When I bought my first home, I knew I was going to have to start maintaining different parts of the home to keep everything functioning properly. However, what I did not realize was that the garage door was one of these things. I decided to create this website because I had no idea how much maintenance a garage door needed and what types of maintenance. If you aren't cleaning your garage door tracks, checking for loose screws or oiling the tracks on a bi-monthly basis, I hope my website teaches you how to do this maintenance and the importance of performing it.
A wooden garage door panel that lacks support may eventually bow outward. Moisture and weight can affect the degree of the curvature. A garage door repair involves determining what has caused the unnatural shape of the wood, installing support materials, and replacing damaged materials.
The Long Term Effects
Wooden garage doors may consist of a framework, individual wood panels, glass panes, and hardware. The combination of all of these materials will likely result in a door being quite heavy. A door will require adequate support while it is attached to a track. Excessive use of a garage door that doesn't contain a bracing system can add stress to exposed wooden surfaces.
If the wood hasn't been treated with a preservative, it is prone to become severely warped. Once wooden panels bow outward, a door may show signs of resistance while it is manually or electronically opened and closed. This resistance can increase after a while and a door may not remain attached to its track properly.
The Assessment and Repair Process
If your garage door begins bowing outward, the affected wood panels wil be noticeably less rigid than the wooden pieces that haven't been compromised. A painted door may contain cracks along the painted surface and flecks of paint may even chip from a damaged wood panel.
Assessing the interior side of a door will allow you to determine if the garage door struts are damaged or if additional ones need to be installed. The struts are metal bars that run horizontally along the backside of a door. If hardware is missing from one or more sections of a strut, the metal will not be able to provide an even amount of support along the width of a door.
An older garage door may lack struts. If this is the case with your garage door, order a series of struts through a garage door supplier. Struts will need to be installed evenly along the back of the door. Hardware pieces should be attached to each end of a strut.
Panels that have bowed outward should be removed from the door. The integrity of the wood will be compromised. If you purchased a stock door from a garage door supplier, order replacement panels from them. A new panel will need to be properly set within the framework that surrounds it. The use of adhesives and hardware will be necessary to complete this step. Upon replacing wood panels, they can be painted to match the other ones that comprise the door.
If you're in need of garage door repair, contact a professional near you.
Share17 December 2021
