In general, if you are in doubt about calling a garage door service, you should probably call. Most types of garage door repairs are very hazardous, and not suitable for the unqualified. In some ways, you should think about it like the suspension on your car. If you were not an auto mechanic, you would not crawl under the car and start playing around. When not dealt with properly, many components of a garage door can be rather dangerous.
The good news is that “garage door doctors” make house calls, and many will not charge extra for after-hours work. Advertising online or in the yellow pages describe all the services they are able to provide to you regarding your garage door. You should definitely inquire about any exceptions to their normal working hours and exactly how much if anything is charged in emergency situations.
Unfortunately, repairing a garage door can be expensive depending on the difficulty. The most common failure comes about when the runners or movement hardware fail, and the second most common failure happens when the electric motor or the drive fails. Today’s modern garage doors and openers are designed reliably, and failure for a correctly installed system is unusual. Nevertheless, when breakdowns do occur, it is generally no small thing.
There are two parts to a repair: disabling or removing the garage door so that the garage can be secure and the automobile removed, and the actual repair itself. If cost is an issue, often a company will come and do an estimate of the charges and you’re able to assess if it is feasible. In the former case, expect to pay a base charge for each visit.
There are specific types of garage doors that allow some amateur work. Some drive motors overhead have a release lever and the doors can be by hand brought up and down while you’re awaiting repairs to be made to the motor. To be able to raise the doors manually will at least buy you some time in case repairs are needed and still allow you to get your car out of the garage. If the door is actually off the runners, likely this will not be a possibility. As before, if you pull the lever and absolutely nothing happens or if the door otherwise does not behave as you expect, leave the job to a professional for safety’s sake.
Many times, there’s no question when the door apparatus has failed. The doors can not be lowered or raised unless of course the motor is in good condition. You might also hear a noise from the motor straining to perform its job. Alternately, the door does not move effortlessly when raising or lowering. An electric door that automatically stops at the top and bottom may begin to stop at random areas in the middle. Whenever the motor is running, never push or pull the door in any way. Some homeowners wonder if a loud noise when the garage door is opening or closing is a problem. Certainly, if the noise is getting louder, then there probably is a problem, one that will get worse if not given attention.
After any repairs are done to the garage doors, make sure to check that they are indeed working correctly. Before the repairman even leaves, you must inspect their working and make sure everything is working. Run the garage door several times. No unexpected sounds should be coming from the motor and the doors themselves need to be going up and down very easily. Before the technician leaves be happy with their work. These steps assures that a safe and reliable garage door operation.
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