My garage door stops short of the floor, why in Richardson?

Look at the Photo Eyes First

A garage door that won't close all the way is usually stopped by the safety sensors, not the door itself. Look for the two small eyes mounted low on each track, roughly six inches off the slab. If one is knocked out of alignment, coated in dust, or catching direct sun, the opener reverses the door instead of letting it seat. This shows up often after yard work or a bike gets leaned against the track. Before calling anyone, wipe both lenses and check that their small indicator lights are steady, not blinking, then try closing the door again.

Alignment drifts more than people expect in homes off Campbell Road and Arapaho Road, where older slab foundations have shifted slightly over the years from clay soil movement. Even a quarter-inch tilt on one bracket can throw the beam off just enough to trip the safety reversal. Loosen the wing nut, resight the sensor toward its partner, and retighten once the light holds steady.

Check the Travel Limit Setting

With the sensors ruled out, look at how far down the opener lets the door run before it stops. Homes near Canyon Creek and Prairie Creek often sit on lots that settled unevenly, so a limit set months ago may now stop the door a half inch short of the slab. Most openers have a labeled dial or button pair for this adjustment near the motor housing, and small turns matter more than you'd expect.

This setting tends to slip after a breaker trip during a spring hailstorm, or after a remote gets reprogrammed following a power blip. It is not always a sign of new equipment or a fresh install. Homes near Duck Creek and Prairie Creek that lost power during a fast-moving storm sometimes come back with the opener's memory reset, and the travel limit is the first thing to check afterward.

Rule Out a Blocked Track

With sensors and limits cleared, walk both tracks from the header down to the slab. A shifted storage bin, a garden tool leaned against the rail, or a bracket loosened by slab settling can all stop the door a few inches early. Look closely where the track bolts to the frame near the header, since that's where movement in the opening shows up first.

When the rail is empty and the limit looks right, weight is the likely culprit. Springs stiffen in the cold snaps Richardson gets most winters, and a door that used to close smoothly may now fight gravity on the way down. An opener forcing a door against worn springs can trip its own safety reversal near the bottom, which looks identical to a sensor problem but isn't.