Are you in need of garage door repair for your home or office?  Are you not sure if you should call your local garage door repairman?  You can use the information in this blog post to diagnose garage door problems and know when it’s time to get professional help.

Garage Door Won’t Close/Open

So, your garage door won’t close? Maybe it won’t open? Don’t worry. There may be a simple solution. Check to see if your garage door remote has good batteries in it. If the batteries are dead, you won’t be able to open or shut your garage. You don’t need to pay for a service call for something so simple.  If you replace the batteries, and you still can’t get your garage door to open, then it’s time to give your local garage door repair service a ring. Remember, a garage door that’s suspended in mid air is dangerous. Don’t try to fix it on your own or you can seriously harm yourself.

Garage Door Off It’s Track

Don’t even attempt to troubleshoot this. A garage door that’s off it’s track is extremely dangerous. If you don’t have professional experience repairing garage doors, you shouldn’t touch this one. Call your local garage door technician to fix it for you.

Garage Door Partially Opening or Closing

Is your garage door only opening part of the way? Does it close half of the way? You may just have a dirty photo eye. Take a damp cloth and wipe it down. Make sure it’s free of dust and debris. After you do that, see if the problem is corrected. If you’re still having the same problem, call your garage door repairman, as you have ruled out the simple issue of a dirty photo eye. Yo could be facing a number of mechanical or structural problems that only a professional can correct.

When to Get New Garage Door Installation

Some garage doors can’t be repaired. For example, if you have intense structural damage from someone crashing their car in your garage door, you’ll need a new garage door installed. No question about it. Also, if the cost of the repair is the same or similar to the cost of a new garage door installation, you should consider getting a new garage door and be done with the garage door problems once and for all. For example, if a new garage door will cost you just $500 more, then spring for a new garage door. Of course, everyone’s budget is different, so do what’s best for your family, but do know that probably won’t be the last repair to your garage door. Also, if your garage door needs to be repaired every month, those small repairs will start to add up. In the end, do the math and compare the cost of yearly repairs against the cost of a new garage door.

What About Garage Door Maintenance?

This is a fantastic service and can prevent many of the problems listed in this article and more. A qualified technician will come to your home and inspect your garage door and do maintenance work on it. Depending on the garage door company you work with this, this service may be available once a month or every other month. Consider this service as a way to make your garage door last longer and delay the eventual need for a new garage door.