Can You Replace One Garage Door Panel?

The first publication of Can You Replace One Garage Door Panel? was done on: www.ajsgaragedoorservice.com

If you or someone in your household accidentally bumped your garage door with your car and damaged one of the door panels to the point where your door isn’t working properly any more, you might be concerned that you’re about to be hit with a huge expense of needing to replace your entire garage door.  While that might be true, it isn’t necessarily true all the time.   When you have experts in garage door repair, like AJ’s Garage Door Service, there is always the possibility that we can get things working again for you for a whole lot less than the cost of a new door.   [caption id="attachment_1524" align="alignright" width="300"] not worth repairing[/caption] With that being said, there are a lot of variables that must be taken into account and it can be difficult to know for sure without having a good look at the door.  The beauty of the technology age we live in today is that with a quick smart phone photo being texted to our highly skilled technician, we can oftentimes give you a good idea of whether it’s worth trying to fix or if it’s a lost cause and time for a new garage door. One thing to mention here is that if AJ’s tells you that you need a new garage door, it’s because you need a new garage door.  We don’t sell, install, or in any other way deal with new garage doors. We only repair them. If we see a door that we can’t properly and safely repair for you, we’ll tell you that.  Knowing this, you can rest assured that we’re not trying to sell you a door that you don’t really need.  So going back to the scenario where one of your garage door panels is slightly tweaked, but not destroyed… it may be possible to do some work to it, such as adding a supporting steel strut to it and giving it just the right ‘umph’ to get it back straight enough to function properly.   When AJ’s technicians do this kind of work, we always inform you that there is no guarantee that the door will look perfect from the outside.  Once there’s a bit of a wrinkle or crease in the metal panel, there’s no ironing it out.  However, when your primary concern is just getting the door to safely work again, there’s a good chance we can accomplish that for you at a cost that is a lot less than replacing the whole door.   As for replacing a single panel… that is not something we do, and unless you have a very new door, it is unlikely that you’ll be able to get anyone to do it for you.  The reason may be frustrating to hear, but it’s the truth.   [caption id="attachment_1525" align="alignleft" width="500"] garage door panel that causes problems but can be fixed rather than replaced[/caption] Garage door manufacturers make changes to their doors every few years.  In doing so, it becomes increasingly difficult to find a perfectly matching panel for an older door.  What’s more, is that over time the color on the door will fade, so when you replace just a single, older panel with a brand new one, it usually stands out and doesn’t look to great.   If you can find a panel that matches your door and if you don’t mind it looking obvious that you have mis-matched panels, a single garage door panel is something that can be done by a garage door repair technician.  But because of all the variable factors mentioned above, it’s not something that AJ’s offers.   If you do find yourself in a situation where you’re sure you need just a single replacement panel and you’re not sure who to call, go ahead and call us and we’ll share a few names of local companies that we feel do good quality, honest work at a fair price.   More useful information you might not know about regarding your garage door: How Do You Manually Open A Garage Door? More information about what AJ’s offers as far as garage door repair services can be found here.  And don’t forget, we offer service to the entire greater Tucson area including Oro Valley and Vail, AZ.