Questions, answered

A-1 Door Services is owned and run by Sturdy Todd. He started the business in Charlotte in 1985 and still runs it today.

The number is (704) 536-0913. It is the number on the business’s Google, Better Business Bureau and Nextdoor listings. If you reached a different number, you may have called a different company.

No. A-1 Door Services is an independent Charlotte business owned by Sturdy Todd, with one phone number, (704) 536-0913. It is not part of, or affiliated with, any other company that uses A1 in its name.

Since 1985. The business has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2005 and holds an A+ rating there.

Garage doors. Repairs, broken spring replacement, opener repair and installation, new garage doors, and tune-ups.

Charlotte and roughly 30 miles around it, which takes in towns such as Matthews, Concord, Huntersville, Mooresville and Gastonia. If you are not sure, call and ask.

Call (704) 536-0913. Say what the door is doing and where you are, and you will be told when someone can come out.

Do not force the door or keep running the opener. Call (704) 536-0913 and say the car is trapped. A door that will not lift usually has a broken spring, and forcing it can damage the opener or the door.

Repair it if the door itself is sound. Most problems are a failed part such as a spring, roller, hinge or opener, and the door has years left once that part is replaced. Replacement makes sense when panels are rotted, badly dented or no longer available.

Not if it is crooked, very heavy, or dropping fast. Those point to a spring or cable problem, and a garage door is the heaviest moving thing in most homes. Stop using it and call.

Usually, yes. Inspection failures are most often the auto-reverse setting, the safety sensors or the door balance. Customers have called A-1 for exactly this and had it corrected in one visit.

You should not. The spring is what carries the weight of the door, so without it you are lifting the full weight and the opener can burn out trying. If your car is trapped inside, call and say so.

In most cases, yes. Springs on the same door were fitted together and have done the same number of lifts, so when one breaks the other is close behind. Replacing both keeps the door balanced.

It is not a job to try at home. Garage door springs are wound under very high tension and cause serious injuries every year. This is one to leave to someone who does it every week.

That is almost always the safety sensors. They are the two small units near the floor on each side of the door, and if they are dirty, bumped out of line or failing, the opener refuses to close. Wipe the lenses and check they face each other. If the light still blinks, call.

Repair it if the fault is a sensor, a remote, a setting or a single board. Replace it when the motor or gears have failed, or when parts are no longer made for it.

Customers have had that done. Call first with the make and model so you know before you buy that it suits your door.

If the panels are solid and parts are still available, a repair is normally the better spend. A new door is worth it when the panels themselves are failing or you want insulation or a different look.

Yes. Customers mention the old door being hauled away as part of the installation.

Not always. If your opener is in good order and suits the weight of the new door, it can usually stay. That gets checked when the door is quoted.

About once a year for a door in daily use. It is a short visit, and it is far cheaper than an emergency call when a worn part finally lets go.

Keep the sensor lenses clean, keep the tracks clear of debris, and listen for changes. Leave the springs, cables and bottom brackets alone. Those parts are under tension.

Often, yes. One Charlotte customer wrote that they still have their original door and that Sturdy has kept it in great shape.