A garage door can get stuck—up, down, halfway—and, when it’s stuck, do you know how to get it moving again? Of course, by the laws of nature, the garage door will stick at the worst time: when your late for work, with a car full of kids on a freezing day, or when you’re on your way to an important dinner. Even the most well-built garage door, cared for with regular maintenance, can get stuck. The first step is to diagnose the problem: is the door stuck a fault of the opener? Or is it with the door itself?

If the garage door opener has caused the garage door to stick, the door will retreat when the emergency cord is pulled. The emergency cord disengages the electronic garage door opener. This is a safety precaution built into the garage door. Try to move the door by hand—a half open door should be handled with extreme caution, as a falling garage door can be a very serious, threatening thing—if the door moves easily in the track, it’s the opener. If, however, the door remains stuck in position, it’s the door itself.

It could be as simple as an obstruction in the door’s track. Check the track, the area near the rollers, etc. for any possible catches. Loose hardware, such as a screw, could have fallen between the roller and the track.

There are many things that can affect a garage door from opening properly. Weather changes, a broken spring or pulley, or even an obstruction can be culprits. Most times, when the door is stuck, it is best to call a garage door professional. The garage door professional can temper with a force-adjustment mechanism that applied to the door. If you are unsure of the proper tensioning of these adjustment mechanisms, you could cause the door to fail to stop when it should and this could cause injury or death.

 Springs and Pulleys are best left to the pros. Springs are very dangerous to repair or replace if you don’t know what you are doing, because they are held up under great tension.

If you have any questions about how to handle a stuck garage door, it’s best to call a pro, but, with this simple checklist, you may be able to determine the cause much quicker.