Home Inspection Services

The garage door is the largest moving object in a home. An improperly adjusted garage door opener can exert strong and deadly forces and might not reverse the garage door in an emergency. The garage door counterbalance springs should be properly adjusted in order for the safety reverse system to function properly. Thus, proper installation and maintenance are extremely important in order for the garage door and garage door opener to operate smoothly and safely.

The header bracket, which attaches the front end of the opener track to the header wall, must be securely attached to the structural members of the garage wall. If not, the opener might not reverse the garage door in an emergency. The rail can also pull away from the wall.

All garage door openers manufactured since 1982 are required to provide a red handle attached to a red rope that attaches to the trolley that allows for the garage door to be disconnected from the garage door opener in the event of entrapment. The handle should be mounted no higher than six feet from the ground. Homeowners should be familiar with this mechanism. Garage door openers manufactured since 1982 are also required to reverse the garage door if it strikes a solid object.

The wall console/push button should be mounted at least five feet from the floor and the remote controls should be kept out of the hands of children. Children should never be allowed to play with or use the garage door opener remotes or wall push-buttons. Homeowners should also keep a moving door in sight until it fully opens or closes.

By federal law, garage door openers manufactured since 1993 are required to have safety sensors on both sides of the garage door mounted no higher than six inches above the ground that emit an invisible laser beam across the door. The garage door opener is required to reverse the door to the open position if the beam is broken.