How to Open Close Garage Door Manually?

Your garage door most likely uses a motor and remote to open automatically. However, you may still have to open your garage door manually every now and then. Your garage door opener might break, or you may have to open your garage after a power outage.

Today, the team at German Garage Doors is here to explain how to open and close your garage door without power. We’ll talk about how to manually open your garage door if your automatic garage door opener no longer works.

How to Open Garage Door Manually

If your garage door opener breaks, the first thing you’ll wonder is how to open and close garage door without power.

#1 Put the Door in the Closed Position

Before you can detach the pull chain from the motor, you need the door closed. Disengaging while it is open can make the wheels come off the garage door track or damage the emergency release switch.

#2 Use the Emergency Release Cord

Doors for modern garages an emergency release cable that disconnects the door from the automatic garage door opener. Your emergency release cord should look like a piece of red rope hanging from the center rail. When you pull the emergency release cord, the door disengages from the carriage and safety sensors so you can manually open it.

#3 Manually Lift the Door Open

After you pull the red rope and disengage the automatic opener, grab the base and manually slide the garage door straight up into the open position. If the door is too heavy to lift in manual mode, you may have a broken spring that needs replacing.

#4 Engage the Manual Lock

After manually opening the door, engage the locking mechanism by pulling on the emergency red cord again. This will move the lock bar into the track, keeping the door in the open position. You will hear a small click when the bar locks the open door into position.

How to Manually Close Garage Doors

Opening your garage door is just half the problem: you must close it manually too.

#1 Pull the Release Cord

When you need to close your door manually, pull the emergency release cord. The door might move down a bit, but spring tension should keep it from falling all the way down.

#2 Close the Door

After disengaging the door, gently slide it closed, taking care not to shut the door on your fingers. The door will not be too heavy to move because the spring system holds some of the weight. Make sure that the door forms a seal with any weather stripping.

#3 Lock the Door

If your garage door has a lock, you should lock it from the inside when you leave. Many types of modern garage door have a manual lock for when the opener is not working. You can buy a cheap locking set online if your door doesn’t already have one.

#4 Reconnect the Door

Garage door openers automatically reconnect to a closed door if you run another cycle. Once the motor is working again, reconnect the power cord and let it cycle through a full opening. The latch on the troller will automatically connect to the door and make an audible sound as it reconnects to the track. 

How to Open Garage Door with Broken Spring

Generally speaking, you should not open your garage when it has a broken spring. Springs power the door’s counterbalance mechanism, so your garage door won’t open manually without a significant effort if the springs are broken.

If your garage door has a broken spring, call an expert to replace it. Garage door springs are under a high degree of tension, and they can snap and injure you if you try to take them off. You also can’t repair them, so the only way to fix the problem is a replacement.

Contact a Garage Door Opener Expert Today!

German Garage Doors serves Houston and surrounding areas. Whether you need repairs or want to install new automatic garage doors, we have the skills and know-how to assist. Above all, we dedicate ourselves to meeting and exceeding clients’ expectations.

Got a problem with your garage door? Contact us online or call today at (832) 479-1743!