Lower Keys
Door Stuck Mid-Travel in Key West
A Key West door that dies halfway is usually the balance, a roller, or an operator that is only reporting the weight. The island makes the stakes plainer than the mechanism. US-1 has already ended by the time a van reaches these lanes. A missed part is not a loop around the block. North Roosevelt and White Street carry a lot of the local runs, and some streets are one-way or too narrow for a van to stand in. Say which kind of street you are on when you call, and say whether the opening is a cottage, an older concrete house, or a raised house on the newer fill.
What the stall is telling you
Say whether the leaf is up, down, or cocked, and whether the wall button still moves the trolley. A hum with no travel means stop pressing the button. The motor is often fine and the counterbalance is not. Pull the release only when the door feels about as heavy as it did when it was healthy and it stays where you leave it. If the leaf shoots up or drops, the springs are not safe to disconnect. Clear the opening and wait for the crew.
What we separate on site
We test the balance by hand before we condemn the operator. A tired spring, a flat roller, and a motor that is only struggling with the weight are three different repairs, and Key West is a poor place to guess wrong and come back tomorrow for the cone. If you can see one spring or two without touching a set screw, that detail helps us load the truck. Bearings and cables are checked when the door has been running in salt air, because a stall that looks like a roller is sometimes a cable that has started to let go at a chalky bottom fixture.
Old blocks and newer fill
Cottage lanes and the newer fill are both Key West, and they are not the same driveway. A beam across a cottage opening changes headroom and how we handle the shaft. A raised house changes where the eyes and the operator live, often in open air rather than a drywall garage. West sun on a door face is a clue about hardware that has chalked, not a diagnosis by itself. Chloride at the bottom fixture often shows before the top of the door looks tired. Mention it if you have noticed pale scale at the lower corners.
What to have ready
Tell us the door position, whether the trolley still runs, and whether the stall started with a bang or a gradual grind. Say if the house is a cottage, older concrete, or a raised house on the newer fill, and whether the lane is one-way or too narrow for a van. One spring or two, if you can see them from the floor, helps, along with a photo of the opening from the street so we can see the approach.
Call when it is cocked or open
An open door on a lane people walk is a phone call. A door that is down and simply will not start can use the form. We call back to set the visit, and the lane detail is what keeps the first stop from being the wrong width of street.
Request this visit.
Call (645) 256-1794 about this door.
We answer any hour Sunday through Friday.
Saturday stays closed.
Keys Door Co is family-owned, local, and insured.
We have worked this coast for over ten years.
Common questions
The opener hums and the door does not move. Is the motor finished?
Often the motor is fine and the balance or a roller is not. Stop pressing the button until someone has seen the door.
Can I pull the red release and lift the door?
Only if the door feels normal in the hand and stays where you put it. If it rushes up or falls, leave the release alone and keep people out of the opening.
Does a stalled door on a raised house need a different repair?
The mechanism is the same idea: balance, rollers, or the operator. The opening is at grade under the living floor, often wetter and harder to square a van up to.
Request service
Name the street and whether the door is up, down, or stuck.
- Repairs and replacement parts
- Openers and controls
- New garage doors