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Most of the failures we attend in June and July were visible in March. This is the routine we recommend to every Florida homeowner: twenty minutes, once a year, ideally before storm season.
1. The balance test (the most useful two minutes)
Close the door, pull the emergency release to disconnect the opener, and lift the door by hand to about waist height. It should move smoothly with light effort and stay where you leave it. If it drops or fights you, the spring tension is wrong — call before it fails. Re-engage the trolley when finished.
2. Look at the springs
On the shaft above the door, check for rust, flaking, pitting or a gap in the coil. Pitting is the Florida-specific killer: salt air corrodes the wire from the surface inward and the spring fails without warning. Extension-spring systems: check for stretching, and confirm the safety cables through the springs are intact.
3. Hardware and cables
Tighten visible bolts and lag screws (hand tools only, no impact drivers). Check the lift cables for fraying, kinks or rust, especially at the bottom brackets where water sits. Never loosen the bottom bracket bolts — they are under full spring tension.
4. Rollers, hinges and tracks
Spin each roller by hand: it should turn freely, not slide. Flat spots and seized bearings cause the grinding you hear. Check the tracks for dents and for gaps where the door has pulled the rails. Lubricate rollers, hinges, springs and the opener rail with a garage-door lubricant — not WD-40, which strips existing lubrication.
5. Sensors, reverse and force
Both photo-eyes should show steady lights. Wipe the lenses. Test the safety reverse: lay a 2x4 flat under the door and close it — the door must reverse on contact. Then test the photo-eye reverse by breaking the beam with a broom handle during closing. If either fails, stop using the opener and get it serviced.
6. Seals, struts and the storm question
Check the bottom seal for splits and the jamb seals for shrinkage — Florida UV makes both brittle within a few years. Then look at the inside face of the door for horizontal reinforcing struts. No struts and no rating label means the door is likely unrated; before the next storm season, read hurricane-rated garage doors and get it assessed.
The short version: Balance test, spring inspection, cable and hardware check, roller spin, sensor and reverse test, seals and struts. Twenty minutes a year prevents most of what we get called out for in storm season.
