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Is your garage door in need of repairs? Do you plan to DIY the garage door repairs to save money? Below, we’ve got a quick guide to answer your question of “how to fix my garage door.”
Getting a car is a big step-up in life for many people, especially young adults. In the US, there are over 287.3 million registered vehicles in 2020. This also means that there are millions of homeowners who have a garage at home.
Before the winter sets in, you may want to make sure that your garage is ready. Here, we’ll discuss how to fix garage doors and more. Keep reading to learn the solution to a bent or broken garage door.
1. Things to Consider on DIY Garage Door Repair
Before you try or do anything with your garage door, you need to know a few things first. Certain garage door repairs are fine to handle yourself. These often include simple fixes like lubricating or tightening the hardware.
Sometimes, the person who should do the fixing is a professional who knows the right way to fix garage doors.
The tasks that need an expert’s touch include those involved in fixing the complex parts of the door. Also, remember that professional garage door repairmen have tools and equipment to help them.
For example, garage door springs are quite dangerous. Fiddling with the spring mechanism or tracks of your garage door can cause you to lose a finger.
You also want to be careful with all the parts of garage doors that are under extreme tension, like cables and rollers.
If you have some knowledge of garage door repairs and you feel confident in your ability, go ahead. Make sure you also practice safety procedures whenever you fix a garage door.
Keep pets and children away from the garage, especially when your tools are all around the place.
If you don’t have experience in fixing your garage door, then arm yourself with knowledge at the least.
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2. How to Fix My Garage Door by Myself: Repairing a Door Lift System
Before anything, make sure you have the following items:
- C-clamp or locking pliers
- Gloves
- Ladder
- Winding bars
- Eye protection
- New spring
You can get everything you need from diy-garage-door-parts.com. Also, make sure that you unplug the garage door before you do this spring repair. Wear eye protection and leather gloves.
First, secure a C-clamp to the track above one of the rollers to prevent the door from shooting up. When you position your ladder, make it so that you’re not standing in front of the spring cones.
To start, shove a winding bar into a bottom hole of the winding cone of the good spring.
Keep it in place while you loosen two setscrews. As the screws release, the spring will push forward with powerful torque, so hold on tight. Next, insert the other winding bar into the hole at a 9 o’clock position and start unwinding the spring.
This will take a while, but be patient. Remove the nuts and bolts that hold down the stationary spring cones to the center bracket. Slide the springs to the end brackets.
Snap a C-clamp onto the center bracket to hold the torsion tube in the bracket. Loosen the setscrews and disconnect the lift tables. Slide the torsion tube to the right to remove the cable drum, then slide off the old spring from the tube.
Calculate the hook between two spring coils and then determine the hand of the direction. Next, install the left spring by reassembling it, and then hang on the bearing bracket. Install a new center bearing and replace rusty rollers, bottom brackets, and cables.
Thread the cables in the slot, tighten the drums so the tension is equal, and then wind the garage door tension springs. Stretch the springs by tapping the winding bar, then tighten the setscrews. Finally, spray the springs with a garage door lubricant.
3. How to Repair a Clattering or Loose Garage Door
Not sure how to fix a garage door that keeps rattling? This is a simple problem of having a loose garage door. And the simple solution is to tighten the hardware and small loose parts.
Take the tools that you need for the nuts, bolts, and hinges. It may take a while for you to tighten all the things that need tightening. However, it’s an easy fix compared to other complex DIY garage repairs.
4. How to Fix My Bent Garage Door
The best way to straighten a bent garage door is to hammer out the bend. It’s a simple fix, especially if you’ve got a simple dent on the door. Use a 2×4 piece of wood and a rubber mallet.
Place the wood on the distended side of the door. Tap the wood with the hammer. You can also fill it in to make it smooth again.
Sand the dented area down and use a mixture of auto body filler with hardener for the gap. Smooth it down and sand again when it dries and paint over it. Now, your garage will look good as new.
These are the best ways to fix a garage door. Now, you don’t have to look up “how to fix my garage door” too often.
5. Maintaining Your Garage Door
A quick DIY fix for most garage doors is lubrication. Once you hear metal scraping on metal, it’s a sign that you may need to lubricate the garage door mechanisms. Do this right away, since waiting can cause more damage to the garage door.
Also, make sure you use garage door lubricant and not any random lubricant.
Repair Your Garage Door at Home
That is our guide for you if you want to learn the best way to fix your garage door DIY-style.
We hope you learned something useful from this guide on DIY garage door repairs. Did you get the answers you need for your query of “how to fix my garage door?”
Didn’t find what you’re looking for on DIY garage door repairs? If you need to learn more about the mechanical or technical aspects of garage door repairs, we have a blog. Check it out for more information on the things you need to know when making DIY garage repairs.
