Do I Need a New Garage Door?
For those of us who are homeowners, we know that home values are essential. Whether you plan on staying in your home for another 20 years or are looking to sell soon, you must consider the resale value of your home whenever you do repairs or improvements.
The garage door is no exception.
The Importance of Hiring A Professional
Common Problems That Can Be Fixed
Reasons To Replace A Garage Door
Tips & Tricks For Choosing A New Garage Door
Cost vs. Value of a New Garage Door
Luckily, your garage door is a pretty sound investment. It yields the second-highest return on investment (ROI) out of any home improvement, so you recoup the cost through increased home value. Furthermore, a replacement is less than half the price of the highest-rated renovation—manufactured stone veneer siding.
Similarly, realtors regularly increased the list price of a home with a new garage door by 1 to 4 percent! That means, if you spend $2000 on a new garage door, you can improve your home value by almost $8000 if you have a $200,000 home. Furthermore, compared with the other two highest rated improvements — siding replacement and deck installation — getting your garage door replaced is far more affordable.
Do I Repair or Replace My Garage Door?
While garages are an excellent investment, they can still break. Either they no longer track correctly, behave erratically, are difficult to lift or are damaged by a vehicle or inclement weather. As a result, homeowners regularly ask the question, “Do I repair or replace my garage door?”
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Luckily, there is a bit of science to questions of garage door repair and replacement. That’s why we’ve put together this guide on when to replace a garage door. We’ll prepare you to compare repair vs replacement garage door costs. We’ll discuss how repairs are the most affordable option, while also exploring those moments when replacement will provide you with more value.
Either way, we want you to be happy with your overhead garage door. We know that it’s a significant element of the modern home. So, without any further ado, here is your comprehensive guide for those asking, “Should I replace my garage door?”
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The Importance of Hiring a Professional
Before we get to the question of repairing or replacing your garage door, we want to stress how important it is to consult a technician, regardless of which direction you choose. You should hire a professional to inspect and fix this part of your house to:
- Improve the value of your home: Any home improvement is ultimately about improving your home’s value. Whether you are adding a deck, putting on a new coat of paint or updating your garage door, you don’t want to do anything that might minimize your ROI. A professional can provide you with quality work to raise your home’s value.
- Minimize the repairs needed: Garage doors are more complicated than new gutters. They influence the beauty, functionality and security of your home, integrating powerful motors and delicate electrical systems. These units are only as useful as they are reliable. You may be able to repair it yourself, but if your work is subpar in any way, all the interacting systems will likely break down in the future, leading to even more costly repairs or replacements.
- Keep yourself and your family safe: Most importantly, do-it-yourself garage door repairs are dangerous. A garage door, by design, contains torsion springs designed to balance your door and make it easier to lift. Those springs are under incredible amounts of tension. If a spring breaks or is improperly released, it can cause incredible and potentially fatal injuries. Keep in mind, when working on a spring, it’s likely that your face and head will be close to it, meaning that your most sensitive area will be in the direct path of the released spring. Instead of trying to fix the springs yourself, hire a professional to take a look.
So, while you may feel like a particular repair is no big deal, especially with a YouTube video as a guide, we urge you to reconsider. Even if you think you made the repairs without issue, you may find you are causing significant problems further down the road.
Common Problems That Can Be Fixed
So what has caused you to ask yourself, do I need a new garage door? Several issues are common for homeowners and are repairable if you consult a professional garage door technician. Let’s explore a few of them:
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1. The Door Suddenly Stops Working:
You might think that if you wake up one morning and your garage door doesn’t work, that it’s dead and you’ll have to brace yourself for a complete replacement. Interestingly, sudden break downs are usually easier to fix. That’s because the problem is generally isolated. Because it’s unexpected, you haven’t been misusing your door for years, causing irreparable damage.
First and foremost, always check the remote batteries before you call anyone. Sometimes, in the stress of an early morning commute with a non-functioning garage door, even the most mindful homeowner will forget to look at the remote and then feel the embarrassment of knowing that the only thing wrong was a couple of dead batteries.
However, if you are confident that you don’t just need new batteries, make sure to call a professional. A service person with a lot of experience will be able to look at the problem and quickly diagnose the issue, saving you precious time. Again, while you may be able to save money in the short term by taking a day off and troubleshooting the problem yourself, the amount of energy and time lost as you search out the issue will quickly surpass the cost of a professional repair.
2. The Door Seems Heavy:
As we’ve mentioned before, springs within your garage lift mechanism help maneuver the door. Because doors are so heavy, the lift motor would undergo far more significant wear and tear if it had to lift the full weight of the door every time you opened it. Furthermore, to ensure that you can open your door even if you lose power in your home, springs allow you to lift the door by hand when the motor is disengaged.
If your door feels heavy, it’s likely that your springs have started to wear down and are no longer capable of bearing the weight that they once did. Don’t worry, just because a spring is starting to lose its strength doesn’t mean it will snap at any moment. However, simultaneously, a weak spring isn’t any safer to try and repair on your own.
Luckily, a worn spring is generally a quick and affordable fix. A repair person will come and replace your springs — always making sure to replace both simultaneously to maintain balance in your door — and soon be on their way. You’d be surprised at how much new springs will change the feel of your door.
3. A Single Panel is Damaged:
If you do have physical damage to your door, regardless of the cause, you want to get it repaired if you want the repair to be cost-effective. The key is to fix a damaged panel when the damage is limited to just that single panel. Most manufactured doors also supply individual panels to service dealers, so swapping out a piece is a pretty painless fix.
However, like a rusty spot on a car, if you ignore a small issue for long enough, it will spread and completely change the equation for repair costs. Once you are replacing more than a couple of panels, it isn’t any cheaper than replacing the whole door.
So if you do dent your door backing out of your driveway or because your child is learning how to throw fast pitch, make sure that you address the issue immediately if you want to avoid a total replacement.
4. Your Garage Door is Sagging:
When your door is closed only halfway, does it look like one side is lower than the other? That’s the tell-tale sign of an imbalanced garage door, which puts increased wear and tear on the lifting mechanism. Think about the importance of having balanced tires. If one is more worn than the rest, your car won’t work as efficiently. Simultaneously, certain parts of your car will bear the brunt of that increased wear more than others.
The same is true of garage doors. If one side is sagging, only one spring has likely begun to wear, so one side is weightier than the other, putting uneven stress on your lift motor. Luckily, rebalancing your door is a simple fix and requires a similar procedure to replacing your springs. By replacing both springs and then rehanging your door, a service person will restore the balance of your door and ensure that it will wear evenly moving forward.
Reasons to Replace a Garage Door
Now that we’ve discussed some common and reasonably affordable repairs, let’s look at some the issues that commonly lead to homeowners replacing their entire garage door.
1. Your Garage Door Hasn’t Run Properly for a While:
While a sudden issue is usually easily repaired, a consistent one that has gone unaddressed for months or years will likely require a total replacement. The problem is that garage doors have several heavy, powerful moving parts. If the door is opening and closing as it should, it can move hundreds of times without issues.
However, if there is even a small issue in the lifting mechanism that repeatedly influences the movement of the door, you will soon find that you can’t fix the damage caused by hundreds of lifts.
2. Your Garage Door is Severely Damaged:
At a certain point, repairing portions of a damaged door ends up costing more than replacing the whole thing, especially as garage door fabrication costs have lowered. Like so many things in life, replacement parts just don’t make as much sense in many instances as a total replacement.
You might need to replace the garage door if inclement weather damaged it. While an errant hockey puck usually causes isolated damage, a fallen tree limb is likely to destroy several separate door panels.
Keep in mind that if you have experienced damage, you want to fix it quickly as you can, as a damaged door will also be unbalanced and cause further issues with the tracking mechanism and motor. A brand new door is still more affordable than an entirely new door system.
3. Your Door is Old:
Remember, the real value of a garage door is the curb appeal. Those searching for their dream home will look at this part of the house to determine your property’s value. While a new coat of paint can go a long way toward improving the garage door’s look, the truth is that door design has come a long way over the years. New units are more in line with current fashion trends, but they are also better sized for today’s cars. Replacing traditional garage doors with a new, contemporary door is a great way to boost your home value immediately.
Furthermore, newer doors have more improved safety and security features, helping to improve the way you protect your home and loved ones. While older ones are easy to break into, whether through breaking the lift mechanism or even using a universal garage door remote, new doors come with many redundant security features, which will go a long way in deterring even the most ingenious burglar.
4. You’ve Had a Break-In:
Unfortunately, thieves bypass even newer doors. Maybe the burglar figured out the pin code for manually opening the door. They also could’ve found a way to disengage the motor and open your door by hand. Either way, it is unsettling when someone uninvited enters your home and sanctuary and is a definite sign it’s time to replace your garage door.
While you can certainly redo any security features on your garage door, it is often wise to replace it if that is how a burglar gained access to your house. A new security code may seem like enough, but you don’t know how the thief figured out the old one in the first place. If the motor was disengaged, the issue might be a design flaw in the door itself.
The best way to ensure that the thief doesn’t return or another thief doesn’t take advantage of the same unknown security weakness is to install a new door. Again, doing so will give you access to the kinds of robust security features that are being installed and implemented in the latest garage doors on the market.
5. Your Door Is Using Too Much Energy:
There’s another reason new doors are superior to old ones: energy efficiency. Keep in mind that garage doors let a lot of outside air into your home when they open. While you may have significant insulation separating your garage from the rest of your home, the temperature difference will eventually influence your energy bills.
You can increase efficiency by replacing the weather stripping at the bottom of an old garage door. Still, the insulation and energy-efficient materials used in today’s new doors will make a drastic improvement in your garage’s energy efficiency. Just like the way a new door recoups its costs in increased home value, it’ll also quickly pay for itself in energy savings!
6. Your Door Lacks Child Safety Features:
Sensors can detect when a child or pet is crossing the threshold while the door is closing, prompting it to stop immediately. Furthermore, doors can also sense when something is being pressed by the door, causing it to stop before inflicting a brutal crushing injury.
While many of these features can be installed after-market on older doors, others are not cost-effective when retrofitted. One of the easiest ways to ensure that its operating system has all the latest child safety features is to install a new one. Remember, garage door injuries are significant and more common than we would like to imagine. Isn’t your family worth the investment?
Garage Door Replacement Costs
Once you’ve decided it’s time to replace your garage door — whether the result of malfunctions or just seeking to modernize your home’s exteriors — you may be wondering how much a garage door replacement costs. Garage door installation costs include the purchase of the new door and other hardware, including the tracks, adhesives, connectors and fasteners.
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Installation Cost Considerations
Many sites may encourage you to save on replacement costs by installing the door yourself. We suggest otherwise due to safety concerns and the installation techniques and tools required to accurately and efficiently replace it. When installing a new unit, the range of prices also includes the labor performed by the professional garage door technician. These costs can include:
- Proper garage door removal and disposal
- Electrical wiring installations
- Installation of the garage door and hardware
- Installation of a new garage door opener
Factors That Affect Garage Door Costs
Garage door costs range widely, so what factors help determine what you are expected to pay for your replacement? Primarily, the characteristics of your home and the garage door will contribute to the rising costs, including:
- Materials: To have the best garage door replacement, design and select one based on styles, shapes and sizes that all vary in price. Standard materials include wood, steel, aluminum and vinyl. Wood doors will be costly to replace, while vinyl will be more budget-friendly.
- Insulation: If your garage connects to the rest of your home, it’s highly advised that you purchase a garage door with added insulation to save on energy costs. However, with added insulation also comes additional manufacturing costs.
- Workmanship needs: With all professional garage door replacement installation, you’ll need to pay for the necessary labor. Your home could require a basic installation or could need special services, including widening the opening, replacing the hardware or reframing the exterior.
- Location: The characteristics of your home, including its location and design, will help determine the type of garage door replacement materials you need and any other additional costs.
Tips and Tricks for Choosing a New Garage Door
If you think you need a new garage door, there are a few decisions you need to make before you place your order. Select one that improves the value of your home and increases your property’s security by considering these factors:
- Architectural style: Your garage door style should complement the overall design of your home. If you have a Colonial or Victorian house, a carriage house door, like one from the CANYON RIDGE® collection LIMITED EDITION series, would fit perfectly. A door from the MODERN STEEL™ collection could also complement your contemporary home.
- Color: If you buy a Clopay® door from our website, you can choose from a variety of colors to complement the exterior of your house and your design preference. Dark brown would contrast your lightly colored home, or a door with a wood grain finish could blend in with your wooden siding. Our RESERVE® WOOD collection CUSTOM series offers a wide selection of color options for your wooden garage door.
- Custom options: To make your dream garage door, select a custom or semi-custom design. Keep in mind that doing so will increase the price, but you’ll get the exact door that you want. Either way, you’ll find a ton of stock options on our website that can increase your home’s value and help you achieve your desired look.
Choosing the Right Repair or Replacement Service
A garage door is only as good as its installation. So if you are ready to start exploring your repair or replacement options in the Winston Salem, Wilkesboro, Boone, East Bend or anywhere else in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, look no further than Marvin’s Garage Doors.
You can trust us to install your garage door because we offer:
- Decades of experience: Since 1970, we have been working hard to keep our family-owned and family first approach front and center in our business. While being a family keeps us happy, it also benefits you. We have invested in these communities. We are known by name. And we’re not about to tarnish our name through shoddy work.
- Industry knowledge: We also have a wide range of expertise repairing and installing both residential and commercial doors, meaning we can tackle any problem, large or small. We carry a wide range of doors from one of the industry’s leading manufacturers, Clopay, so you can make the choice that makes the most sense for your home and family while feeling confident that you are getting a door of the highest quality.
- Reputable service: We offer industry-leading service performed by the best-licensed professionals in the region. Our service workers will get the job done efficiently and effectively, ensuring that your door is back in working order as soon as possible. We also offer a preventative maintenance program to ensure that you avoid future problems by having the small, unnoticed issues addressed right away.
- Quality products: We also carry residential garage doors and openers that you need to have a state-of-the-art, secure and safe operating system. We are proud to be certified dealers of Clopay doors, the most durable and versatile doors on the market. With over fifty years of garage door manufacturing experience, you can trust Clopay quality, just as you can trust our team to install these highest-quality doors.
Contact Us for Repair or Replacement Services Today
We are proud of the work we do in Northwestern North Carolina. We love this community, and we love serving it. So whether you think you need a small repair or a major overhaul, we want to be the team that helps you increase the value and curb appeal of your home while making it a safer place to live for you and your family. Our professional and friendly sales team are eager to connect with you, so contact us today to ease your concerns and transform your garage!
