Should You Repair Your Garage Door Yourself?
Should You Repair Your Garage Door Yourself?
It’s always tempting to try and fix things around the house before calling in a professional, especially if you tend to be a handy person! There is a lot of money to be saved by putting in some sweat equity of your own instead of hiring someone. But should you attempt to do your own repairs when it comes to your garage door?
There are some fairly simple repairs that it’s probably ok to try yourself, such as lubricating the tracks, tightening bolts and screws, or replacing the weatherstripping. However, many repairs that are needed on garage doors are either not safe to do on your own or quite complicated. To avoid injury or making the problem worse and more expensive in the long run, here is a list of potential hazards that can be avoided by hiring a professional garage door technician:
Extension springs (torsion springs) unloading
These are the heavy-duty springs that help raise and lower electric garage doors. They are under very high tension and can cause extreme damage if they were to accidentally unload with a large amount of force. This can happen when the springs become corroded, or loose, or if there is a glitch during an attempted repair and could cause severe injuries.
Falling garage doors
Garage doors typically weigh between 200 and 500 pounds. This amount of weight freefalling could crush a person, pet, or car. Additionally, a broken garage door could crash down at any time, cracking your cement floor and creating costly damage. Garage door technicians have the proper tools to keep a garage door stable while they are working on the repair.
Incorrect diagnosis or using the wrong parts
Garage door manufacturers create specific parts for their doors. Sometimes these parts aren’t easily available to the public, causing some to improvise or purchase generic parts. Doors are made of many complex parts that can be complicated to install. Using incorrect pieces will lead to more damage, more costs, and increased danger.
Detached garage doors
Overuse or inclement weather can cause your garage door to detach from the tracks, rendering it useless. It may look like an easy fix of just lifting the door back into the correct position, but don’t be tempted! Garage doors are extremely heavy and you could find yourself in a dangerous situation – also performing this fix yourself will likely only be temporary and the door will detach again without professional expertise.
Voided warranty
Like all expensive, mechanical home items, your garage door will likely have some kind of warranty. If you try a DIY repair to your door, the warranty will automatically be void because they don’t cover “modifications” by the homeowner. An attempt at fixing your garage door falls under this category and you will no longer be able to claim the warranty.
There are plenty of things that you CAN do to keep your garage in good shape so that your calls to a repair technician will be few and far between. It’s always important to wash the door and keep it free from dirt and debris. Painting garage doors every few years is also highly recommended to preserve the material. But for anything beyond simple lubrication, tightening hardware, or cosmetic maintenance, please practice safety and call a professional garage door technician!