to swinging open and closed.

To make the rolling action happen, the door is connected to a spring that balances its weight, and it has rollers on either side that move along tracks, which essentially keep the door aligned with the opening of the garage and support the door when it’s open.

That’s it.

The only problem with a simple system is that each part of the system plays a major role in how the system works. For your garage door, when one part of that system breaks down, the entire door won’t work.

Why Your Rollers Might Come Off Their Tracks

Obviously, if the rollers that support it can’t do their job, your garage door won’t work. Here are the main reasons why your rollers might come off the rails.

1. The Roller Tracks Go Out of Alignment

Considering your door opens and closes a couple times a day, the roller tracks can be under a lot of stress. Over time, especially if they were even slightly misaligned during installation, the tracks can come so far out of alignment that the rollers on the door will pop out of them.

2. A Lift Cable Stretched or Broke

The lift cables, one located on each side of the door, convey the tension of the torsion spring to the door itself. If one of them frays and stretches or breaks completely, the door won’t open evenly and that could force the rollers from their track.

3. A Roller Wears Out

The constant opening and closing of the door is tough on the rollers too. If a roller breaks, the other rollers might stay in their track for some time, but they are under added stress because they now have more work to do and that stress is somewhat unbalanced. That can put the tracks out of alignment and, you guessed it, force the rollers off the track.

While knowing what caused your rollers to go off the rails won’t help you fix the problem, it will make you aware of what to look for to hopefully prevent the problem from happening. If you do need to fix your garage door rollers and get them back on track, give us a call at Whitby Garage Doors and we’ll have it fixed in a jiffy.