When does it make sense to repair your garage door instead of replacing it?

Replacing a garage door is not a decision to be taken lightly. Given the financial commitment required to purchase a new garage door, it is important that any customer be aware of the pro’s and cons’s of repairing their garage door ‘v’ replacing it completely.

How old is your garage door?

Although age can be an important consideration, it is not necessarily a defining factor. A door can be 25-30 years old, yet the panels and tracks may still be structurally sound. In these circumstances a restoration may be a feasible solution. Many people make the mistake of associating age with the need to replace the door completely. As we all know many products manufactured 20-30 years ago are proven to be superior to some modern manufacturing techniques.

What may go wrong with your garage door in the short term?

It is prudent to focus on all the components of your garage door and seek professional advice as to what you might expect to go wrong or what parts may need to be replaced in the coming years. Hinges and castors are relatively inexpensive to replace and maintain, however torsion springs, cables and other torsion system components may be significantly more expensive. Track systems and parts also evolve over time which may make it hard to maintain your door into the future.

What is the cost of fully restoring your garage door VS replacing it?

If your sectional door panels are still structurally sound, then it may be possible to do a full garage door restoration. A full door restoration will cost less than a replacement garage door, however it is unlikely to be cheap. Restoring a custom designed door may cost between 30-50% of the price of a replacement door, while restoring a colorbond sectional door may cost between 60-80% of the price of a replacement door.

Is there a practical advantage in replacing your garage door?

On some occasions there is a practical advantage to replacing a garage door. We are regularly asked by customers to increase the ‘clearance’ or ‘height’ of the garage door. Sometimes this is as simple as removing an older style roller door and replacing it with a Sectional Garage Door, which does not need as much head room.

This is just one example of a practical reason for choosing a replacement garage door. Other practical reasons include widening a garage, improving the appearance of your street appeal or upgrading to a more energy efficient insulated panel door.

Garage Roller Doors – Repair or Replace?

As a reminder – Roller Doors are those garage doors that roll up into a tight roll around the torsion bar (or Pole) that runs from the left mounting bracket to the right mounting bracket.

Typically, damaged roller doors are replaced not repaired. This is because the roller door is constructed out of multiple sheets of colorbond, which make up one single piece called a curtain. Whenever this curtain becomes bent or damaged it is unable to be repaired or put back into shape. Roller doors are like grumpy teenagers, they don’t like to be disturbed and can become difficult to manage if something goes wrong.

If you are looking at restoring or replacing your garage sectional door or garage roller door call us directly today for a free quotation.