How to Balance an Overhead Door

Open the garage door to take the tension off of the springs. Place a 6-foot step ladder under the bottom edge of the door if it will not stay open on its own.

Grasp one of the horizontally-mounted door springs near the garage ceiling to ensure that it has no tension. The spring should feel loose and not rigid.

Remove the hook in the spring from the hole in the door bracket mounted on the garage ceiling.

Place the hook in the door spring into the next highest hole in the bracket if the door has too much spring tension and is opening or closing rapidly. Place the spring hook into the next lowest hole if the spring tension is weak and the door is heavy to lift or will not stay open.

Repeat the procedure for the opposite door spring.

Lower the garage door so that the bottom of the door is 3 feet off the garage floor. Place a 3-foot level on the underside of the door. Ensure the bubble in the level is between the two marks. Open the door and loosen the tension on the high side or increase the tension on the low side if the bottom of the door was not level. Repeat this procedure as many times as necessary until the bottom of the garage door is level and the door raises and lowers slowly with little effort.