Garage doors typically get quite a bit of daily use. Opening and closing your garage door multiple times a day puts a lot of wear and tear on some of the system’s components. That means it’s almost inevitable that you’ll eventually need to have some part of your garage door system repaired. In this article, we’ll look at the average cost of garage door repairs, what factors can impact this cost, and what signs to look for that indicate you need to hire a repair service.
Average Cost of Garage Door Repairs
As you might expect, the cost to repair a garage door can vary quite a bit. The national average cost of a garage door repair is around $250. Nonetheless, some minor repairs may cost you under $100, but you could pay close to $1,000 or even a few thousand dollars if the door requires a major repair. It depends on what issue the door has, what parts are necessary to fix it, and how much the company you hire charges for labor. The type of garage door can also make a major difference, as some types are reasonably easy to repair while others are more complex and require much more work.
Type of Repair
One of the biggest factors that will affect how much you have to pay is the type of repair it needs. If you accidentally hit the door with your car and put a minor dent in one of the panels, it’s often possible to fix the dent quickly and inexpensively. If there’s more major damage and one of the panels needs replacing, you can expect to spend at least a few hundred dollars for a more basic door or a few thousand if it’s custom-made.
Some of the easiest and usually least expensive repairs include things like fixing or replacing the chain or belt on the opener, replacing the safety sensors or rollers, and replacing the track. Unsurprisingly, replacing a broken or worn-out spring can be more expensive due to the danger involved. The cost to replace a spring also depends on whether the door has extension springs or torsion springs. Extension springs are less expensive and easier to install.
Another common issue you may encounter is that the opener, the keypad, or one of the opener remotes stops working. Depending on the specific problem, the repair could be relatively inexpensive. If the opener is dead, the cost to replace it can vary dramatically depending on what type of opener you want to install and how heavy the door is. Heavier doors require stronger, more robust opener motors, which are obviously more costly.
Type of Garage Door
Sectional garage doors are the simplest and usually weigh the least. That means they tend to be the easiest and least expensive to repair. You can also just replace a single panel in a sectional door as long as you can get the right replacement panel. If you hit a single-panel door with your car and damage it, you’ll need to replace the entire door and potentially some parts of the opening mechanism, depending on the extent of the damage.
Residential and commercial roll-up doors are also quite simple and usually don’t cost that much to replace. If you have a tilt-up or carriage house door, it may cost you quite a bit more to repair. That’s because these types of doors have more complex opening mechanisms, and replacement parts for them can also be pretty costly.
Garage Door Material
What material your garage door is made from can sometimes also significantly affect how much you have to pay to repair it, especially if you need to replace the panel in a sectional door. Vinyl, fiberglass, and aluminum panels are relatively inexpensive, but you can expect to pay a little more to replace a steel panel. A replacement panel for a glass door can also be somewhat expensive. If you have a wooden garage door, you may pay more to repair it than you would with any other type.
Signs You Need to Repair Your Garage Door
Garage door systems are complex and have numerous moving parts, meaning many different things can go wrong and require repairs. The most obvious sign you need to call a garage door repair service is if the door gets stuck or suddenly won’t open or close. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including a broken spring, a worn-out or malfunctioning opener, a bent track, or a roller that’s come off the track.
If the track is somewhat bent to the point where one of the rollers gets stuck and the door only partially opens or closes, you may be able to bend the track back in place and fix the problem. However, you want to be careful if you try to do this, or else you could damage the track further and potentially need to have that entire section replaced.
A broken spring is not something you should ever try to fix yourself. Garage door springs are under an extreme amount of tension and can seriously injure or even kill you if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. If you ever hear a loud banging noise coming from your garage, it usually means that one of the springs broke, and you’ll need to call a professional to replace it. You can usually tell if the door has a broken spring by disconnecting it from the opener and trying to open it by hand.
The springs support most of the weight of the door so that it quickly moves up when using the opener or opening it by hand. They also ensure that the door doesn’t ever come crashing down when it’s open. If the door feels much heavier and is difficult to open by hand, it usually means that there is a broken spring. You can also test for a broken spring by opening the door part of the way and seeing if it stays open. If it rolls back down when you let go of it, you know that you probably have a problem with a spring.
Another thing to watch for is if your garage door is sluggish and opens and closes slower than usual or moves up and down in a jerking motion instead of moving smoothly. This sort of issue often means that the rollers are worn out and need to be replaced, the motor isn’t working properly, the door is out of balance and needs readjustment, or the track and rollers need lubrication.
When you need any commercial or residential garage door services in Christiansburg, VA or the surrounding area, Halls Garage Doors is ready to help. We offer expert garage door repair and installation services and can ensure your door always works precisely as it should. To schedule an inspection or to ask a question, contact Halls Garage Doors today.
