How to repair a buckled garage door
Fixing a bucked garage door should be handled as an emergency as buckled doors may expose your home or garage to security threats. The first step in restoring a buckled garage door is the establishment of exactly the kind of problem or cause of damage. Once this is known, repair work should be a simple, do-it-yourself process.
One or more of the steps below can be taken in order to restore your garage door integrity.
Lubricate the door hinges
When a door becomes dry and rusty, it begins to make screeching noises while opening. This is a sign that it needs lubrication. Dust particles, in most cases, settle on the door’s moving parts making it very hard to open or close. It may be as a result of a very small problem that your garage door buckles. In this case, apply a little grease to your door’s rollers to keep it functional for a long time.
Adjust the tracks
Stiff garage doors do not play efficiently and will require a lot of energy to operate. In most cases of bucked or stiff doors, bent or misaligned tracks are among the most common culprits. This may occur due to excessive use of your garage door or as a result of bad weather conditions like strong winds and storms. Most of these misalignments are minor issues that can be easily resolved by adjusting the tracks that have been impaired. However, doing a full replacement of the tracks gives your door a new look making it operate again like it was new. Both of these decisions depend on the level of damage.
Adjusting the tracks requires you to loosen their brackets with a screwdriver or wrench first. Once they are loosened, the tracks are gently shifted to the left or right, causing the doors to move easily. Always use a vertical level to check the tracks for alignment. Once this is certain, relight ensure the brackets using a screwdriver. Open and close it several times to ensure the problem is sorted.
Install a garage door strut
If you have tried all the above solutions and your buckled door condition persists, try the strut installation remedy. Garage door struts are steel bars installed at the top of your garage door and are generally used as support for the door as it opens and closes.
Struts are generally installed on doors to prevent them from bending and buckling while under pressure. This happens when the door is hit by a strong wind. Double garage doors are heavier, and at least three reinforcement struts are recommended.
When installing the garage door struts, be more careful as unevenly installed struts can cause more harm than good to your garage door. As opposed to DIY, it is more advisable to engage a door expert to install the strut for you as this saves you time and money.
The extra material of the door strut can significantly alter the weight of the door. However, a professional door technician can re-calibrate the entire system to counterbalance the additional weight of the struts making your garage door much more efficient.