When It's Time to Hire a Professional to Fix your Garage Door

You know the old expression, “you gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em…” That is certainly the case with DIY repairs, especially when you’re dealing with expensive items that have voidable warranties. Your garage door falls into that category.

DIY Gone Awry? Maybe It’s Time to Hire a Professional Garage Door Installer

It’s a pretty awesome time to be a DIYer. Between blogs and YouTube videos, you can learn how to do or fix just about anything. The problem is that watching and learning isn’t always enough, especially if the repair doesn’t go quite as you thought it would.

One thing to keep in mind: your garage door came with a warranty. If it’s still under warranty, you may risk voiding it if you take on more than you can chew before enlisting the help of a professional. Even if your garage door is out of its warranty period, you don’t want to the expense of an unnecessary replacement as the result of DIY gone awry.

Read, The 1, 2, 3s of Maintaining Your Automatic Garage Door to read a comprehensive list of DIY maintenance tips you can tackle on your own. If you run into trouble, or your gut tells you you’re in over your head, never hesitate to contact a licensed garage door installer to come in and assess the situation.

The following are signs that your automatic garage door issues are in need of professional help.

· Visible damage to the door or track. If there is visible damage to the garage door and/or its track, there isn’t much you’ll be able to do. In most cases, this will require a full replacement of parts.

· There are broken wires or cords. Not only will they need to be replaced, trying to fix them on your own can result in serious injury via electrocution. Additionally, broken wires can result in a garage door that opens and/or closes suddenly and without warning, which is another safety hazard. If you know how to cut the power to the automatic garage door via your circuit breaker, it’s a good idea to do so. Keep people and pets out of the garage and away from the door, and call a professional immediately.

· Inconsistent door movement. First, cut the power to the garage door or pull the emergency release cord to return the door to its lowered position. Then, visually inspect the door track and laser boxes (located at either side of the base of the garage door tracks). If there is visible debris or obstructions along either track and/or make sure the lasers are aligned. Re-connect the door and see if that does the trick. If not, don’t spend any more time. An erratic door is a safety hazard and should be looked at by the pros.

· It’s making crazy sounds. Again, debris on the track or a lack of lubrication could be the culprit so you can read our, “1, 2, 3s…” blog mentioned above to see if that does the trick. In most cases, though, a loud, grinding, whining and/or screechy noise is a sign that the door needs to be professionally repaired or replaced.

· Sagging sections. Are the sections of your garage door sagging? It could be that the door needs to be balanced. Do a quick “balance test” by pulling the release cord and manually moving the door to the half-way spot. If it stays put, you’re fine for now but should call someone to take a look at the sagging part(s). If it starts sliding up or down, the door needs to be balanced.

· It’s off the track. This indicates a damaged door or a damaged track. In either case, it’s dangerous to mess with a door that’s partway off its track. This is job for the professionals.

Looking for a Bay Area garage door repair company? Contact R&S and we’ll be happy to come take a look. We are available for emergency garage door repairs, 24-7, every single day. Give us a call at (925) 671-7606.