If your garage door needs repair and you believe you are able to repair it yourself, it’s important to approach the project with safety in mind. Working with garage doors and garage door openers can be dangerous if you’re not careful.
In this article, you will discover how to repair garage door safely so you can avoid dangerous situations that may result in injury.
How To Repair Garage Door Safely
As careful as you are with your garage door, every now and then you’ll find you need to do some repairs on it. Whether a part has worn out and needs replacing, or the door itself has been dented and needs to be fixed, you can make the repair yourself. Here’s how to do these repairs safely, and get the door looking good as new again.
Here’s how to repair garage door safely …
A Note On DIY Repairs
Every repair in this guide will be possible to do by yourself. There are lots of guides that go into more detail when you’re looking for help. If you’re feeling confident and think you can take on that repair, read the guide carefully and then go for it. If you’re at all unsure as to what to do, you’ll need to think about whether you can do it yourself.
Your garage door is safe when it’s working, but if you’re handling a repair you’ll see that they can be dangerous to you and your property. If you’re not confident in doing a repair yourself, then it’s a good idea to call in an expert to handle it for you. They’re experienced in doing garage door repairs, and you’ll be sure that they’ll handle the job safely.
If you’re looking to do a garage door repair yourself, ensure that you know what steps to take, and take precautions to keep yourself throughout the whole process.
Garage Door Spring Repair
When you look up how to repair a garage door, this is the job you’ll see come up first. Your garage door springs are designed to give your door the tension it needs to open and close. Like any moving part, they wear out over time, and they’ll become less effective. If you find your garage door won’t open, the problem may be related to tension springs. If this is the case, you may need to call a professional garage contractor for help, as repairing springs can be very dangerous.
In the majority of cases, you’ll need an expert to come and handle this job for you. This is because even when they’re less effective, those springs will still pose a danger to you. They’re still storing a lot of energy, and if you’re not careful they will come away and cause damage.
If you can replace them yourself, remember to take safety precautions. When you do so you’ll need to take several steps, including using a C clamp to secure the tube to the bracket, before you release it. This stops the spring from coming away at that point, keeping you safe.
Garage Door Hinge Repair
Another common repair job is your garage door hinges. These hinges allow your door to follow the track more closely and eliminate the need for swinging. Again, like any moving part though, they will need to eventually be replaced through wear and tear. If the hinges are broken, it’s time to swap them out.
To keep yourself safe during this repair, you need to get the garage door held in place. This is to stop it falling on top of you while you’re working. You can take the hinges off while the door is down, but this does represent it’s own challenges. If you do this, the springs could open the door on you, again resulting in injury.
The best thing to do is to lock the garage door in an open position, so it cannot move while you’re working on it. That way, you can replace the hinges without having to worry about the door moving.
Garage Door Photo Eye Repair
The electronic components on your garage door make it much more easy to use every day. You can open it up at the touch of a button, and you’ll never have to touch it. This is great, but it does create new problems if a part of the system starts to break down.
This is especially true in the case of the garage door sensor. This is what detects whether your car is in the path of the garage door or not. If it detects the car there, it won’t allow the door to close until you move. This is an essential safety feature, but sometimes it won’t work as it should.
To repair it is simple, but you will need to take some steps to keep yourself safe. Firstly, you need to test whether the eye can still detect anything in the path. The best way to do this is to put a piece of wood in the doorway and try to shut the door. That way if the door doesn’t auto-reverse, nothing should be injured or damaged.
In most cases, you’ll find that the garage door sensor needs alignment or cleaning. When cleaning the eye, ensure that you turn off or disconnect the power to the garage door opener, in order to keep yourself safe when cleaning them.
Garage Door Dent Repair
Finally, sometimes you’ll have to deal with repairing a dent in your garage door. These are easily done, from someone edging a car too far towards the door, or a storm bringing hailstones that batter the door. However the door was dented, you can get it back out and make the door look as good as new.
There are several ways you can repair the dent. You can use a 2×4 piece of wood on the back of the dent and hammer it in order to hammer the metal back into shape, or you can use aluminum foil and a lighter to ‘pop’ it back into shape, depending on the severity of the dent.
When using these methods, make sure you’re taking all usual safety precautions, such as keeping pets and children away and pointing the flame away from you, in the case of the lighter method.
As you can see, you can do a lot of garage door repairs yourself, as long as you’re careful about how you do them. The important thing to remember is that you should know what you’re capable of. If you’re ever unsure of how to do a repair, or you don’t feel confident, ensure that you call in an expert to help you.