Overhead Door Company of Albany has been repairing garage doors and garage door openers across the Capital Region for more than 20 years. We are locally owned, and we work on homes and businesses in nine counties, from Saratoga and Fulton down to Greene and Columbia. Whatever brand of garage door or garage door opener you have, we can repair it.
When your garage door breaks, call 1-800-688-4312 or request service online, and the office will explain the likely fix and the cost before a technician is sent. Our service is backed by our One-Year Service Guarantee.
Our technicians are factory certified on Overhead Door™ products and repair garage doors and garage door openers of any other brand as well. We run eight service trucks out of 15 Corporate Drive in Clifton Park. The warehouse there keeps a large stock of garage door parts, and we can special order anything that isn’t on the shelf. If a repair turns into a replacement, our showroom has samples and literature to help you decide.
We don’t use flat-rate pricing, because the cost depends on what has actually failed.
When I first called, the woman who answered was friendly and professional. She gave me an estimate for the job and was very clear regarding the cost. The technician came on schedule and did an excellent job in making the repair. He also noticed and repaired several other minor items.
Our office is open Monday to Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM. If your garage door fails outside those hours, call 1-800-688-4312 when the office opens.
While you wait, keep people and pets clear, and don’t try to move the door by hand if a spring or cable has failed.
Find your door’s problem below to see the likely cause, what to do until we get there and how we fix it. When a problem makes the door unsafe to use, the card says so.
If the door is stuck open, don’t pull the red emergency release cord. Without a working spring, the door can drop as soon as it is released from the garage door opener. Keep people and pets away, and tell the office if the door is stuck open or your car is trapped so they know it is urgent.
The spring is dangerous to touch. Leave it, and any adjustment, to a trained technician.
We replace the spring with one matched to the weight of your door, then rebalance and test it. On a two-spring door we recommend replacing both, since the second spring has had the same wear.
Torsion springs are typically rated for about 10,000 open-and-close cycles. For a household that uses the door a few times a day, that works out to roughly 7 to 10 years. Cold weather adds stress, so a spring that is already worn is more likely to give out in winter.
Leave the door where it is until we arrive, because the cables carry its full weight. Don’t try to tighten or rethread a cable or loosen the bottom brackets, since they are under spring tension. If you want to know what a worn cable looks like before it fails, our guide to inspecting your garage door cables shows what to look for.
We replace the cable and check the springs and other lifting hardware in the same visit, since a failed cable often points to another problem.
Cables wear and rust over time. Winter moisture and road salt speed that up, and both collect at the bottom of the door, where the cables attach. A cable can also go slack when a spring breaks, or slip off its drum, and either one can leave the door crooked.
Don’t walk or drive under the door, because a door that has come off its track can fall. If it is partly open, unplug the garage door opener so nobody runs it by accident. Don’t force the door or try to push the rollers back in yourself. Running or forcing a door that is off its track can bend the track and break rollers.
We straighten or replace the bent track and reseat the rollers. We also look for the reason it came off.
A bump from a car, or a cable that snaps or slips off its drum, can knock a door off its track. Worn rollers can do it too. Loose track brackets can also let the track shift out of line over time.
Watch the door as it opens and closes. If the damaged section rubs or catches as the door moves, stop using the door and call. If a vehicle hit the door, take photos before it is repaired, since your homeowners insurance, or the other driver’s auto insurance, may cover the cost.
Depending on the door’s age and model, we can often replace just the damaged section. We stock and order panels for a wide range of makes and models. When several sections are damaged, a new door may make more sense, and you can browse the residential collections in the meantime.
Panel damage often comes from a car backing into the door or a mower catching it. If a section bows inward without any impact, it may be normal winter bowing, which insulated doors do when the garage is heated, or the garage door opener may be flexing a top section that was never reinforced. Either way, it is worth having us take a look.
With the door closed, look along each side. Rollers that wobble or look chewed up are worn, and so is a hinge with a crack in it. Don’t try to replace the bottom rollers yourself, because their brackets are under spring tension. If the noise is mostly squealing, see the lubrication tips under Noisy or uneven door.
We replace worn rollers and cracked hinges. Left alone, worn rollers add drag, which makes the garage door opener work harder, and a failed roller can let the door slip out of its track.
Rollers wear out with use, and their bearings can dry out without lubrication. Hinges flex every time the door bends over the top of the track, so they can crack with age.
If the door hangs visibly crooked, stop using it and see Frayed or broken cable.
You can check the door’s balance yourself, but only when the door is fully closed and nothing looks broken. Pull the emergency release cord, lift the door by hand about halfway and let go. A balanced door stays roughly where you leave it. If it drops or rises, the springs need adjusting, and that is a job for a technician. Close the door and reconnect the garage door opener when you are done.
If you lubricate the door yourself, use a garage door lubricant on the hinges and springs, and on the bearings of steel rollers. Check your door maker’s manual for the type to use. Nylon rollers don’t need it. Skip all-purpose sprays, which tend to attract dust. Wipe the tracks clean. Grease collects dirt and keeps the rollers from rolling freely.
We find and correct the source of the noise, then lubricate the door. If the springs are out of balance, we adjust them so the door runs evenly. The technician can show you which points to lubricate between visits.
Springs wear with every cycle and can lose strength over the years, which leaves the door out of balance and puts more load on the garage door opener. Hardware also works loose over time, and dry hinges and bearings start to grind.
The root cause of the problem took a few minutes to diagnose. Worn out top rollers were the cause. The techs were pleasant, efficient, and most helpful. I inherited the garage door (now 26 years old) when I bought the house in 2008.
Start with the simple checks. Make sure the garage door opener is plugged in and the breaker or outlet hasn’t tripped. Try the wall button. If it works and the remote doesn’t, the problem is the remote, and Garage door opener trouble covers that. Many wall controls also have a lock or vacation button that stops the remotes from working, so check that it is off. Some doors also have a slide lock on the inside that keeps the door from moving, and it has to be unlocked before the garage door opener will work.
Before you pull the red emergency release cord, look at the spring above the door. If you see a gap in the coil, leave the cord alone, because without a working spring the door can drop. If the garage door opener runs but the door doesn’t move and the springs look fine, the release cord may have been pulled earlier. With the door closed, put the cord back the way your manual shows, and on most garage door openers the door reconnects the next time the garage door opener runs.
Avoid pressing the remote over and over or forcing the door, since either can overheat the garage door opener’s motor. If the door is stuck with your vehicle inside or your property exposed, tell the office so it knows it is urgent.
A failed garage door opener and a broken spring can look the same from the driveway, so we start by working out whether the cause is electrical or mechanical.
A door that won’t move can come down to a power or remote problem, or to a broken spring or worn garage door opener part. A garage door opener that hums without moving the door often has stripped gears, or it may be straining against a door that is too heavy to lift.
The photo-eye sensors near the floor on each side of the door are the usual cause. Wipe both lenses and check that nothing is in the beam’s path. Make sure the sensors point straight at each other. If a light on one of the sensors is off or blinking, they may be out of line or blocked, or a wire may be damaged. Low sun shining straight into a sensor can also cause this in the morning or evening. On many garage door openers, the number of flashes from a light on the garage door opener is a code, and the manual explains what it means.
If you need to close the door before it is repaired, some garage door openers let you hold the wall button down until the door is fully closed, though newer models may not. Stay at the button, watch the door the whole way and keep people and pets out of the way.
We repair or replace the sensors or their wiring, then confirm the door reverses properly on contact.
With the door open, lay a 2×4 flat on the floor in its path and close the door. It should reverse when it touches the board. Then close it again and pass a broom handle through the sensor beam, and the door should go back up. If either test fails, stop using the garage door opener until it is repaired. Federal safety rules have required garage door openers to reverse on contact since 1991, and to have photo-eye sensors or a similar second safety device since 1993.
If a remote or keypad stops working, try a new battery first. If the wall button still works, the garage door opener is fine and the problem is the remote or keypad. Check the lock button too, which is covered under Door will not open or close. If the remote only works up close, make sure the garage door opener’s antenna wire hangs down freely. Some LED bulbs in the garage door opener can also interfere with the remote’s signal, so try the remote with the bulbs removed. Our guides to programming your garage door opener and your wireless keypad may save you a service call.
We repair garage door openers of any brand. When a garage door opener is past repair, see the garage door openers page for current models.
Most garage door openers last 10 to 15 years. A garage door opener that has become loud or unreliable may be near the end of its life. A garage door opener made before 1993 may not have photo-eye sensors, and garage door opener manufacturers recommend replacing it.
With the door closed, look along the bottom seal for cracks, flattened sections or missing pieces, and check the weatherstripping along the sides. In winter, the bottom seal can freeze to the ground. Don’t run the garage door opener to break it loose. Chip the ice away gently instead, because forcing it can tear the seal and strain the garage door opener. Skip the hot water, since it can refreeze into a slick sheet of ice.
We replace bottom seals and side weatherstripping, and adjust the door if it isn’t closing all the way. It is a small job we can handle during any service visit, and fall is a good time to do it, before the first freeze.
Cold Capital Region winters can stiffen rubber seals, and over the years they can crack. A gap along the whole bottom often means a worn seal, or a door that stops a little short of the floor. A gap at one end only can come from an uneven floor, or from a door that has gone out of level because of a track or spring problem.
We repair commercial garage doors and the commercial garage door operators that run them, including rolling and industrial doors some other shops won’t take on. We also repair loading dock equipment, and we can schedule the work around your operating hours. Commercial garage doors in daily use open and close many more times than a residential garage door, so their springs and commercial garage door operators wear out sooner and benefit from a regular maintenance schedule. See our commercial garage door options.
Regular maintenance can catch worn parts before they fail. The garage door industry’s trade association recommends a yearly visit from a trained technician, along with the monthly reversing test. Our preventive maintenance plans are built around your door and your budget.
Call 1-800-688-4312 or (518) 348-0444, Monday to Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM. You can also request service online. Our office is at 15 Corporate Drive in Clifton Park.
The two gentlemen who worked on my door issues which were several including a defective keypad, were amazing. In addition to fixing my problems they oiled my springs and cleaned the electronic eyes at no extra charge. Very helpful in maintaining longterm efficiency of the garage door system!
Yes. Our technicians repair garage doors and garage door openers of any brand, and the warehouse stocks parts for almost any make or model.
It can be. Springs are under extreme tension, and once one fails the garage door becomes far too heavy to lift safely. Stop using the garage door and call us. Keep people and pets away from it in the meantime.
We strongly recommend against it unless you are trained on torsion springs. The stored tension can cause serious injury. Leave it to a trained technician.
Usually yes. Both springs have done the same amount of work, so the second one has had the same wear as the one that broke. Replacing both at once can save you a second service call.
Often, yes. Individual sections can usually be ordered and replaced on current garage door models. If the garage door is older or several panels are damaged, a new garage door may make more sense.
It depends on where you are and how busy the schedule is. Call and describe the problem, and the office will let you know when we can get there.
Yes. We repair commercial garage doors and commercial garage door operators across the Capital Region. We also repair loading dock equipment, and we can schedule the work around your operating hours.
