Doors, windows & security
Garage door heavy, stuck or screaming?
A garage door is the largest moving object most houses own, and it asks for little: clean tracks, the right lubricant, and total respect for its springs. Here is what to put right yourself, and the one job you must never attempt.
By the Tickover team · Published 11 March 2026 · 5 min read
The one rule: leave the springs alone
Every garage door that moves easily owes it to springs under serious tension: a torsion spring above the opening, or extension springs up the sides of an up-and-over. A heavy door, a lopsided door, a door that slams shut from halfway: all spring symptoms.
Start with the cheap and boring
If an electric door ignores you, change the remote battery first; a fresh coin cell is the cheapest fix in this guide and has cancelled many an engineer visit. Still nothing? Re-pair the remote using the learn button in the manual, then try the wall button.
If the wall button is dead too, check the plug, the socket and the breaker. In a power cut, the red release cord lets you work the door by hand; pull it only with the door fully closed.
The safe maintenance routine
Unplug the opener before you start
Pull the plug on an electric opener so nothing can move while your hands are in the mechanism.
Clean the tracks, and keep them dry
Vacuum and wipe out grit, leaves and webs. No grease in the tracks: it collects grit and makes the rollers skid instead of roll.
Silicone or PTFE on the moving metal
A light spray on roller spindles, hinges, pivot arms and the latch. Graphite in the lock cylinder, the same rule as any stiff lock.
Tighten what rattles
Loose brackets and bolts turn every movement into a racket. Snug them up, but leave anything a spring or cable anchors to untouched.
Test the balance at halfway
Lift the door halfway and let go gently; it should hold. Sinking or flying up means spring wear: engineer. If it already feels unusually heavy, skip the test and call it in.
Wipe and align the photocells
Clean the small lenses near the floor and check they face each other. A door that reverses for no reason is usually a blocked or nudged photocell.
Noises translate neatly: squealing is dry rollers or hinges, grinding is grit in the tracks, rattling is loose fixings on a big steel drum. A loud bang followed by a door too heavy to lift is a spring failing, and that ends the DIY for the day.
The safe and the sorry
Do
- Clean tracks and lubricate rollers, hinges and the lock
- Test the balance before winter and after idle spells
- Put a fresh battery in the remote once a year
- Book an engineer for springs, cables and anything under tension
Don’t
- Do not adjust or remove springs, cables or their brackets
- Do not grease the tracks
- Do not force a door that has jammed halfway
- Do not leave the remote on show in a car parked outside
When to call an engineer
A heavy door, a visible gap in the torsion spring coil, frayed cables, a door off its track, a motor that hums while the door stays put: all engineer work. Springs are replaced in pairs, because the survivor has the same mileage as the one that failed.
Engineer jobs, as a guide
Service and tune-up
typical trade call-out rates
Springs replaced, fitted
always as a pair
New opener motor, fitted
unit plus installation
Typical UK ranges, mid-2026, as a guide only. Your home, your area and the job itself all move the number — always compare real quotes.
The security angle
A garage door is often the softest way into a house, especially where a connecting door leads inside. Old up-and-over locks wear loose, and a closed garage gives a burglar privacy to work on that internal door. Treat it like a front door, cylinder standards and all; the security walk-round covers what insurers expect, and if the garage stores a livelihood, trade playbook covers running the business that lives in that van.
The twice-a-year garage door round
- Vacuum and wipe the tracks
- Silicone spray on rollers, hinges and pivots
- Graphite in the lock cylinder
- Tighten track brackets and loose bolts
- Balance test: the door holds at halfway
- Photocell lenses wiped and aligned
- Fresh battery in the remote
- Bottom weather seal checked for splits
Ten minutes in spring, ten in autumn: put it on the maintenance calendar and the door will outlast the car.
Not sure what you’re dealing with?
Door still misbehaving? Run it through Tickover Self-Diagnose for the likely cause and urgency, with vetted local engineers ready to quote.
Quick answers
Why is my garage door suddenly heavy?
A broken or tired spring. Springs do the lifting; the opener or your arm only steers the weight, and a visible gap in a torsion spring coil is the giveaway. Stop using the door and book a garage door engineer. Spring work is never DIY; the stored tension can cause serious injury.
Why does my garage door reverse before closing?
Usually the safety photocells near the floor: a blocked lens, a cobweb, low sun or a knock that has pushed the pair out of line. Wipe both lenses and check they face each other. If the door still reverses, the closing force or travel limits need adjusting, which is an engineer’s job.
Why is my garage door remote not working?
Change the battery first, then re-pair the remote with the learn button in the manual. If the wall button does nothing either, check the plug, socket and breaker. A remote that only works from close range is still a battery symptom, and a spare cell costs less than a call-out.
How often should a garage door be serviced?
Clean and lubricate it yourself twice a year, and have an engineer service it every couple of years, or yearly for a busy electric door. Springs wear by open-close cycles, so a daily door ages faster than a weekend one. Between services, the halfway balance test is your early warning.
This guide is general information for UK homes, not advice about your specific property. Anything involving gas must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and notifiable electrical work by a qualified electrician. If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999. If you’re ever unsure, stop and get a professional in — that’s exactly what Tickover is for.
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