It’s not every day that one is tasked with searching for a garage repair professional. However, sometimes the unforeseen can happen: a garage door that won’t open, broken or old door springs, or even a garage door keypad that has decided to take the day off. Whatever the case, finding a professional and skilled garage repair professional can be a challenge, so in this article, we give you several tips on how to find one that will get the job done right!
Choose a Professional Company
A reputable garage door repair company will staff skilled and highly trained repair professionals. They often list their certifications and awards on their website or can be found through credentialing agencies. A professional company will also carry insurance. This is a vital component of choosing someone to work with to avoid your property damage or any potential lawsuits that could result from someone or something being harmed.
Word of Mouth Recommendations & Referrals
Chances are, you know someone who owns a garage. While it may not be an everyday topic of conversation, many people have used garage repair professionals for their garage door needs. Asking around is often a great way to choose a professional that has already established trust and rapport with those in your community.
Overall Reputation
In terms of overall reputation, looking for a garage repair professional who either works for a well-established company or a professional who has developed a solid small business can eliminate future problems with your property or with getting matters resolved. To check the overall reputation, look at online reviews, presence in the local community, or their status with organizations like the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Opt for Locally Owned and Operated
A locally owned and operated repair company is an excellent option for many reasons, mainly because they care about the community they serve, thus ensuring you receive quality services and support. In addition, it can also be an easy way for you to contribute to your local economy.
Length of Time in Business
Everyone has to start fresh, but when selecting a company to work with for garage repairs, choose a company that knows what they are doing. Time means experience and with experience comes better repairs.
Contact Garage Door Repair Today!
Garage Door Repair has been in operation for over 100 years and has over 450+ locally owned and operated locations with results you can trust. If you or someone you know needs garage repairs, maintenance, or anything in between, contact us at Garage Door Repair so we can put our 100+ years of work to the test!
Considering DIY Garage Door Repair?
Here are a few reasons you might want to reconsider…
A sign in a Pennsylvania bicycle repair shop reads:
LABOR RATE
$ 50.00 per hour
$ 75.00 if you watch
$ 100.00 if you help
$ 200.00 if you worked on it first
There’s a lesson here and it is that the bicycle repairman has learned from years of experience that some things are more complicated than they look, more dangerous, and in the long run, more expensive. DIY attempts to perform door work might well carry the familiar warning ‘don’t try this at home’.
Of course homeowners can and should inspect their doors, apply lubrication, and look for obvious signs of wear. This includes things like listening to doors and operators in motion, or checking to see if the perimeter weatherstripping is doing the job, all the while using common sense as you would with any large moving object.
List of safe DIY Garage Door Inspections
- Park your vehicles outside, close the door and see if it moves smoothly.
- Disconnect the door from the operator and move it by hand. Does it stay closed? Does it drift down from the open position?
- Look to see if it sits level on the garage floor.
- Does it clear the header when in the fully open position?
- Check to see if the photo eyes are clean and properly aligned.
- Inspect the sections inside and out; worn or damaged sections can mean that the door no longer provides security for the home, and could cause property damage and serious bodily injury.
- Is the operator plugged in correctly?
- Make sure the track is fastened securely to the jambs, look for frayed cables, broken springs, worn rollers, and loose fasteners.
Be mindful of the fact that to the untrained eye it’s easy to miss something that is worn, loose, or broken.
Doing these things should be a regular part of household maintenance. If you are handy around the house go ahead and snug up a loose fastener, tap that nail that holds the weatherstrip to the jamb, clean and lube the door as necessary. When a serious problem arises, however, it’s best to turn to an expert for help.
3 Serious Reasons to reconsider DIY Garage Door Repair
- Tools. An experienced garage door repairman will have the proper ladders, specialized tools, and the correct parts needed to fix most problems. He will also have things the homeowner won’t have and can’t buy at a big box store: cold rolled steel winding bars of various sizes, aircraft cable, special cable pulleys, operator parts, spring stock and gauges, torches and much more. Hammers, screwdrivers and pliers are good for small jobs around the house, but of little use, and can cause injury, when performing proper garage door repairs.
- Training. Another consideration is that with overhead garage doors things must be done in the proper order. What’s the first step to take to adjust, replace, or wind a spring? Are repairs made with the door in the open or closed position? How would you attach a new cable to a spring, drum, or bottom fixture? If you attempted to do the work yourself, how would you test it to see if it was okay? Tested it safely, that is. The garage door spring is among the most dangerous repairs and can result in serious injury, or even death, if not done correctly.
- Ladders. It sounds simple, however, each year thousands of people are injured or killed in home-related accidents. And, almost without exception, the number one leading cause is always falls. The Home Safety Council says falls account for roughly 6,000 deaths annually. While you’re always susceptible to a fall, you should do everything you possibly can to avoid situations where falls are particularly dangerous. This includes climbing ladders to fix garage door issues.
The old definition of an expert was someone who came from more than 50 miles away and was carrying a briefcase. Mark Twain joked that an expert was just a regular fellow from the next town over. Our factory trained technicians are close at hand, have a truck full of parts and specialized equipment and have something else in their tool kits – Safety. In most trades, a pinch, a cut, and a bump on the head are all common on-the-job injuries, and as a result workers quickly learn from experience how to do things the right way, the safe way. In our business training and experience are top priorities.
Safety is a serious concern at all large major companies. Some multi-national corporations go so far as to cease production at every facility they own if there is an accident with injury anywhere in their system. Full reports and appropriate instructions are sent to all parties at every location and orders are issued before operations are resumed. That’s serious. Being safe is a priority for them and good word of advice for a homeowner.
If you decide to do the work yourself remember that you can fall, and things can fall on you. As well, DIYers working on a garage door can and do sustain cuts, bruises, broken bones, eye injuries, even electrical shocks, all as result of not having the right tools, parts, and experience.
Above all else, safety is the key factor in making the decision to use a professional.
Be safe, DDIY. Contact Your Local Garage Door Expert Today.
Leave Garage Door Springs to the Experts!
Most people give little thought to their garage doors, until they try to open them and they no longer work. Often, problems with a garage door occur because of garage door springs. Garage door springs are tightly wound, meaning they are under a lot of tension. If your garage door springs break, do not attempt to tackle the replacement job on your own — your safety is at risk if you do. Some of the parts involved in such a process can be life threatening, and must be handled with care and precision, which is why it is always recommended that you call in a professional, rather than trying to handle a replacement yourself.
If you are calling a garage door repair service, you are already making the right move. Do-it-yourself garage door projects can be dangerous for non-professionals as garage doors and accessories are heavy and unpredictable. Serious injuries can be suffered.
It is not enough to call just any repair service. There are some questionable companies that may deceive you to thinking they will save your day when it comes to a broken garage door system. In the end, however, these companies may add to your problem instead of solving it.
A reputable company, like Overhead Door, will have stellar reviews from a multitude of satisfied customers. No company will ever have 100 percent perfect ratings but if you see that a strong majority of customers have provided favorable testimonials, you can feel good about reaching out for a service request.
A second indicator of a quality garage door service company is its transparency. If you are unable to easily locate information on the company’s experience level or find a detailed description of the services provided, you will want to avoid working with them. A reliable garage door service company will be transparent with every aspect of their service, experience and expertise.
A third indicator of a reputable company is their physical location. Do they have a showroom? Can you drive to their shop to pick up parts? Company’s that operate out of an office with a physical location are more likely to stand behind their work and honor any warranty.
Before hiring a garage door repair company, be sure to do your homework! Our company only provides information to the most trusted and proven garage door repair company in your town.