Repair the door you have, or buy a new one?

Chosen when: What is wrong with the door: A part: spring, cable, roller or hinge

For a spring, a cable or other hardware under load, repair is the direction, because the part is what failed. DASMA says spring systems should be repaired only by trained professionals and that cables should be replaced only by a trained technician. Ask for the repair price and, on the same visit, a price for a new door, so you can compare. No source we can cite sets an age at which a door should be replaced, and we will not invent one.

Spring replacement · The bang and the broken spring: why this is not a job to try yourself

Chosen when: What is wrong with the door: The opener, remote or sensors

An opener and a door can be repaired or replaced on their own. Openers made on or after January 1, 1993 fall under the federal standard, which requires reversal on contact and a way to connect sensors, so an old opener may lack features a new one has. DASMA says that if the door is heavy or needs two hands, it is out of balance, and "the answer is not a more powerful garage door opener." Have the balance checked before you buy anything.

Opener repair · Opener or door: which one is actually the problem?

Chosen when: What is wrong with the door: One panel is damaged

Ask whether the company can supply a matching section for your door, and what the whole door would cost beside it. DASMA says a new door put on the old track may not fit, since the track and sections work as a system, so a company that replaces one panel should say why the rest is sound. Ask also about lift handles: DASMA says a door without pinch-resistant joints should have handles or suitable gripping points inside and outside.

Panel replacement · Opener or door: which one is actually the problem?

Chosen when: What is wrong with the door: Several panels are damaged, or the door sags

When several sections are damaged, or the door sags, the price of replacing sections can approach the price of a new door. Our estimates for sections and for a whole door are models, not quotes, so ask for both in writing. A new door is an installation, which DASMA calls very dangerous and not recommended for a novice. Ask who does the work, whether the track is replaced with it, and whether a permit is needed where you live.

Door replacement · Opener or door: which one is actually the problem?

Chosen when: What is wrong with the door: The track or the frame around the door is bent or damaged

A bent track or a damaged frame can mean the door will not run true however good its sections are. DASMA describes the track and the sections as a system, and says a new door on old track may not fit in section thickness, weight, headroom and opener location. Ask the company what it found, whether the track alone can be repaired, and what a whole new door and track would cost.

Off-track door · Garage door reverses or will not close: check the path, then the sensors

Chosen when: What is wrong with the door: The whole door is in poor shape · or · Any other answers

If the whole door is in poor shape, replacement is the way to lean, and the questions change from what is broken to what you are buying. Ask whether your city requires a permit for it, because no state source we can cite says either way and the local building department decides. Ask who decides the wind-load requirement: DASMA says the local building department is the sole and final determiner. Ask the company to show the door's U-factor, not only an R-value, since DASMA says the two are not comparable.

Door replacement · Replacing a garage door in Michigan: what we know about permits, and what we do not