Garage Door Issues

When discussing garage doors, there are three main types of doors: roller doors and panel / sectional doors and tilt doors. While both serve the same general purpose, namely keeping your garage secured, they are actually quite different in many aspects.

When you purchased your new door, I am sure that you were not thinking too much about it needing to be repaired in the future. However, garage doors experience quite a bit of regular wear and tear and have certainly been known to take an unintentional impact or two. So, what happens when it is time for repairs? Is one door easier or harder to maintain? Let’s examine a few aspects of garage door repair to see how the different types of doors differ.

Design

To clarify, a roller door rolls up vertically from the door frame into a drum wheel. Typically, this circular drum sits directly above the door opening either inside or outside the garage itself. The drum has springs inside the roll that operate the door.

A panel or sectional door is aptly named, as it has panelled sections that are typically attached to wheels on the edges. These doors slide up along tracks, ending up above and parallel to the floor or folding up directly above the doorway.

The tilt garage door is a one-piece overhead garage door that uses a spring balance hinge that opens out and up.

All of these types of garage doors can be motorised.

Materials

When considering the repair or maintenance of your garage door, it is important to be aware of the role of the materials it is made from plays. Most garage doors are made from Colorbond sheeting.

Other materials that garage doors are commonly made from include aluminium and timber. The materials your door is made from can play a major role in the cost of repair or replacement.

Repair Issues

Each type of garage door presents its own unique set of issues that could arise.

Roller Door issues:

• Door-Jammed – The door either will not go up or down into the drum.
• Noisy When in Motion – Some roller doors can become very loud when in motion due to lack of lubrication.
• Off Level – If your roller door is out of level, it will not close tightly or open appropriately.
• Door Ballooning – Some roller doors stop wrapping as tightly as they should around the drum, causing them to have difficulty rolling up all the way.

Panel / Sectional Door Issues:

• Broken Spring – This is a very common issue on panel / sectional doors resulting from wear and tear.
• Panel damage – At times, a panel can crack or break, or be impacted by a vehicle, requiring replacement.
• Hinges – the hinges that join the panels together can break and require replacement due to wear and tear.
• Cables – Cables can either come off or break, this can happen if the door is out of alignment or simply due to wear and tear.

Tilt Door Issues:

• The fittings / springs can break after a certain amount of cycles of the door going up and down.

As we can see, there is a myriad of issues for each type of door. Like anything mechanical in nature, the need for repairs should not come as a surprise.

Maintenance Requirements

One way to avoid costly repairs is to ensure you are regularly having someone maintenance your garage door. Maintenance of your garage door could consist of regular lubrication, to keep it rolling quietly and properly. Panel / sectional doors often have issues with springs and cables. Maintenance enables these components to last longer, with efficient operation. Having a professional company look at your garage door could lead to the discovery of a potential problem and resolving it before it becomes a major issue.

Conclusion

In the end, all types of garage doors have their purpose and place in the world of garage doors. They all have issues and require repairs on occasion, but with proper professional maintenance should last a long time.