12 Reasons for Hiring a Professional Garage Door Repair Company

Most American homes have a garage. A quick look around the neighborhood will show you a variety of garage doors — from all metal to wooden, to modern style all-glass doors. What these doors have in common is that they need to be taken care of in order to maintain peak functionality.

The many moving parts, daily use, and constant exposure to outdoor elements tend to take their toll. It is best to find a garage door technician to access and repair the problem at the first sign of trouble. But, the DIY crowd will tend to disagree, so let’s discuss this further — professional vs. DIY garage door installation.

Garage Door Repairs: DIY or Hire a Professional?

Most people have a stash of tools and equipment for doing household and car repairs. These tools and the knowledge of using them give people the confidence to do DIY repairs on their garage doors. This is fine as long as they have the skills and resources, and if the repair is not complicated.

Even with a bunch of tools at your disposal, a problematic garage door is a “different animal” compared to a malfunctioning washing machine or a stuck cabinet. Even professionals get hurt when repairing garage doors.

When to Hire an Expert Garage Door Repair Company

There are times when you will look at simple garage door repairs and say, “Yeah, I can fix this.” This is totally fine as it saves money, but the problem is — some people might belittle the amount of repair needed before learning that it’s way over their skill level. This is when they finally ask where and how to find reputable garage door repair companies.

Here’s a short guide on repairs that can be done through DIY and those where you need to find a garage door repair expert.

Go for DIY repairs when dealing with these:

• Replacing a single hinge or replacing a broken glass window can be done if you have the tools;
• Replacing the weather stripping along the panels to insulate the door;
• Minor dents and dings can be solved using a plunger;
• Squeaky noises can be remedied by applying oil or lubricants.

Get a professional if your garage door has these problems:

• Repairing or repairing garage door springs are not for newbies;
• Broken or cracked door panels might require the relocation of the heavy door. This is a two-person job, so definitely call the experts;
• Replacing broken wheels is a complicated repair;
• Deep dents caused by storms or a vehicular accident will require expert hands to change broken frames or a full panel;
• Repairing a broken automatic opener can lead to electrocution. Not for DIY.

12 Reasons to Hire a Professional Garage Door Repair Company

To drive home our point why it is important to hire a professional garage door repair team, we present you with the top 12 reasons to call the experts when your garage door is acting up.

1. You might get injured

The torsion spring is the force that moves your garage door. It is wound super tight. If this spring is accidentally unhinged, the incredible torsion force will be unleashed in a violent manner and can cause hand lacerations, head injuries, lost fingers, and even death.

2. Avoid injury to a family member or pet

Modern garage doors have a safety design feature that reels the door back when it senses an obstacle. But if you have a defective sensor, the doors can easily crush a car — imagine what it can do to anyone who was unfortunate enough to be in the way.

3. Buying the wrong parts

Most garage door parts are not available at hardware stores, and you might be tempted to try using a part that’s “almost” like the original. Buying the wrong parts or using lower quality parts will lead to more repairs in the future. For example, you have a roller with bearings, but you bought a nylon one. This purchase will lead to double expenses, let alone accidents.

4. Not knowing what to fix

Look at a simple analogy, for slight fever and coughs — it’s okay to self medicate and just buy the medicine at the grocery. But in more serious cases, you should never rely on Google to check for medicine. The same goes for fixing garage doors. Not knowing what’s truly wrong will lead to a lot of wasted hours and money. Which leads us to the next reason.

5. Making it worse

When you “shoot from the hip” on your repairs, you put your garage door at risk for more damage. For example, when your garage door is derailed from its track, the solution seems easy enough — just push it until it slides in! But the garage door has an incredible amount of weight, and attempting to fix a door that’s off the rail track is an accident waiting to happen.

6. The repair can “unravel” anytime

When doing DIY repairs, sometimes you think you got it right. The door seems fine: it closes when needed and opens like a charm. Unfortunately, without the necessary expertise, you might miss or misalign a part. Those types of errors might not reveal right away — but can come back to bite you when you least expect it (e.g., doors won’t open when you need to go to a hospital).

7. A weak point in home security

Since most garages are connected to the main house, it is crucial to ensure that the garage doors are secure and working. A broken wood or metal panel can be seen by thieves as a point of entry, especially if the broken panel is large enough for a person to slip through.

8. An unforeseen liability

If you have any plans to sell your house, make sure that your garage doors are operating perfectly. Any injuries sustained by the new owners due to a malfunction, especially if it happened after just a few days or weeks of the purchase — can lead to legal actions against you. If you have proof of professional repair or maintenance, then you are off the hook. However, if you did some DIY repairs that went south — it can work against you.

9. A lower home value

A poorly repaired garage door is a black mark when selling your house. Imagine what prospective buyers will say if they hear your clunky garage door. Calling in the garage experts before the prospects arrive can help you sell the property faster.

10. Repair warranty

Warranties are important because it ensures that the repairs are correct and that remediation will be done if necessary. On top of this, a repair warranty gives you some legal coverage when your garage door injures someone accidentally due to a repeat malfunction.

11. Lack of proper tools

It can be as simple as using scissors instead of a screwdriver or as dangerous as using a weak torsion spring holder. Some of the tools needed for repairing a garage door are not found in the usual toolboxes. Broken windows might seem easy to replace, but without a glass cutter, it’s not doable. So if you lack the tools, it makes no financial sense to buy them since it has limited use for you.

12. Faster repair time

Since you need your garage door up and running quickly, it’s hardly the time to take on a DIY project where you consult Google and YouTube to do trial and error. Find a local garage repair company, so they can easily do a site visit and do repairs on the same day that you experienced the garage problem.

Who to Call to Fix Garage Door Problems

When scrolling through multiple listings to find garage door service and repair companies, one name that will come on top is — STIGarageDoor. We have years of experience in garage door manufacturing, design, installation, repair, and maintenance. We are the garage door experts of choice in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, D.C., with hundreds of satisfied and delighted customers.

Some of our valued customers went through multiple contractors and repair companies before they found us. Our customer-friendly approach, extensive knowledge on garage doors, and reasonable price are just some of the reasons cited by customers why they choose us over others.

Final Thoughts

Garage doors are made to last, so homeowners don’t usually think about having a repairman on speed-dial. When they need to hire a garage door repair professionals, it is usually an emergency or something that’s made worse because of previous DIY repair attempts. So the next time your garage door is loud, creaky, squeaking, and grinding, call us in to do same-day repairs or install a replacement. All it takes is a phone call to our friendly team — and we will do the rest.

STI Garage Door

Operating in the garage door industry for over 25 years, STI Garage Door is dedicated to quality service and excellence in everything.

The company is a proud partner to the top brands in the field — LiftMaster for commercial door openers and Amarr and Clopay for residential and commercial doors.