If you discover your garage sagging while open, it may need maintenance or repair.
Over time, a garage door may begin to sag during operation or while it’s open. You will notice the individual panels appear loose and buckled.
In this article, we’re taking a closer look at how to repair a buckled garage door.
Why Do Garage Doors Buckle?
There are several reasons why your garage door has buckled. These include:
Exposure to harsh weather conditions
Have you had heavy rain, wind or hail in the recent past? Anyone of these weather conditions will lead to your door buckling under pressure from them. Harsh weather will often damage panels, so you may find you’ll need to replace them to get your door in working order again.
The door is made of a weak material
Not all garage doors are built the same. If a weaker material has been used to create your door, then you’ll find that it’s prone to buckling. It can be fixed, but when you come to replace your door you’ll want to look into a stronger replacement.
Your door’s tracks are misaligned
The tracks guide your door as it opens and closes. They need to be perfectly aligned with each other. If they come misaligned, you’ll get a stiff or buckled door.
You need a strut
If you’re having problems with the garage door opener, you could need a strut. These ensure the smooth opening and closing of your garage door and reduce the risk of buckling in the future.
Before You Repair Your Garage Door
Before you get to repairing your garage door, you need to ensure that you’re able to complete the task as described here.
If you’re handy with DIY then you’ll find it fairly simple to do. If you’re at all unsure or don’t know where to start, then you need to call in a garage door repair engineer. These experts do this every day and are trained to execute the repair, so they’ll do the best job possible for you.
Once you’re prepared for the repair, you’re ready to get started.
Here’s how to repair a buckled garage door.
How to Repair a Buckled Garage Door
There are a few reasons a garage door may buckle.
It’s important to consider each reason before you start your repair, as this will determine what aspect of the door requires repair. To be understand how to repair a buckled garage door, we’ve outlined three reasons below.
Let’s take a closer look.
If your tracks are misaligned
If this has happened, then you’re going to need to realign the tracks to repair the door. This often happens just with wear over time, or bad weather causing them to bend. Most of the time, you can simply get them back into shape.
To do this, you’ll need to unscrew the brackets holding the tracks to loosen them. Then, gently move the tracks left or right, which will cause the door to move. You can ensure the tracks are aligned when the bottom of the door is level with the crown molding in your garage. To test this, use a vertical level to ensure the tracks are totally aligned. Once you’re sure they are, you can screw the brackets back to the wall, and open and close the door to ensure that your fix has worked.
Be aware that if the damage to your tracks is too much, that you may need to replace them entirely rather than simply align them. If you’re trying to realign them and you’re not getting results, this is a sign you’ll need new tracks.
If the door is still opening and closing
You may not have a buckled door yet, but when you open and close it you’re hearing screeching noises that are unpleasant, to say the least. If this is happening, it’s a sign that you may get a buckled door in the near future. Applying garage door lubricant may help prevent this.
Related: How to Lubricate a Garage Door Yourself
To do this, you’ll need to buy a lubricating spray to grease up all the relevant parts of your garage door. Many homeowners go with WD40 as they believe it to be a lubricant, but this isn’t actually the case. WD40 is actually a solvent, designed to dissolve rust. It may grease your hinges at first, but in fact, it won’t lubricate the garage door in the long run. Instead, pick a lithium-based grease for your door.
To start, you’ll first need to clean the garage door, including the tracks. Use a vacuum cleaner to get into all the cracks and ensure that you’ve got everything. Then, use your grease to get into the hinges, rollers, bearing plates, springs, and the lock. This should lubricate your door thoroughly and keep it working.
If your door needs more support
If this is the case, you’ll need to install a strut. In this case, you may want to bring in a professional to handle the installation for you. It’s important that the strut is installed properly, so if you’re not sure, call in an engineer.
Struts are recommended as they support the garage door as it opens and closes. If you already have a strut installed and the door has buckled, adding another one will help straighten the door out. Indeed, for many doors, multiple struts are needed. A double garage door, for example, works best with three struts installed on it. Remember, having uneven struts on your door, or having inexpertly installed ones, can actually do more harm than good, so ensure they’re being installed correctly.
You’ll also need to consider that the weight of the struts will affect your garage door opening mechanism. You’ll need to recalibrate the mechanism to account for the added weight on your garage door. Be sure you do this, or you’ll find you’ll actually do more damage to the system over time.
There are several reasons your garage door could be buckling, ranging from misaligned tracks to bad weather. Whatever the reason, it isn’t too difficult to repair the damage. Ensure that the door is properly supported with struts, and realign your tracks if you need to. Proper maintenance of your garage door will ensure that this doesn’t happen again.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to repair a buckled garage door, you’re ready to get started.
Be sure to follow the steps outlined above before you start. If you’re not too familiar with the various mechanics of your overhead garage door, you may want to consider contacting a professional garage door repair service company for help.