How to · 1 minute
How to open a garage door manually
Pull the red cord hanging from the opener rail, then lift the door by hand. The one thing that matters is doing it with the door CLOSED wherever possible — releasing a door that is part-way up can drop it, and a double door weighs up to 250 pounds.
Read this first
If the door is already open, do not pull the cord unless somebody is holding it or it is propped. A released door with a broken spring falls.
What you need
- Nothing, if the door is closed
- A second person if it is heavy
4 steps
Doing it
- Close the door first if you can, even on battery or by hand from outside.A closed door has nowhere to fall to. This is the whole safety rule.
- Pull the red cord down and slightly back toward the door.That disengages the trolley from the opener carriage.
- Lift the door with both hands from the bottom, in the middle.If it is very heavy or will not move, stop. That is a broken spring, not a stiff door.
- To reconnect, pull the cord toward the opener, then run the opener until the trolley clicks back in.
Where it stops being yours
A door that will not lift, or that crashes down when you let go, has a broken spring. Leave it closed and ring somebody.
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Also asked
When it does not go to plan
The door is stuck halfway — is it safe to pull the cord?
No. The release cord disconnects the door from the opener, and if a spring has gone it is the opener that has been holding the door up. Pulled halfway open with a broken spring, the door can drop. If the door feels heavy or you heard a bang from the garage, leave it and ring somebody.
How do I get back in if the power is out and I am outside?
Through an emergency release lock if the garage has one — a keyed cylinder in the door face with a cable to the release. If it has not got one, and there is no side door, there is no safe way in from outside. It is a cheap thing to fit before you need it.
How do I reconnect it afterwards?
Close the door fully, then pull the cord towards the door rather than down, or run the opener until the trolley clicks back onto the carriage. Reconnecting with the door part-open is how people bend a rail.