It’s crucial to take care of each part of your home to maintain and even increase its value later on. It can be easy to spot problems with areas that are frequently used throughout the day, such as the dining room, kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms. However, you may overlook some issues in your garage, especially since you often just park your car there and go straight inside your home.
One of the main aspects of your garage that you should be mindful of is the door. Regardless whether you have an automatic or manual one, you should inspect it regularly and be extra careful when doing repairs. With that said, here are four tips to help you do garage door repair job right:
1. Determine the problem
Before starting with any project, you must identify and understand the root of the problem first. Otherwise, you’ll only be facing the same concern later on—or, worse, you’ll aggravate the issue.
You should also be aware that there are fixes that you can do yourself, and there are those that should be left to professionals. For particularly complicated issues, it’s best to contact a reputable garage door company near you, as they have the expertise and products you’ll need for repairs or replacements. (1)
Meanwhile, these are common garage door problems that you may be able to handle yourself:
- Noisy garage door – This issue can be annoying for those who sleep in the room above the garage. It’s typically solved by cleaning up, tightening, or replacing a few parts, such as hinges and rollers. (2)
- Frozen garage door – During the winter months, you may find that your garage door doesn’t open or close fully. Don’t force the fixture and locate the icy connection instead and thaw it out using a heat gun or hairdryer.
- Cracked or broken glass – Cracked or broken glass should be replaced and cleaned up immediately to avoid harming the people in your household.
- Safety and security issues – A faulty garage door opener can lead to a safety and security issue. A defective and outdated device can injure you, your loved ones, or damage your car and can make it easy for burglars to penetrate your home.
2. Test everything before you proceed
It’s not enough to just take a look at your garage door and its components to determine what’s wrong. You have to take the time to test the different moving parts. Be on the lookout for a grating or scraping noise, which typically shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Try tightening the hardware as well, since your garage door parts may have just been loosened up by the motion and vibration due to daily use. Test the door balance as well as its auto-reverse feature to verify whether there are problems with the springs and sensors.
3. Know what you need for the repairs
Once you’ve gotten to the root of the problem, you should also check the tools and materials that you’ll need. Some of the basic equipment you should have are an adjustable wrench, clamps, drill, hammer, pliers, winding bars, and a socket/ratchet set, among others. On the other hand, you might also want to purchase materials depending on what the project needs like brackets, springs, and cables. (3)
4. Perform regular maintenance
As people always say, prevention is better than cure. You have to perform regular maintenance on your garage door system to stay on top of things. This way, you can detect early signs of problems with the fixture.
This doesn’t mean, though, that you should pore over every little unusual sound or component and become obsessed with repairs. Just be mindful of the operations and stay alert when something out of the ordinary occurs.
Conclusion
Your garage door is a crucial part of your home. It protects your car from the elements and prevents burglars as well as pests from entering and residing in your property.
You must make sure to fix your garage door when you encounter problems with its operations. While you should definitely leave complicated repairs to the pros, there are some tasks you can DIY, such as cleaning out and replacing some components.
Equip yourself with the right tools, knowledge, and skills to ensure that your DIY repairs are done correctly. You don’t want to waste time and resources on fixing your garage door yourself, only to aggravate the problem and end up spending more than what you would’ve shelled out when you hired professional help. Follow the tips in this post to know you’re doing it right.
References
- “FYI: When to DIY and When Not to DIY Garage Door Repairs”, Source: https://www.proliftdoors.com/st-louis/about-us/blog/2019/march/fyi-when-to-diy-and-when-not-to-diy-garage-door-/
- “3 Common Garage Door Repairs You Can DIY and One You Shouldn’t”, Source: https://www.clopaydoor.com/blog/post/2020/02/02/3-common-garage-door-repairs-you-can-diy-and-one-you-shouldn-t
- “How to Repair Garage Door Springs and Cables”, Source: https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/advanced-garage-overhead-door-repairs/
