Repairing your garage door can be tricky. Most repairs need to be handled by professional contractors. For instance, if there is any damage to the garage frame or motor, you will definitely want to leave this to the pros. However, if there is simply cosmetic damage to the garage panels, this is something that you can probably fix yourself. This article explains the process for replacing prefabricated garage door panels. It will help you decide whether it is job you want to handle yourself or leave to a professional contractor.
Inspecting Your Panels and Frames
First, you need to determine the extent of the damage to your panels. Usually, if just the panels are damaged, you can replace them quite easily. However, if the frames are bent or damaged, you don't want to mess with them. So, visually inspect your metal frames to make sure they're not severely bent, cracked or kinked. If they look okay, you can start to remove the panels. However, if the frames collapse as you remove the panels, you should stop right there and call a pro.
Ordering Your New Panels
Most garage door manufactures make generically sized frames that can then be fitted with any type of panel. That is, as long as the motor can hold the weight, you can choose between aluminum, vinyl, fiberglass and wooden panels. Best of all, the new panels will be delivered directly to your home and you can install them yourself quite easily. First you need to remove your existing panels and determine if there is any serious damage to your frames.
Removing the Panels
Removing garage panels is usually very easy because of the modular design. All you have to do is remove the mounting bolts on the inside of the garage and then pop the panel out. This is usually a two-person job. One person remove the screws with a power drill one other pulls the panel out.
Installing the New Panels
Installing your new panel is a little more difficult, if only because they are large and awkward to handle. You don't want to bend the panel too much as you are installing it. Nonetheless, you basically just need to pop the panels into the frame and then secure the bolts. Of course, different products, especially if they're heavier, will be more difficult to work with than others.
In the end, you'll definitely be pleased with how new garage panels can make your garage (and you whole home exterior) look newer. For more information, contact contact companies like 24/7 Echo Garage Doors.
Share28 August 2017
I'm Megan Moore. I have always been very security-conscious ever since I woke up to find an intruder rummaging through my belongings in my living room. I never wanted this to happen again, so I purchased a state-of-the-art security system. But despite the security measures that I put in place, my home was still burglarized. The problem was with my garage door. Somehow, a burglar was able to get the code to the garage door opener. I realized that my garage was my weak link and I set out to learn everything I could about garage doors and garage door security.