The garage door journal
Garage Door Advice from Boise Techs
What we see on real jobs across the Treasure Valley, written up so you can spot problems early and know when to call.
More articles
- 01Boise knowledge
How Idaho's Climate Damages Garage Door Springs, Seals, and Tracks
Freeze-thaw cycles, dry air and high-desert dust, and the warning signs for each part.
Photo: frost on a garage door bottom seal - 02Buying guides
Why Is My Garage Door Not Working? A Technician's Diagnostic Guide
Work through the likely causes in the order a tech checks them.
Photo: tech inspecting an opener - 03Buying guides
DIY Garage Door Repair vs. Hiring a Technician in Boise
Which jobs are safe to do yourself, and which ones belong to a trained tech.
Photo: homeowner lubricating hinges
Reading Is Good. A Working Door Is Better.
Call (208) 480-5077. Phones are answered 8 AM to 8 PM, seven days a week, with 24/7 emergency service.
How we pick what to write about
The garage door advice on this page comes straight off the van. When our Boise techs keep running into the same fault week after week, we write it up. A run of snapped cables on the Bench, a batch of openers losing their sensor alignment after a dusty summer, a street of homes all fitted with the same hardware that is now at the end of its life. If three of us have seen it, it is worth a blog article. That is why the pieces here read like a job walkthrough rather than a brochure: what the part does, how it fails, what the door sounds like when it is about to go, and the point where a homeowner should stop and pick up the phone.
How to use this advice at home
Read the piece that matches what your door is doing, then go and look at the door with the article in hand. Watch it run a full cycle from the inside with the light on. Listen for where the noise starts and stops. Look along the tracks for shiny spots, at the springs for a gap, at the cables for frays, and at the bottom seal for daylight. Most of what we describe here you can check without a single tool. Note down what you find, because telling a tech "it grinds about halfway up, on the left" saves real time on the visit. If anything you see involves a spring, a cable or a door that has come off its track, leave it alone and call us on (208) 480-5077.