Mistakes can be made by do-it-yourselfers and some “professionals” who do garage door installations. Missouri City homeowners can find out the hard way. What if, a couple of years after having bought a house, their garage door needs serious repair or replacement? Unethical contractors often use inferior garage doors or inexperienced subcontractors to install them. The mistakes they make may not appear until the garage doors have been used for a few years. Off-center doors, use of framing nails rather than lag screws, and skipping the steel door stiffener are just a few of the common mistakes made while installing garage doors. The following describes the details of those and a few others.
Thinking You Can Do a Garage Door Installation by Yourself
Even professionals know they should not attempt to do it alone, because of the weight of the door and pressure on the springs. You need at least two people to complete a garage door installations. Missouri City and Houston residents have access to the Garage Door Doctor who are a family of trained garage door installers. Get assistance or hire a professional to install it properly.
Off-Center Installations
For many installers, when something is in the way of setting the lift motor in the center, they will just move it to one side or the other. This will cause premature wear of belts and chains, even with only a slight off-center garage door installations. Missouri City residents know to always call the Garage Door Doctor for professional installations.
When the garage door installation is completed off-center, the door will twist every time it opens. This will cause the door to bind and eventually bend the door panels. It will ultimately lead to a failure of the door mechanism.
Skipping or Forgetting the Steel Door Stiffener
Many do-it-yourselfers and even a few “professionals” do not know many garage door installation kits do not include the steel door stiffener, because without a motorized opener it is not required, so many manufacturers, in order to save money, don’t bother to include it or even mention it in the installation instructions.
The real problem with this omission of a steel stiffener, 14 gauge or better and 1 ½” by 1 ½’, is that the door will work fine for a while, sometimes even long enough to be out of the warranty period given by the installer, if any. Then, after the warranty is over, you are left holding the bag for an omission by the installer and the manufacturer. Always check for the stiffener installation if you will be using a motorized opener.
The Use of Nails Instead of Lag Screws for the Frame
With repeated opening and closing, framing nails will just pull right out. Lag screws, on the other hand, mesh with the frame to make a tighter bond than just a nail. There is no way they will slide out after continued use.
Trust the Garage Door Doctor for Expert Garage Door Installation
Missouri City and the Houston, Texas, area can depend on the Garage Door Doctor for emergency repairs and installations. Call the Garage Door Doctor, (281) 855-9300 or (281) 578-7659 and receive a FREE estimate for installation, replacement parts, or a 21-point maintenance inspection. The Garage Door Doctor is the winner of the Super Service Award.
“Honest, Quality Work – At a Fair Price.”
