Top Reasons Why Manual Garage Door Locks May Fail to Work

Because it is the place where you lock up your car and keep a range of valuable items such as bikes and gardening equipment, you'd want utmost security for your garage. A garage with a fully functioning door should provide your valuables with the required protection. A good number of manual sectional garage doors operate using a lock-catch system. To latch and unlatch a manual lock, you will need to turn the handle. If the handle fails to engage or disengage, you'll need to identify and fix the problem. Here's are a number of some possible problems you could be faced with:

Garage door tracks are not well-aligned.

When this happens, consider adjusting the mounting brackets. You can do this by loosening but not removing the screws holding the door brackets in position so you can and shift the brackets back into position. Slide the bracket upwards and downwards gently until you can smoothly insert the bar into the track slot. If the latch still does not align properly, consider adjusting the brackets sideways. This should allow the locking bar to pivot properly. Turn the handle to see if the repair is successful. Tighten your screws back if the brackets and the locking bar align correctly.

Loose or broken garage door handle.

Over time, your garage handle may become loose, making it hard to engage and disengage your latch. To remedy this, you will need to tighten your door lock set. Using your screwdriver or a ratchet, loosen the screws on your handle. After that, check for any loose components within your door lockset. If there are any loose parts, you'll need to tighten them using the screwdriver or ratchet. Finally, test the handler to see if it snugly engages and disengages your latch. 

On the other hand, broken garage door handlers require replacements. Find a suitable garage door parts supplier and purchase a similar handle. After removing the broken handler, insert mounting bolts through the mounting holes and the garage door panel until they come to view on the opposite side. Locate the mounting buts and then using a ratchet, tighten them onto the bolts. Lastly, test to confirm if the handle is able to engage and disengage.

Dirty or poorly lubricated garage door locks.

Another reason why your lock may fail to engage or disengage is because it may be dirty or require lubrication. In addition, exterior garage door locks may get frozen over time. To remedy these, you'll need to put some graphite into the lock mechanism then using your key, operate the lock to integrate the graphite to your lock set. This will help to clean and lubricate your locks.

It is important to keep in mind that not all locksmiths provide garage door repair service, so be sure to inform your locksmith about what type of service you need when you contact them.


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