How to know your garage door is safe

Approximately 60 children between the ages of 2 and 14 have been trapped and killed under automatic garage doors since 1982, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Recently, the Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association International (DASMA) published a technical data sheet for inspectors and consumers. The data sheet is a 10-point checklist for inspecting garage doors for safety. If you have any concern about your abilities to perform this inspection, you should call a trained garage door technician to inspect your door.

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Garage door dangers are often not obvious without a close look.

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To perform the inspection you will need the following: a tape measure, a flashlight, a 2-by-4 piece of lumber at least 6 inches long, the garage door remote control if available, and, depending upon the height of the door, a ladder or stepstool.

The following is a short version of the 10-step process. To get the complete list, visit the DASMA Web site at www.dasma.com.

Door safety checklist

• With the garage door closed, check for a manual release rope and handle. UL 325 requires that the handle on the rope be colored red. Are the handle and rope there?

• With the door closed, inspect the panels for any sign of cracking or separation. If cracking and/or separation are present, call a trained garage door technician for repairs.

• With the door closed and from inside the door, look for the following labels: (1) A spring warning label attached to the spring assembly. (2) A general warning attached to the back of the door panel. (3) A warning label on the wall near the control button. (4) Two warning labels on the door near the bottom corner brackets. Are the labels present?

• With the door closed from the inside, check the door springs for damage. If the springs are damaged, do not operate the door but immediately call a trained garage door technician for repairs. Also, check the door’s hinges, brackets and fasteners. Are all these parts securely attached?

• With the door closed, pull the manual release cord and free the door from the automatic opener. Manually raise the door. You should be able to raise the door without difficulty, and the door should not open faster than you are raising it. As the door is opening, make sure that all the rollers stay in the tracks. Upon completion of this test reconnect the door to the opener by simply pushing the opener button until the opener engages the door.

• Your door will either have an overhead (torsion) spring or extension springs on the sides of the door. If you have extension springs, make sure there is a cable inside the springs. If the springs should break, the cable will help keep the spring from flying.

• Locate the wall-mounted push button for the door. There should be at least one wall-mounted button. The button should be a minimum of 5 feet above the floor (out of reach of children), be in clear view of the door and safely away from all moving parts of the door.

• As stated earlier, the door should be fitted with an automatic return device. In most cases this will be a photo-electric eye mounted near the floor on the walls next to the door. The eye should be no higher than 6 inches above the floor.

• Check to ensure that the photo-electric eye is properly operating by waving an object between the eyes when the door is closing. The door should immediately reverse.

• The door opener should also be equipped with a contact reverse function. To check this function, place a 2-by-4 flat on the floor under the middle of the door and push the wall-mounted button to close the door. When the door contacts the 2 by 4 the door should immediately reverse.

If any of the above tests fail, you should immediately contact a trained garage door technician to make repairs.