Garage Door Will Not Close All The Way – Leaves Gap At Bottom

My garage door will not fully close all the way, there is about a once inch (1″) gap at the bottom. When i press the button to close the garage door, the motor turns on and the door starts to shut but will not go down to the garage floor all the way. We recently lubricated the garage door tracks as it was making a noise when we would open or shut it. Now the noise is gone but for some reason the door won’t fully shut. The temperature where I live is very cold. Do you think something shifted and therefore the door can’t close correctly? Do I need to adjust the sensors? Should I replace the seal with a wider seal?

garage_door_wont_close_all_the_way

The reasons your garage door has a gap in it could be:
1. Garage floor may have cracked or shifted
2. Garage door sensors may not be aligned correctly
3. Garage door seal may be damaged
4. Garage door opener malfunction or door has shifted

1: First you need to see what has caused this to happen. Since you live in an area with cold weather, the garage floor may have shifted slightly therefore making the door not shut all the way. Check to see if there are new cracks in the garage floor. If this is the case, the only option (besides re-leveling the garage floor) is to readjust the door to shut since the floor has shifted. Check to see if the floor structure is level to see if it has actually shifted. Cold weather may have shifted the floor. NOTE: This is not unusual for newer poured concrete pads. You could also add a new fatter seal to the bottom to compensate. If the floor has not shifted see next answer.

2: The safety sensors for your garage door located near the floor (on each side of the garage on the tracks) may have become out of alignment. Your garage door opener may tell you this by showing a blinking light. All you will have to do in this case is readjust the sensors to allow the garage door to fully close. Usually these sensors are located on the door tracks and very close to the floor. Locate them and determine if they are out of alignment. If you believe they are out of alignment, you will need to adjust one of the sensors or both. To adjust them you need to simply move them along the track. If the door sensors are not out of alignment see the next answer.


Garage door not fully closing? Easy fix by adjusting safety sensors!

3: The issue could be that the garage door seal is damaged, flattened, weather rotted, or has fallen off. If this is the case, you can simply buy a new garage door seal. Garage door seals install easy and there are different thicknesses are available. Sometimes the fatter and wider the better as these types of garage door seals keep out the weather and things like ants and mice. If the door seal is not damaged on your garage door, see the next answer.


How to Replace Garage Door Bottom Seal Weatherstripping

4: The garage door opener itself may need to be adjusted or the complete door may have shifted. To adjust the garage door opener itself you will need to consult the service manual. If the complete garage door has somehow shifted, it may be best to call a garage door professional to fix this. You may find the problem yourself by thoroughly examining the door tracks to make sure none are bent.


Garage Door Opener Troubleshooting Step By Step

Garage Door Replacement Parts ChartGarage Door Replacement Parts Chart

If you have other reasons a garage door may not fully close all the way, please leave a comment below to assist our other readers.

2 thoughts on “Garage Door Will Not Close All The Way – Leaves Gap At Bottom”

  1. Hi my electric garage door won’t close fully – leaves a small gap at the bottom once shut. I can manually push the door right into the frame but it won’t stay like it. When it was fitted it was fine and then it had to be replaced because of this “warping”. Now the replacement door has done the same. It happens within months of replacement. I have two garage doors one is electric and one is manual. I only have the issue with the electric door. Everyone I ask does not know why this is happening and blames it on the heat being absorbed from the sun as the door is black. But surely the other door would then do the same and it isn’t. Also my friend has a dark door and no issues.

  2. I have an old Blue max chain driven opener and I have problems that my garage door is not closing fully the motor stops before it hit the limit switch. I’ve recently replaced a broken spring.
    do you know what I can do?
    Thanks

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