Here is a list of the most frequently asked questions that we hear at Armstrong Garage Doors. If you don’t find any answers to your question here, please send us an email at info@armstronggaragedoors.net  for a quick and detailed response.

Prepurchase

What colors are available on your doors?
Armstrong Garage Doors standard colors for steel doors are white, almond and sandtone; Armstrong Garage Doors other standards colors for steel include brown, almond and bronze on all models and in evergreen on some for the base door, white, almond and sandstone and for the overlays, white. Your design consultant at Armstrong Garage Doors will be delighted to assist you in your selections.

Can I paint my door?
Armstrong Garage Doors steel doors can be painted with any light quality exterior latex paint. Note: when painting a door do not use paint with LRV readings less than 56. Wood doors must be painted/stained prior to installation. Most models are available primed from our factory. Armstrong Garage Doors recommends wood doors be re-painted every 1 to 2 years (more frequent refinishing may be required in high moisture areas).

What type of spring system comes with my new door?
Doors purchased through retail chains are generally provided standard with extension springs on single doors (10' wide and under) and EZ Set Torision springs on double car doors (doors over 10' in width). Professional installing dealers will provide the spring that is best suited for each individual installation. Check with your local dealer or retailer for the type of spring system that comes standard with your door.

What is headroom?
Headroom is the distance between the top of the door and the lowest point of the ceiling or any obstruction such as a garage door opener rail, pipes, or ductwork.

How much headroom do I need?
This depends on what type of spring system that your new door will have. For extensions springs, a minimum of 10" is required for the door to operate. Torsion springs require 12". Remember, these amounts are for door operation only. If you are installing a garage door opener, additional headroom is required. Check with the opener manufacturer for additional headroom requirements.

I do not have the needed amount of headroom. Is there something I can do?
Yes! Low headroom kits are available from Armstrong Garage Doors your local dealer. If your door came with extension springs, the needed headroom can be reduced to 4-1/2”. Torsion springs systems can be reduced to 9-1/2”.

What is backroom?
The backroom is the distance from the garage door to the back wall of the garage. The door height plus 18" is required for proper door installation. Additional backroom is required for the installation of an automatic garage door opener.

What is sideroom?
A measurement from each side of the door opening, outward to the nearest wall or obstruction within the garage. Allow on each side of the door 3-3/4" for standard extension and torsion springs and 5-1/2" for EZ-Set extension springs to allow for installation of the track.

I do not have a standard size door. Can you make a door to fit my needs?
Standard door widths are 8', 9', 10', 12', 14', 15', 15'6", 16', and 18'. Some models can be custom ordered in 2" increments (8'2", 8'4", 8'6", etc.).. Standard door heights are from 6' to 8' in 3" increments, except for 7'3". Most residential models are now available in extended heights up to 12". Check with Armstrong Garage Doors your local dealer for custom height/model availability.

I am building a new garage; what size should I make the rough opening for my door?
The rough opening should be the same size as the door you wish to purchase. The door fits against the opening from the inside. The rough opening should be finished with an exterior perimeter seal or stop molding to seal out rain and wind.

I hear a lot about R-value. What is it and is it important?
R-value is a measurement of thermal efficiency of a door, or how well it insulates. Insulation is an important factor to consider when purchasing a garage door. If you plan to spend a lot of time in your garage, or if you have a room directly above or adjacent to your garage, you will want to purchase a door that offers a high R-value. If your garage is not attached to your home, or you are not concerned with insulation, you can purchase a door with a lower R-value or no insulation at all.

Broken Door

1.) When I hit my electric garage door operator console or transmitter, my garage door only opens about 6”-12”. Why is this?
A) There can be a number of reasons why your garage door won’t open fully. The main reason is that you have a broken spring. Springs are a component of the garage door that does the actual lifting of your door. Without springs on your door, you would have total dead door weight sitting on your garage floor.
Garage doors vary in size, weight and components used. There are an infinite number of sizes in springs and other components which use complicated mathematical formulas to make your door roll with ease. If any of these components are broken or damaged, this causes your electric garage door opener to work too hard lifting too much door weight.

If your garage door won’t open, you may want to physically look at the hardware (rollers, springs and cables) and components that make your door work to see if you notice any misaligned or broken parts. It’s very easy to tell if torsion springs are broken as they are located on the inside of the door, just above the top of the door, and you will see what is called a torsion tube assembly. This is basically a tube that extends across the top of the door that has springs on either side of the tube. The size and weight of your garage door will determine how many springs that you have. Some doors only have one spring (single cam garage door) and others may have as many as four springs (double cam garage door). Whether you have a single cam or double cam setup depends upon the specific weight of your garage door.

Double cam garage doors have two springs on the torsion tube spring assembly, located just above the top of the door on the inside of your garage. These looks like coils of wire with a round tube through the center. If any coil has a separation in it, you have a broken spring and the door won’t open with just the operator. Electric door operators are designed to lift only a few pounds of weight off of the floor. Consistently trying to open a door with a broken spring could cause damage to the operator as well as the door.

If you notice a broken spring, please call to have it replaced immediately so that you don’t cause further damage to any of the other components of your garage door. Always call a qualified technician!! Springs hold a lot of tension and can cause serious injury if not properly handled! This is NOT a job that you want to do yourself! A qualified technician can also replace springs to the proper weights and balances for smooth and easy operation of your garage door. With the proper springs installed, your garage door should be lifted with ease when lifted manually (sans the operator) with very little effort. Please contact us if you have any doubts at all as to whether or not you should tackle this job yourself at info@armstronggaragedoors.net  and we will be more than happy to check out the situation for you and replace any parts as necessary.

2.) My garage door opens, but it won’t close. What could be the problem?
A) There are many reasons why your garage door may not close. The main reason is that there is a problem with a safety device on your electric garage opener called photo cells. These are small photo electric devices which are mounted approximately 8” off of the garage floor, on or near your garage door’s vertical track. These devices stop your garage door from going too close if there is an obstruction in the way of its operation. From time to time, they do malfunction. The most common cause of malfunction in the photo cells is something that may be obstructing their view. Most residential homes equipped with photo cells have two photo cells--one on each side of the garage door opening. These devices need to be able to ‘see’ each other. If there is something blocking the path, or view, of these photo cells, the garage door will not close. Check to make sure that the photo cells are not obstructed in any way. Garden tools, bicycles, balls and even cobwebs can obstruct the view of the photo cells.

If one of your photo cells have been hit by an object or knocked out of alignment, your photo cells can’t ‘see’ each other and your garage door won’t close. Simply re-align the photo cells, by straightening the brackets or using the adjustment screw located on the photo cells and your door should close without any further problems.
There are also small indicator lights on most photo cells. The type of indicator lights on the photo cells vary between manufacturers. Most photo cells have an indicator light on each photo cell but on earlier models, they may only have one indicator on one of the two photo cells. In either case, whether there is an indicator light on both photo cells or on just one photo cell, this light should be lit, indicating successful operation.

If there is an indicator light out on one or both photo cells, you have a malfunction, which is telling your garage door that it is not safe for it to close. Certain manufacturer's lights will blink if there is an obstruction, but once again, check the alignment of the photo cells, or look for a possible broken wire(s) leading from the photo cell.
Sometimes a photo cell issue can be a simple matter of cleaning debris from the lens of the obstructed photo cell to enable your door to work properly once again. With some manufacturer’s photo cells, sunlight hitting what is called the receiving cell will cause your garage door not to close properly. This may happen at certain times of the day or year, depending upon the sun’s position in the sky.

If you have a problem with your photo cells and are unable to remedy it, you can still close the door by holding constant pressure on the wall button or console. This will override the photo cell operation and allow you to continue with your day until you can have a professional look at the issue. Please remember that photo cells are powered by low voltage from the garage door operator head, and may have an internal malfunction in the circuitry itself. This will require the assistance of a professional. Please feel free to contact us with your questions at info@armstronggaragedoors.net  and we will answer your questions as soon as we can.

3.) If the battery goes dead in my keypad and I have to change it, will I have to reprogram it?
A) No. Most generally, when the battery goes dead, the keypad has its own internal memory that retains these settings. If the battery has been dead for a prolonged period of time, it’s possible that it may not retain these settings and they may need to be restored by either a qualified technician or by the homeowner.

4.) My transmitter isn’t working. What is my first step?
A). The first thing that you need to be concerned about is a faulty transmitter. Try replacing the battery. This is the most common cause of failure and you should not have to reprogram the transmitter after replacing the battery. In very rare circumstances, such as when replacing the transmitter’s battery, if the transmitter has not been used for a period of time, it may have lost its internal settings and may need to be reprogrammed. Please refer to your owner’s manual or call Secured Entries to reprogram your radio controls.

5.) Neither my keypad nor my transmitters are working. What could be the problem?
A.) The problem could be that, in some situations, it may be due to an electrical surge or electrical failure in your home, such as a strong thunderstorm with a lightening strike very close to your home. This will sometimes erase any programming for your keypad and/or transmitters. In this case, these units will require reprogramming, either by yourself (please see your owner’s manual) or call Armstrong Garage Doors for the reprogramming of your radio controls. Electrical surges in your home may cause the same problem.

Please continue to check this page for updates, and as always, if you have any questions for us, please contact Armstrong Garage Doors at info@armstronggaragedoors.net  and we will be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have.