A five-minute monthly check for your gate or automatic door
Mount Everest Automatic Doors team5 min readUpdated
Most automatic doors and gates give warning before they fail. They get slower, noisier or less consistent. An owner who looks at the door once a month will see these changes long before a technician is called. This guide gives a routine that takes five minutes and needs no tools.
Before you begin
Choose a time when nobody is passing through. Keep children and pets away from the gate or door for the check. If the equipment is shared with neighbours or a tenant, tell them. Stand where you can see the whole travel of the door. Keep a clean dry cloth and a soft object, such as a cardboard box, to hand.
Step 1: watch a full cycle
Open and close the door or gate with the normal remote or button. Watch the whole movement. You are looking for:
- A start that hesitates or jerks.
- A speed that changes along the travel when it did not before.
- A stop that is short of the end or hits the end hard.
- A wobble, rubbing or visible flex in a gate leaf.
- A garage door that hangs crooked or lifts unevenly on one side.
Write down anything you notice with the date. A short note such as "slower at the end, new tick" helps a technician more than a general complaint.
Step 2: listen
Close your eyes for a second cycle and listen. A smooth hum is normal. New sounds are not. Listen for grinding, scraping, squealing or knocking, and for a motor that runs but does not move the door. Grit in a sliding gate track makes a gritty rumble. A dry roller squeals. Loose fixings rattle. Record a short video if the noise comes and goes, because it may not repeat when a technician arrives.
Step 3: clean what you can reach
Wipe the lens of each photocell with a dry or slightly damp cloth. A film of dust is a common reason for a gate refusing to close. Sweep or brush grit out of a sliding gate track and wipe any visible rails. Clear leaves, sand and small objects from the path of the door. Do not spray lubricant on the track or sensors unless the maker's manual says to; the wrong product can attract dust.
Step 4: test the safety reverse
A moving door or gate must stop or reverse when it meets an obstacle. Test this gently with a soft, light object.
- Place the box on the path of the closing gate or door, low enough to be touched.
- Close it with the remote.
- Watch that the door stops or reverses on contact or when the sensor beam is broken.
If it does not, stop using the equipment and call us. Do not test with your hand, your foot or a person. If the door crushes the box instead of reversing, do not keep testing; remove the box and stop using the door.
Step 5: check the manual release
You should know where the manual release is and how it works. Once a month, confirm you can find it and the key, lever or handle is where it should be. If you are not sure how to operate it, ask us to show you again. Do not use the release while the motor is running.
Step 6: look at the structure
Look at hinges, pillars, wall fixings and the base of the track. Rust stains, cracks around fixings, bent rails and loose bolts deserve attention. Look at the bottom edge of a garage door for gaps. Look at glass doors for chips near the edges and frames that have shifted. Note, photograph and report. Do not tighten a structural fixing unless you are sure it is the right one.
Step 7: test every remote and reader
Press each remote. Test the wall button. If the door uses cards, codes or an app, test one of each. A remote that works only near the gate may need a new battery. A reader that misses cards may be dirty or failing. A reader or remote that stops working across the household or the building points to a receiver or controller issue.
What to leave alone
Some parts are not for owners. Garage door springs and cables hold heavy tension and can cause serious injury when they move. Control boxes contain mains voltage. Motors and gearboxes are sealed for a reason. Force and limit settings are set to protect people; changing them to cure a nuisance can remove protection. Call a technician for any of these.
When to call us
Call or message us if any of the following happens: the door does not reverse on the box; it stops partway repeatedly; a new noise persists for more than a day; the door hangs crooked; a spring or cable looks damaged; the control box smells of burning; or the door has been struck by a vehicle. Send a photo or short video with your area. A planned maintenance visit is also a good time to raise a concern you cannot fix.
Keep a log
A one-line entry each month builds a history: date, what you saw, what you did. When a technician arrives, the log shows whether a fault is new or old. It also shows when the last service was.
Seasonal notes for Dubai
After a sandstorm, check tracks and sensors that same day rather than waiting for the monthly check. In the hottest months, notice whether the control box sits in direct sun and whether the door slows down in the afternoon. After heavy rain, check the base of gates and any pit for standing water and look at the ground near a sliding gate track for debris washed in.
A short routine to remember
Watch, listen, wipe, test, release, look, press. Seven verbs, five minutes. If something changes, write it down and tell us.