Obviously no one wants to have to call a garage door repair professional. But sometimes you need to. The areas around Akron, Canton, Kent, and other major Northeast Ohio metro areas are peppered with homes. Homes have garage doors. Garage doors have garage door problems. Someone has to do something about them. That’s where we come in. Yet, do you know when we should be called?

We want to give you an idea of what to expect if we should find ourselves at your home. Your garage door is composed of many moving pieces and parts. There are any number of things that can, and likely will, eventually go wrong with it. And while you can diagnose and repair a few things yourself, for many problems, you simply need to call the pros. In fact, the top three garage door problems on our list are a mixture of issues you can address yourself and those you need to call the pros for.

Problem One: How to Replace Your Weatherstripping

Brrrr, it’s cold outside. And if the weatherstripping on your garage door is in poor shape, it’s likely cold inside, too. The good news is if your weatherstripping is, well, stripped, you can probably fix it yourself.

Weather seal replacement is probably the most common quick garage door repair job. From dirt, dust, pests and poor weather, you’ve got to have properly functioning weatherstripping on your garage door.

If you want to fix your weatherstripping on your own, all you need to do is first open your garage door and measure the exact width of the old seal. Once the measurement is right, remove the old seal and install the new weatherstripping. Many common brands come with easy instructions.

The most important thing is to ensure the sloped edge is towards the outside of the garage door. The flat part should always be on the bottom. Also make sure to cut off any excess material.

While it is unlikely that improperly installing weather seal with cause problems opening and closing the door, you just never know. Always test your garage door after making changes, installing, or fixing anything yourself. When combined with insulated garage doors, new weatherstripping can have a big impact on the warmth and energy usage in your home.

Problem Two: What to do With Broken Springs

Coiled springs are necessary for easy raising and lowering of a garage door. As a part of the overall garage door assembly, springs play a critical role in its functionality. When springs fail, you have two choices. You can either replace the spring that failed or upgrade the entire spring set if they are aging and on the verge of failure.

An honest garage door repair person will not sell you on replacing springs that do not need to be replaced. And you will be dealing with a repair professional because spring replacement is definitely not something you should try to handle on your own. Still, you can at least diagnose the problem.

There are two ways to immediately tell whether you have a problem with your springs, and they are both pretty obvious. First, your door may have problems going up or coming down. It might also generate lots of racket. Another way to tell if a spring breaks is if it breaks when the garage door is in the down position. If you are sitting in your living room watching TV, prepare for a jump, because it sounds like a gun shot!

Garage door repair professionals use specialized equipment to replace springs. One such example is a solid metal winding bar, which is required to remove a torsion spring. Two more are needed when it is time to install a new torsion spring. But you don’t need to worry about any of that because you won’t be trying to install springs yourself!

Problem Three: Broken Garage Door Cables

If the springs are important to proper functionality of your garage door, the cables are just as important. Made up of thick metal wires wrapped into braids, the cables use the tension provided by the springs to raise and lower the garage door. The problem is that time and repeated use can cause wear and tear on the cables. Not only are they susceptible to fraying, they could also snap.

If your garage door hangs at a strange angle or gets stuck halfway as it raises or lowers, you could have a problem with the cables. A garage door repair professional can easily diagnose which is the problem.

Remember, cable repair – like spring repair – is not something you should try on your own. Cable repair done incorrectly could result in the entire door falling, and if you are underneath it, that is incredibly dangerous. You could easily become trapped or injured under the door if you attempt a cable repair by yourself.