Fortunately, you are unlikely to be in an awkward situation that requires you to remain locked outside of your garage or worse locked inside it. Nowadays, the majority of garage doors are electronic and automated. As a result, they can present a problem of how to open garage door manually if you need something like that in an emergency.
If you ever find yourself in such a difficult position avoid despair and panic. Keep calm and remember that there are at least five manual steps for how to open the garage door manually. Always keep in mind that all electric mechanisms have a manual bypass designed specifically for accidents you may face.
Step 1; The door must be closed.
The door must be in the closed position before you attempt to disconnect your garage door opener from your garage door make sure the door is in the down position. Attempting to disengage the opener while the door is open is extremely dangerous and should be avoided. If the spring is broken or not properly balanced releasing the opener may result in the garage door slamming to the ground. This could cause significant damage and bodily harm.
Step 2; Pull the Emergency Release Cord.
The red rope hanging from the garage door trolley is the emergency release cord. The release cord should be located near the front of the door when the door is closed. The trolley is attached to the door and moves as the door opens and closes. The trolley is also linked to the carriage of the garage door opener via the attachment point. The garage door opener carriage is the mechanism that automatically moves the door along the garage door opener boom. The emergency release cord disconnects the trolley from the carriage, allowing the door to be operated manually.
Step 3; Move the garage door manually, then lower it again.
Step 2 will allow you to move the garage door freely between open and closed positions. If you are unable to manually lift the door because of too much weight you may have a broken spring. A common misconception is that garage door openers lift the door, whereas the springs do. If you discover a broken spring, we strongly advise you to contact a professional one for professional repair services.
Step 4; Move the door with the emergency release cord.
To re-engage the carriage and resume the electrical operation of your garage door pull the release cord toward the door. The spring lever will be compressed allowing the two mechanisms to reconnect.
Step 5; Reattach the Trolley to the Opener Carriage.
Simply run the opener through its entire cycle to reconnect the trolley. That is to say all the way up and down. You should hear a loud click as the trolley and carriage pass each other. They are now linked and you can once again open and close your garage door manually.
