The temperature can have an effect on the many moving elements that make up a garage door system, and this is especially true in the harsh winters that Ottawa experiences. If you’ve ever been caught off guard by the inability of your residential garage door to open or close on a particularly brisk and biting winter day, then you have firsthand knowledge of how inconvenient and bothersome this problem can be. It doesn’t matter if you’re stranded at home because your vehicle is stuck in the garage or if the cold weather is seeping into your home because your garage door won’t shut; if your garage door opener isn’t working properly, you need residential garage door repair.

This article provides a summary of some of the most typical issues that occur with garage doors during cold weather, as well as some procedures that you can take to maintain the functionality of your residential garage door during the winter months.

Does Cold Weather Affect Garage Door Openers?

Wintertime Problems With Residential Garage Entrances

• It is impossible to open the door – In the winter, one of the most typical problems people have is a door that will not open. If you can hear the garage door’s mechanics turning on, but the door itself won’t open, the rollers may be the source of the problem. Lubrication is necessary for the tracks in a garage door system since these rollers allow the door to move along the rails. The door can become stuck or roll in a “jerky” manner if the lubricant freezes due to the cold weather.
• Inoperative garage door actuator – The metal box that sits above residential garage doors and operates the door by controlling its opening and closing motion is an opener. If you click the button to open or close the garage door but don’t hear the typical firing up of the garage system, you might have a problem with the opener. It’s possible that the battery needs to be replaced or that the opener and the other garage door components are struggling to function properly because of the cold weather.
• The door feels heavy – The springs of a garage door system are also affected by frigid weather. When you physically try to raise the door, if it feels like it has a lot of resistance, this is typically a symptom of a worn spring. Because of the potential for injury, the high-tension springs found in garage doors should never be fixed or changed by anyone other than a trained professional.
• Frozen door – If your home’s garage door doesn’t open, look for ice and snow at the bottom of the door. If the bottom of the door is frozen to the concrete floor, you can attempt to melt the ice with hot water or chip it away slowly. Both of these options are available to you. It is essential to avoid forcing the door open manually because doing so can cause the weather stripping to get damaged.

How to avoid difficulties with your garage door caused by the weather?

Even though we have no control over the weather, there are a few things you can do to ensure that your garage door remains in good condition throughout the whole year, including during the winter:

• Clean the debris from the rollers and the tracks.
• Make sure the sensors are spotless and check their alignment.
• It is important to lubricate all moving parts.
• Check the condition of the weather stripping and have it replaced if it’s needed.
• It is important to remove the snow and ice from your driveway in order to prevent ice from accumulating around the garage door.
• Spread deicer on the driveway and close to the entrance to the garage.
• Have you have maintenance done on your garage door?

When it comes to the heavy components of your garage door, such as the springs and the door itself, it is best to leave the repairs to a professional so that catastrophic accidents are avoided.

Why does your garage door opener not operate when it is cold outside?

The inability of a garage door opener to function properly may be due to several different circumstances, particularly the temperature outdoors.

Here are five possible explanations for why the automatic door opener on your garage door has stopped operating while it’s cold outside.

1. Examine the Remote

Let’s begin with the glaringly obvious, which, when you’re in a rush, might not appear to be so glaringly evident. Make sure the batteries in your remote are still good. This could be something that happens at other times of the year as well, but the fact that it is cold outside makes it one of the most typical explanations for why a garage door opener stops functioning. In the long run, checking things out first could save you a lot of time and money.

2. It is not broken but frozen

If it rained or snowed not too long ago, and the temperature outside is below freezing, your garage door opener may have frozen shut. This could be the case if the weather has been like this for a while. Do not even try opening your garage door if this is the case. You run the risk of damaging it.

Checking the weatherstripping, the rubber piece that sits at the bottom of your garage door to seal it when it’s closed is what you should do instead. Weatherstripping is a more accurate term. If the bottom of your garage door is frozen, you will need to go inside your garage, grab a piece of wood and a hammer, and tap the bottom gently. The ice should now have broken, and you should be able to open the door.

3. Verify Infra-Red Security Boxes

The problem may be caused by the photoelectric sensors on both sides of your garage door collecting condensation or ice. If this is the case, check both sides of the door. To clean the sensor boxes, in this instance, all that is required of you is to use a cloth to wipe them clean. It is expected that this will restore regular operation to your garage door. If it does not, the problem is being caused by something else.

4. The door track’s metal has contracted

The length of the metal decreases as it cools. Consequently, when the temperature drops, the metal tracks on your garage door will shrink, making it more challenging to open. Therefore, the issue isn’t even with your garage door opener. Always remember to keep your door tracks clean and well-greased so that you may assist in preventing a problem with metal that is contracting. This will lessen the amount of friction that is created by the metal contracting.

Another problem when metal contracts is that metal door tracks, can get bowed if the temperature drops significantly. You should still be able to open your garage door if it requires only slightly bending. It will only result in noise. On the other hand, if they are considerably bent, you will need to contact a specialized garage door repair firm to get them straightened out for you.

5. The remote sensor needs to be fixed.

The remote sensor is broken your garage door opener comes equipped with a remote sensor for added convenience. If you have been in an environment where the temperature has been exceptionally low, there is a possibility that this sensor can shatter. If this is the case, it is unfortunate, but you will need to seek the assistance of a trained specialist to get it fixed.

How do cold weather affect garage door openers?

Is the temperature too low for your garage door to function properly? When the onset of winter weather causes many homeowners to notice a slowdown or failure in their garage door opener, this is a common question that they pose. Your garage door could experience a range of different problems as a result of the cold weather, depending on the temperature and the amount of precipitation.

The mechanism you use for your garage door is a machine. It has moving parts, much like any other kind of machine. Alterations in temperature are infamous for the impact they have on components that are coupled to one another. Especially in winter, the temperature outside can have a major impact on the performance of your garage door opener.

The Bottom Line

It is possible that the malfunctioning of your garage door due to the cold weather is not caused by a problem with the garage door opener in particular. As you can see, there is a wide variety of potential triggers that could result in the malfunctioning of either your garage door or garage door opener. However, during the winter months, problems with garage doors and garage door openers are more likely to occur. Do not be reluctant to get in touch with A1 garage doors for assistance if you are unable to locate the source of the problem.