How To Open A Garage Door Manually During A Power Outage

Has a power outage ever left you trapped at home because you were not sure how to manually open a garage door? Then you are in the right place! Read on to find out exactly what to do.

When there is no electricity, a garage door opener without a battery backup will not work. Whether you have driven into your driveway and suddenly realize you cannot enter the garage or you are trapped inside and need to get your car out of the garage, this presents a problem.

Door Must Be In The Down Position

A burned-out motor or a power outage could mean that your car is imprisoned in your garage. Getting the door open without power is not difficult, but there are steps that need to be followed if you do not want to damage the door or any part of it. Check the torsion springs above the door to see if one of them is damaged. These springs actually do most of the work so they have been known to sustain damage over time. If you detect damage to the springs, call your garage door professional immediately; do not attempt to repair anything or even open the door on your own. If they are intact, proceed to open the door as follows.

Make sure that the door is in the down or closed position before attempting to disconnect. If the door is open when your power goes out or the motor stops working for another reason, it is better to contact your garage door professionals to assist you; it is dangerous to disconnect the door when it is in the up and open position. This is because a broken spring could cause the door - with its full weight – to come crashing down on you or your car!

Pull The Emergency Release Cord

Locate the red rope (usually with a red handle too) that is attached to the trolley. When your garage door is in the closed position, the emergency release cord should be close to the front of the door. This is the emergency release cord which will detach the trolley from the rail via the attachment point.

Manually Move the Garage Door and Return To Down Position

You will now be able to move the door up and down the rail manually. If you cannot lift the door manually due to its extreme weight, it is likely that you have a broken spring. Again, do not attempt to repair this or even open the garage door if this is the case. Rather get in touch with your garage door installation and repair professionals than have a nasty accident.

Pull The Emergency Release Cord Toward The Door

The trolley itself has two positions: the first is a spring-loaded area where the rope is attached to disconnect. If you want to stay disconnected, pull the rope down and towards the motor. If you want to reconnect, the second position is needed. You will then pull the rope downwards and toward the door. This compresses the spring lever and allows the two mechanisms to reconnect.

Re-Connect The Trolley To The Opener Carriage

You can then lift the door to re-engage the trolley to the attachment point. Alternatively, you can wait until the power comes back on and simply press your remote control or wall controller button to activate the motor and slide the plate down the track until it attaches to the trolley.  Now run the opener for a complete cycle - all the way up and down.

Remember to use your security bolt or another manual lock to secure the garage if the power outage lasts more than a few hours. It can be opened from the outside if you have disconnected it.

Tri-Lakes Garage Doors has over 20 years of experience and expertise in serving homeowners and businesses in Colorado Springs, Monument, Denver, Pueblo, Ft Collins, and beyond. We are a Colorado licensed and fully insured company.

Give the team at Tri-Lakes Garage Doors a call today for the best options when it comes to how to manually open a garage door during a power outage.