Garage Door Repair vs. Garage Door Replacement: Which Do You Need?

How to Know When It’s Time to Repair or Replace Your Garage Door

Out with the old, in with the new! That’s one way to look at things, but while familiar sayings may ring true, there’s usually more to decision making than that. The important thing to remember is that any time you have to make a choice there are several things to consider, things unique to you and your set of circumstances. Evaluating your wants, needs, and desires, tempered with practical considerations, can help you get the best results. Your garage door is damaged. Sure, you want the door to work properly. You need to be able to live and work as you did before. And like most people you desire the best, newest, safest, quietest garage door available. There are several ways to approach this.

Signs You May Need a Replacement

Example #1: Car versus door leaves you with a dented section.

Dented garage door section

Some considerations:

  • Proper, safe, section replacement by homeowners is usually not practical. In many cases a section replacement may be half the price of a new door.
    Get a new door. This gives you a chance to have the latest features, perhaps better insulation, new color choices, better weatherstrip, maybe a row of windows. You’ll have a new warranty too.
  • What if you have two doors on your garage and the new product won’t match the old? As well, a replacement section may not look exactly the same as the rest of the door due to the natural fading which, depending on the age and location of the door could be very noticeable.
  • If the door has had a lot of use, wear parts like rollers and cables may cause trouble and expense in the future.
  • Have you had a number of service calls in the past? Springs have a limited life and can fail after a specified number of cycles–maybe not long after you replace the damaged section.
  • How old is the door? How old are you? (Sounds funny, but consider this for all major purchases.)
  • Do you plan to stay in the house?
  • What was the condition of the door before it was hit? Have you already had a service call because of the accident?

Signs You May Only Need a Repairinside of a garage door

Example #2: The door does not work properly.

Some considerations:

  • Inspect the door, inside and out, for obvious defects like broken cables or springs.
  • While the door is in the down position, disconnect it from the operator, if applicable. Open the door. If it is heavy, or noisy, return it to the closed position and lock it in place. Have your Garage Door Repair technician check the door.
  • If there are major problems, the same principles shown above apply: How old is it, overall condition, how often it’s used, your plans to stay in the house, etc. In many cases a simple repair is the best way to go.
  • The door may not be connected to the operator drawbar arm.

Example #3: Your operator is not working.

Some considerations:

  • There may be loss of power to the unit.old garage door operator
  • Photo eyes may be dirty or out of alignment. Note: that service technicians will not repair any operator that does not have external safety devices, such as photo eyes, making total operator replacement the only option available to the homeowner.
  • There could be an obstruction in the opening.
  • The problem may be with the door, not the operator.
  • The low voltage wiring to the wall button may be loose or broken.
  • Transmitter batteries may be weak. Light bulb replacement is an easy task.
  • With an operator, the age of the unit is a major consideration since there is ongoing improvement in the technology available that gives owners more convenience and security than ever before. Unless there is a very simple fix, operator replacement and the benefits to the homeowner make this an easy choice.

Let Us Help

Decision time. Ask yourself what’ll you have when the job is finished. In summary, because of the tools and techniques needed there’s little a homeowner can safely do to fix a door problem, so whether to fix an existing door/operator, or installing new equipment is a question of value. Calculate this by looking at the facts, list the pros and cons and see what will be the best choice for you. Often one of these–the pros or cons–will far outnumber the other.

At GarageDoorRepair.com, we connect you with local garage door repair experts from around the country. Find a locally licensed company with highly-trained technicians who can provide garage door repair replacement services in both commercial and residential settings.

hanging garage door

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