Garage Door Repair: DIY or Think Twice

If you have a garage, then you probably know that the door is key to your happiness, in many ways. The garage door just has to function smoothly, so you don't even think you have a door, in the first place.

Only think what could happen if the garage door got broken or damaged:

If the garage door insulation is not perfect and your garage belongs to the house, your heating bills will be higher, because an inefficient insulation would let the heat escape and bring the cold inside your garage. Then, each time you'll want to enter the garage and open the communication door in your home, you'll have to endure a wave of cold air, so the heaters will have to work hard to neutralize its effects.

If the garage door becomes noisy, this is also not a big happiness. Squeaking is definitely not amongst the world's favorite songs. If it doesn't move as it should, the garage door can even become dangerous. With older models, children were at risk of losing their fingers, or even get severely injured by malfunctioning doors. Modern garage doors have safety systems in place, so they won't hurt humans in case the get damaged.

A garage door that can be opened with a simple push is not the safest of all. Only think at how many burglars are willing to see what you have inside your home and maybe get a slice of your wealth. The garage door should be always locking perfectly. So, you need to periodically check your door to see if it is still intact and closing firmly, without leaving gaps where a crowbar could penetrate.

When a dor becomes very old, it's possible that it can't be fixed anymore, so you should consider replacing it with a new one rather than getting it repaired and pay a small fortune for insulation kits and specialist services.

Back to our garage door repair: the question is should one do it by himself, or it's better to call the specialists? If you asked me, I'd say to call the garage door service company and get somebody at your place to fix it, especially if the malfunctioning part is the opener. Those torsion springs can be real killer if you attempt to replace them without the proper tools and experience. I don't remember now, but I think there are some recent models from Clopay or Genie which have another kind of torsion springs which can be replace inside of a DIY home improvement project, by using an electric screwdriver.

A garage door will have its special particularities, depending on its type. A roller door is not the same as a sectional garage door or an overhead one, despite the fact that they all serve the same purpose: to close your garage opening and keep your car protected from the weather.

This is why any car owner should consioder a garage door repair as main priority when something goes wrong. Postponing repairs is not an option.