Garage Door Alignment

Home repair expert Henry Harrison helps a guest with an automatic garage door opener reconfigure the track of his garage door so he can more easily open the door manually when the power goes out.

The top of the garage door was scraping against the track when opened manually. Adjusting the mounting to provide more clearance got the door opening smoothly.

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On his elbow grease scale of one to four, Harrison gives this project a two.

Materials and Tools:

ladder
power drill
rope
combination square
ratchet
wrenches
awl
pencil

Steps:

1. To provide more clearance, the track for the garage door opener needed to be moved forward and remounted on the header of the door opening. Use a combination square and pencil to mark the new location on the header.

2. Unplug the garage door opener. Disconnect the arm from the track, then remove the pins holding the track in the bracket. Lower the end of the bracket and rest it on top of a stepladder. Secure it with a piece of rope so it doesn't fall.

3. Remove the bracket and remount it to the header. Mark positions for the screw holes with an awl, pre-drill holes and attach the bracket with screws.

4. Remove the bolts holding the motor assembly in place and slide it forward enough to reattach the forward end of the track to the newly repositioned bracket. This is a two-person job.

5. Secure motor assembly in new position.

6. Adjust arm to fit new position of track and reattach to garage door. Test the door manually and if it works smoothly plug the garage door opener back in.