When one of my children was playing with our garage doors a few years ago, we heard a piercing scream that we will never forget. She had gotten her fingers pinched in the side of the door, and we knew that we had to help her--and fast. Because of our quick actions and first aid, we were able to take care of the problem. After we returned home, I started thinking about ways to keep our kids safe around garage doors. This blog contains loads of helpful information about maintaining your garage doors, looking after your curious children, and preventing serious injury.
Garage doors can last for many years and ultimately fail in various ways. Most doors are relatively durable, but constant exposure to the elements can physically damage the door panels, wear down tracks, and ruin the mechanical door opener. Repairing problems with a newer garage door is usually the most cost-effective option, but what about a door showing severe signs of aging?
If your home has a garage door with a few decades under its belt, you'll need to make some hard decisions about its fate. Should you keep maintaining and repairing your door, or is it time to throw in the towel and install a new one? The answer will differ for every household, but these three questions can help you decide if installing a new door is the best choice for your home.
1. How Well Have You Maintained Your Door?
Like most parts of any home, your garage door requires maintenance to work smoothly and last for as long as possible without requiring expensive repairs. Maintenance for garage doors includes basics such as cleaning and lubricating tracks and more thorough tasks like cleaning, painting, and replacing weatherstripping and other worn parts as necessary.
If you haven't kept up with maintenance on your garage door, you can expect a shorter-than-average lifespan. You can also expect more frequent repairs since parts like your springs and tracks will wear out more quickly if damage to the doors or worn weatherstripping allows moisture to enter your garage. In these cases, installing new doors to replace your old ones may be the most cost-effective option.
2. Do Your Doors Have Physical Damage?
Residential garage doors come in many different materials, so the impact of physical damage can vary substantially. If you have bespoke wood garage doors, most damage will likely be repairable, at least if you're willing to pay enough. On the other hand, more common materials like steel, vinyl, aluminum, and fiberglass can be much harder to repair.
For example, vinyl and fiberglass are highly durable materials that won't break easily, but repairing them when they do can be challenging, expensive, or outright impossible. Likewise, steel doors can be hard to fix once severe corrosion occurs. In most cases, you'll either need to live with the damage or consider installing an entirely new door.
3. Are Your Worn-Out Doors Affecting the Rest of Your Home?
Worn-out garage doors can negatively impact the rest of your house. While attached garages are usually relatively well sealed, they can still provide a potential entry point for moisture and pests. Your garage door and its weatherstripping act as an additional layer of protection. Once your door is old enough that you can no longer keep it sealed, it may leave your home vulnerable to other problems.
A garage door contractor can help you evaluate whether you can take steps to seal up your existing door, but the cost of doing so will often not be worthwhile for very old doors. Instead, installing a newer, more modern garage door will help protect your home while saving money on repairs and maintenance over the long run.
Contact a residential garage door installation service near you to learn more.
Share14 June 2023
