Why a Warping and Bowing Garage Door Needs Fixing
Like your front entry door, your garage door is one of the many faces of your home. Your garage door has to look neat and clean, to continue the theme of the main house with its aesthetics, and most importantly, it’s meant to serve you by granting easy access to the interior of the garage.
For most garages, people passing by on the street will see the garage door, and although it’s not as glamorous as your front door, it sticks out when there’s something wrong, like when the garage door begins to warp, bend, and bow.
Your garage door may be in the early stages of warping, or you might notice that it’s not meeting the ground with its bottom seal. Garage door dilemmas such as these shouldn’t be ignored. The longer the problem of warping and bowing persists the more damage is sure to follow.
What Causes a Warped & Bowed Garage Door?
It’s the extreme shifting of temperatures that are to blame for a bowing, warping garage door. Temperature shifts are a normal part of Midwest weather conditions. One day it’s all sunshine, the next, Midwesterners are hiking through a foot of snow and single-digit temperature drops. It can go the other way, too.
Snow disappearing overnight and the day greets the Northern United States with a tepid fifty-degree spike mid-winter. The sunnier, western and southern states aren’t too prone to these dramatic changes in weather, but that sweet spot in the Midwest is quite familiar.
The consequences of these moody weather swings can be shocking, to say the least. Of course, one of the many effects is your poor garage door shouldering the burden of being exposed to these outer elements. Harsh winters can unleash damage on garage doors, especially if their material is low quality. A bowing garage door, which is a type of warping, will look caved in and struggle to open and close properly.
The Need for Garage Door Repair
Having a garage door that strains when opening and doesn’t look appealing should be fixed, otherwise, what’s the point in having one? A bowed garage door is considered impaired, and if neglected, can worsen and cause even more damage—to the door or even the track system.
If your garage starts off by having one panel bowed and it doesn’t get fixed right away, those extreme temperatures and the additional stress of trying to use the garage door will lead to costly repairs.
There are three main purposes of a garage door: security for your garage and home, to support exterior aesthetics, and to mechanically operate with its functioning garage door opener. When your garage door cannot fulfill any of its three main purposes, then it should be repaired so it can do so.
Safety especially becomes a risk factor. A malfunctioning garage door means easier access for intruders, but while that may be rare depending on where you live, you still don’t want to take that chance.
A bowing garage door could damage the track system, and when anything is beneath the garage door when it’s opened, there’s no guarantee that it will remain that way. The last thing you want is the door crashing down on the hood of your car—or even worse, on someone beneath it.
Call a Garage Door Professional
Your garage door is bowed, and now that you know why you should get it fixed, what’s your next step? Sometimes, if a single panel is out of line, it can be repaired in a do-it-yourself job. Resolving a warped or dented panel is a job that can take about an hour of your time, but if you have a large area where the door is warped and bowed, it’s a better idea to either have the door replaced or repaired by a professional.
For pricing concerns, there are numerous garage door repair services that offer free quotes prior to installation and repairs. A thorough inspection of the bowed garage door by a professional will be able to shed light as to whether you need to replace it or if it can be fixed.
For many homes, the problem is more than bowing and warping, it’s the age of the door itself. There comes a time where garage doors need to be upgraded, and when this part of our home enters the 21st century, it makes our lives so much easier.
If you live in an area where temperature shifts are frequent, then you might want to consider replacing your bowed garage door with one that is comprised of steel. A modern makeover for your garage door will ensure that it’s not as susceptible to extreme temperatures and operational damage that doors of a lesser quality struggle with.
Get a Detached Garage
The value of a detached garage is on the rise. That’s why so many homeowners are getting a bigger size garage with Danley’s Garage World. At Danley’s, you can get any style and size garage to match the facade of your home. Speak to a specialist and get a free quote online today.
