Most homeowners pride themselves on being able to handle certain tasks around the house and yard. It gives us a sense of accomplishment, a feeling that we have control over our own property. But many people take the desire to be a master of the DIY lifestyle a little too far – especially when it comes to repairing their own garage door.
While there are some repairs or maintenance tasks that are relatively easy and safe to perform, this doesn’t always apply to garage doors. That’s because they’re so large, heavy and have so many working parts that one oversight can lead to a serious safety issue. Always take into account the inherent dangers of attempting a repair to your garage door. In fact, for the big things, we recommend you call a professional to preserve the integrity of your door as well as ensure the safety of you and your family.
Here’s why you should leave most repairs up to the pros:
You Could Make Problems Worse
There’s no replacement for experience and knowledge when it comes to garage door repair. One of the most common drawbacks of attempting a DIY repair is that you risk making the problem worse. When you worsen the problem, you end up spending a lot more money and your valuable time trying to make it right. In the end, you will likely have to hire a professional anyway to fix what you did.
A pro, on the other hand, can diagnose the issue, recommend a repair, and then execute that repair efficiently.
Tools are Expensive
Making repairs to your garage door requires a specialized set of tools that you likely don’t have in your tool bench already. You could go out and buy the tools you need, but in the end, buying those tools is just not worth the investment.
Professional technicians will arrive at your property with all the proper tools and equipment, and the knowledge to use them effectively.
You Could Cause an Accident
Many things can go wrong during a DIY garage door repair, but these three accidents are the most common:
- Falls: Many garage door repairs require you to get up on a stool, ladder or other elevated surface, putting you at risk of a fall, to be sure. But these also put you closer to the ceiling, which can hamper your movements and place you in even more situations that could make a fall more likely. If you were to fall, you could not only injure yourself or someone standing nearby, you could damage the equipment that you’re working on.
- Springs: This is the biggest danger you face as a homeowner when attempting a DIY door repair. Torsion springs happen to be under a huge amount of tension and pressure. You need these two components to ensure your garage door raises and lowers with ease, but these same two components can also turn repair dangerous or deadly in an instant. Professionals know how to work with torsion springs and prevent them from being projectiles.
- Collapses: Garage doors can weigh hundreds of pounds. When you’re inexperienced, the likelihood of a garage door and all its weight collapsing on you skyrockets.
Tackle Light Garage Door Maintenance Instead
While garage door repairs may be dangerous for DIY’ers, garage door maintenance tends to be much easier on the weekend warrior. When the rollers and tracks need lubrication, this is a job you can handle with relative ease. You can also take it upon yourself to check for signs of wear and tear, look for cracks, check for compromised weather stripping, and clean your garage door. Anything more involved than that warrants a call to a professional.
Contact M&M Garage Doors
Not confident you can make a repair on your own? We prefer you call us rather than risk your safety! Contact M&M Doors at (586) 610-5434 or fill out our online form for repairs, inspections, service calls and installations.