Garage Door Opener Not Working After Storm: Causes & Fixes

garage door opener not working after storm causes fixes

Your garage door protects your garage, vehicles, and other property inside from the elements. With years of wear and tear, however, your garage door becomes less reliable and requires maintenance or repairs. A garage door not working after storms is an issue best addressed quickly.

What To Do If Your Garage Door Is Not Working After A Storm

Garage door failures can result in expensive repair costs. Luckily, this problematic issue has some DIY fixes you can try before turning to professionals for a reliable garage door repair in Napa, CA.

Familiarizing yourself with the steps to take can help you successfully repair your garage door if it fails due to storm damage. Your garage door can work like new again in no time, even better, with professional help.

How Do Storms Affect Your Garage Door?

If your garage door is not working after a storm, this could be for multiple reasons. Firstly, a power outage could be the culprit, so you should check your breakers. Your garage door opener connects to your home’s primary power source, putting those without backup batteries at the mercy of your home’s electrical supply. A power outage keeps the unit’s remote control from connecting to the opener.

Circuit damage

A lightning storm can easily damage your garage door opener’s circuitry. It doesn’t necessarily have to strike your garage, garage door, or the opener to fail. Electricity can travel through the nearby ground and into your garage’s electrical system, damaging the garage door opener’s electrical circuit without direct contact.

You likely have a damaged internal garage door electrical system if your home and garage still receive power, but the door won’t open or close. You can also check for unresponsive opener lights and remote controls. These elements may act sporadically or stop working altogether.

Mechanical damage

Lightning can also contribute to mechanical difficulties. You’ll notice mechanical damage when you try to open your garage door manually.

If the door won’t open or makes a grinding sound upon manual operation, this indicates a problem. You could have a broken spring or another faulty component if your unit doesn’t open before or after restoring the power. If so, contact a garage door service immediately to fix everything safely.

How To Restore Garage Door Operation After A Storm

You can take various steps to troubleshoot a garage door not working after storms. Several practical repair methods include:

Attempting manual operation
Resetting the motor
Disconnecting the opener from its power source
Reconnecting the opener to the door

If one of these options doesn’t work, move to the next fix or contact professionals for expert servicing.

Open the door manually

During a power outage, you can still open your garage door manually. Garage door openers have a special cord that disconnects the door from the carriage, allowing manual operation. If your entry doesn’t open with this method, you likely have mechanical issues and should contact professional garage door technicians immediately.

You’ll need to enter the garage through an additional entrance. Locate the emergency release cord from the door’s trolley and pull it down. This action releases the door.

After the power outage, you can reconnect the door to the opening system.

Unplug the unit

Sometimes a simple fix resolves the issue. Your unit may need a power reset after an outage. If you have an older garage door opener, this may repair it without the need to install new components. Here’s how to reset the power:

Unplug the garage door opener and leave it unplugged for a few minutes.
Plug it back in and check if lights appear on the opener.
Cycle through different outlets in your garage to ensure it’s not a problem with the outlet.
Alternatively, unplug and reconnect the sensor wires to see if the sensors are preventing the unit from operating.

Reconnect the opener to the door

After the power returns, you can reconnect the garage door to the opening component. To reconnect the opener, close the garage door and press the garage door’s opener control. If your opener has a “close” option, select this button.

As the garage door operates, the disconnected trolley and carriage will reconnect with the door to allow proper operation again. Some homeowners will need to pull the emergency release cable to facilitate the reconnection.

Reset the motor

Some garage door openers’ motors have a reset button allowing you to reset the system after a power overload. Depending on the opener’s design, you may have to remove a panel to uncover the reset button. Once you’ve found it, press and hold down the button to reset the system.

Contact the professionals

If none of the above solutions fixes your garage door not working after storms, circuit board damage is likely. So, you should contact professionals for repairs. A skilled garage door repair technician can replace the unit’s circuit board and restore door operation.

Professional garage door repair technicians know how to successfully examine, diagnose, and repair a failed garage door. They have the high-quality parts you need to replace your garage door opener’s circuit board and other damaged components. They can also install a surge protector to prevent future electric garage door opener issues.

Call Us To Resolve Your Garage Door’s Outage

If you notice your garage door not working and none of the DIY fixes resolve its power failure, you’re not out of luck in Napa, CA. The R&S Erection of Vallejo, Inc team is ready to assist at any time. We’re always happy to share vital information on preventing garage door outages and other related issues.

Contact our team for fast, friendly, expert service when your garage door stops working. We arrive with fully-stocked trucks to help repair your electric garage door. Whatever the issue, we’ll identify the problem and fix it for a fair price. We know the importance of garage door safety sensors and take them seriously.

Don’t let a power outage keep your garage door inoperable. Call the garage door professionals at R&S Erection of Vallejo, Inc. for help with a garage door not working after storms in Napa, CA, at 707-644-5537.

Top 7 Reasons Your Home Would Benefit From An Automatic Gate

top 7 reasons your home would benefit from an automatic gate

Every 20 seconds, a burglary crime is perpetrated in the U.S. With only 13% of such cases being solved, homeowners are losing millions worth of property every minute.

What can you do to avoid being part of these statistics? Consider an automatic gate.

Investing in a security system may be a good place to start, but you also need to think about the main entrance to your home – the gate. As far as residential gates go, you have two options: manual and automatic gate.

While manual gates provide some degree of security, they’re inconvenient. For instance, you have to get out of the car to open and close the gate when you get home. Some homeowners even leave their gates open to avoid this hassle. This leaves your home vulnerable to burglaries.

With an automatic gate, you don’t have to go through all this trouble.

But how else can an automatic gate benefit your home?

Read on to find out.

How An Automatic Gat Can Improve Your Homes Safety

Security Boost

Power gates for driveways come with remote controls. They also have mounts that allow you to install cameras to help you monitor your property. With such control, you can keep unwanted intruders out of your property with the press of a button.

An automatic gate also safeguards your home and family against crimes of opportunity. One of the best ways to prevent situational crimes is by using deterrents. The presence of an automatic gate acts as a deterrent for opportunistic home burglars.

Additionally, motorized gates act as an extra layer of protection as they’re more difficult to get vandalized.

Curb Appeal

Installing an automatic gate adds a sense of style and class to your home. Generally, homes fitted with automatic gates are viewed as prestigious.

With so many varieties and customization options, you can have your gate designed in size, shape, and style that adds allure to your home. You can even include art and flair elements to make a statement.

Privacy

Sometimes, you may just want to have your property all to yourself. Maybe you’re trying to avoid pushy solicitors or just want to spend some quality time on your front porch without the prying eyes of your neighbors. Whatever your reasons, a private driveway gate can help you keep unwanted visitors and nosy neighbors at bay.

With an automatic gate, visitors will need to inform you of their arrival so you can buzz them in. It’s even better if you install cameras because you’ll be able to see who’s at the gate in advance.

With such control and awareness, you can enjoy uninterrupted privacy at all times.

Child and Pet Safety

Besides keeping intruders out of your home, automated gate systems also safeguard your children against surrounding traffic, especially if you live close to the road. You’ll have greater peace of mind letting your kids play in the yard knowing that they won’t be chasing balls into the street.

Along with a perimeter fence, a remote driveway gate also ensures that your pets remain within your property. This will prevent them from wandering into your neighbor’s yard, saving you from all kinds of conflict. It’ll also keep them safe from opportunistic individuals, who may take advantage of pets wandering around the street.

Insurance Savings

Some insurance providers may offer you discounts on premium payments if they notice that you’ve taken extra measures to secure your property. Installing an automatic gate is one such measure. It minimizes the chances of property burglary, which would deem you eligible for compensation.

But since not all insurers offer this provision, you’ll want to check with your provider before you claim exemption from premiums.

Higher Property Value

A good looking home fetches higher prices and attracts more potential buyers. Installing the right automatic gate improves the curb appeal of your home by giving it a classy, prestigious look. In so doing, it improves the resale value of your property.

So, in addition to being a functional feature to your home, a motorized gate also acts as an investment. From a financial perspective, it makes sense to grow the value of your home even if you’re not planning to sell it anytime soon.

Added Convenience

It’s quite a hassle to operate manual gates. Every time you’re leaving or entering your home, you need to exit the car to open them. This can be quite daunting, especially when it’s raining. Moreover, it’s easy to forget to lock them when you’re leaving in a hurry.

An automatic gate solves all these problems. Thanks to their wireless technology and built-in motors, you don’t need to exit the car to lock or open them.
Also, you don’t need to leave your house to open the gate every time you have a visitor.

You can do that from the comfort of your home with the help of a remote control. And since they lock automatically, there’s no chance that you’ll leave your home unsecured when heading out in a hurry.

How To Install An Automatic Gate For Driveway

Installing an automatic gate is no easy feat, and you shouldn’t do it yourself because so many things can go wrong. As such, you need an expert to make sure that all systems are properly fitted. This will prevent gate-related accidents, and increase the durability of your investment.

When looking for automatic gate experts, look no further than R&S Erection of Vallejo, Inc. We are a one-stop shop for all things gate-related, with tons of experience in installation and repair.

We serve several areas in California, including Fairfield, Vallejo, Vacaville, Suisun City, Benicia, Dixon, American Canyon, Cordelia, Rutherford, and more. We also work with all top brands including Liftmaster, Viking, Doorking, Hysecurity, among others.

To get a price quote on different automatic gates, feel free to contact us.

Choosing The Perfect Automatic Gate System For Your Home

choosing the perfect automatic gate system for your home

While only 17% of homes in the US have a security system, every home has a secure entrance system whether a locking gate or a deadbolt on the door. Having a secure home gives people peace of mind against intruder and burglars. One of the best ways to ensure that no one gets on your property without your say-so is to have an automatic gate system.

Before you run out and install a gate, you need to learn about the different types of gates so that you can choose the perfect one for your home. Here are the main categories of features to look for.

Which Automatic Gate System Is Right For You?

Slide Gates

The description of a slide gate is pretty much in the name. They can be installed in just about any kind of terrain and require a track to set up. You need to have a space that is wide enough to accommodate the gates moving laterally as they’re opened.

A slide gate usually entails two gates that are opened at the center and move along a track in order to let you into the home. Other slide gates can latch at one point as the entire gate slides laterally away from the latch point to open.

These gates can be installed on driveways, along fences, at the perimeter of your property or close to the entrance to your house.

Swing Gates

A swinging automatic gate system will be attached to hinges on either side of your driveway or entrance to your estate. When opened, the gates can be made to swing out toward the entrance or inward, toward your property. The best idea is to make them swing toward your property so they don’t hit the entering vehicle and aren’t struck by oncoming traffic.

Swing gates come in single or double gates, depending on the width of your driveway. Single gates are adequate for your standard sedan-width driveway, however, double gates lend an air of opulence to your driveway.

If you have a driveway that’s on a steep grade, they will typically open toward the downward slope. Be aware of this standard if you have to climb a hill toward your property and would prefer not to have that look. You might prefer a slide gate in that instance.

Automatic Gates With Keypad Entry

Without an automatic opening mechanism, you may have to leave your vehicle just to open your gate. Automatic gates allow you the convenience of hanging an interface that’s accessible through your window in order to get them open. One of the most popular types of gate entry systems is a system with keypad entry.

With any keypad system, you can set your own private code in order to gain access. The system will keep anyone from opening your gate without the password. This is a highly preferred system because it allows you to get access to your home and property without needing to carry a key or a card.

If you have guests visiting, you can give them the keycode to enter. You can know that they’ll have no problem making themselves at home when you can’t be there to swap physical keys with them.

Card-Based Entry Systems

A keycard automatic gate system is popular because they keep you from having to memorize a code but give you a lighter key than your standard metal one. Card entry systems require just a swipe to get you onto the property.

There’s something undoubtedly cool about being able to swipe a card to open the gate to your home. They lend a cool aesthetic appeal that makes your home seem extra modern.

You can have as many cards as you want to be printed and handed out to anyone who you want to have access to your property. It’s simpler and faster than entering a code while being just as secure.

If you’re looking for a fun and modern entry system, cards are the way to go. Now all that’s left is to decide what kind of material you want your gate to built out of.

Wrought Iron Gates

Your choice of material only depends on the style of home that you want to have. Your gate is sure to be secure and sturdy no matter what material you choose.

Wrought iron gates lend a classic type of look to a modern security gate. Wrought iron is a strong material that won’t need to be repainted very often. It doesn’t break down or corrode the way other metals do.

Wrought iron gates are strong and secure but often leave a little bit of space between the bars. If security is more important than intense privacy, there are many lovely styles available in wrought iron.

Wooden Gates

Modern wooden gates provide a secure way of keeping intruders out while allowing you a lot of aesthetic flexibility. You can build a facade that’s rustic and vintage over a modern metal frame that secures just like any other automatic gate. You can build something that looks more high-end and contemporary out of wood as well.

The planks that you use can be of any material and spaced out however you please. A tightly ordered set of planks will provide you with lots of property and keep the line of visibility from the street to a minimum. A wooden gate can be made to match any type of fence you already have built around your property.

An Automatic Gate System To Suit Your Needs

Talk to your fencing provider and see what kind of automatic gate material they would recommend. An automatic gate system should feel both secure and comfortable, looking like a welcoming home to anyone with the keycode. There are plenty of options and a professional installer can help you decide which is right for your situation.

If you want to know what types of automatic gates are available in your region, check out what we have to offer.