Despite being made of tough materials like wood and metal, garage doors aren’t indestructible. They can get bent, dented, or cracked. Depending on what material yours is made from, a repair may vary in difficulty and price. If you have a fresh dent, crack, or bend in your garage door, you may be wondering if it can be repaired. 

If you are a handy DIYer, the answer is yes. You can likely get your door looking back to normal with little effort, but the severity of the situation determines whether your garage will look and work like new again.

In this blog post, we review the various types of damage that can occur to a garage door, and provide tips on how to repair each type of damage.

Types Of Damage That Can Occur To A Garage Door:

Dents

The most common type of damage is a dent. Dents on your door can be caused by a variety of things, such as hail, rocks, hockey pucks, and baseballs. If the dent is small, it may be possible to repair it with a hammer and dolly. However, if the dent is large, you may need to replace the garage door panel. 

If you picked something standard when you installed your garage door, you may be in luck. But beware, the issue with replacing panels is they can vary in thickness between models; if yours is a decade old, it’s possible that the new models are now either too thin or too thick for your door. This can lead to leaks due to an improper seal.

Cracks

If your garage is made from wood, cracks can occur and begin to cause serious issues in your garage door. Cracks can be caused by the wood drying out in the direct sunlight or by extreme weather changes, such as freezing temperatures. 

If the crack is small, you may be able to repair it with wood epoxy. If you do decide to fix your door, it’s a good idea to refinish your door completely to maintain its life for another season. Cracks allow moisture to seep into the wood, and eventually cause rot and decay.

Bends

If you have a bend in your door that needs to be straightened, consider hammering it out with a rubber mallet. To do this, place the wood on the side of the door with the dent, and tap it with the hammer until the dent is flush. The wood block will keep the door from buckling on either side — that way your door doesn’t go from bad to worse.

What If My Garage Door Won’t Close?

If the bend in your garage door is preventing you from shutting it all the way, you’re undoubtedly concerned about the risk to your property. If this is the case, you may have little choice but to seek help from a garage door repair specialist. We can try to assist you in closing your door, but depending on the situation, we would likely advise replacing it completely. 

Dealing with a bend that is preventing your door from closing is not a do-it-yourself job, as attempting to make the repair without proper training, experience, and tools can be very dangerous.

If you have questions about this or any other garage door repair issue, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Canadoor. We would be happy to help you resolve the problem safely and efficiently.

If you decide to replace your door after our inspection, we can provide you with options for choosing the most affordable replacement solution.