Six Undesirable Consequences of a Poor Garage Door Installation

A garage door is one of the most noticeable and eye-catching features of your home. Not only can it potentially lower home heating and cooling expenses, but it can also improve future resale value. If the door has been damaged because of a poor installation, you have problems going forward.

Undesirable Consequences of a Poor Garage Door Installation

There are many things that can go wrong with a garage door installation, whether you do the work yourself, have it performed by the neighborhood handyman, or rarely even when installed by a professional. Here are six undesirable consequences of a poor garage door installation.

High Costs for Garage Door Repairs

If your garage door was poorly installed, it’s a foregone conclusion that problems will crop up as time goes by. It’s likely that some of these will lead to high repair costs because you’ll have to call a professional garage door specialist to come out and investigate what’s wrong and how it can be fixed. It may require installing or repairing new parts, but to avoid these expenses, we recommend getting your garage door installed by someone with expertise and experience.

The Garage Door Has a Short Lifespan

A garage door's expected lifespan could be significantly reduced by a sub-par installation. A poor garage door installation could leave you with weakened components that wear out quickly, leaving you with a worthless and rusty garage door that greets visitors and passers-by every day. That's not a comforting thought, especially if you take pride in other aspects of homeownership. A professionally installed garage door will last decades.

The Garage Door is Noisy

If your garage door suffers from poor installation, you'll know it pretty quickly. A sure indication of something wrong is the noise – unsettling sounds from worn torsion springs, tracks, wheels, and other components. In a worst-case scenario, the outward appearance of your garage door and the sounds it makes could alert potential burglars of a weakness – and an easy way into your home. Besides, a noisy garage door is a disruption, signaling when someone enters or exits through the garage, and possibly waking a sleeping baby or other family members.

Noise associated with a poorly installed garage door could be a harbinger of worse things to come. In the future, consider the benefits of having a trained and reputable professional install a new door. This can save you money in the long run, but only if you work with qualified and licensed garage door installation professionals, who are insured and offer a warranty on the door as well as parts and labor.

Potential for Injuries

All modern garage doors use tightly wound torsion or tension springs, which are very dangerous to work around whether you’re a licensed professional or a DIY enthusiast trying to save money. Installation requires the use of specific tools, especially in the case of torsion springs. If a torsion spring is inadvertently released, it can result in serious injury and damage to personal belongings. But it’s not just faulty torsion springs that could send you to the emergency room. Poor installation could result in the door itself falling or collapsing, resulting in injury to others – children, family, friends, neighbors, a delivery or repairmen in your garage for another reason.

The Garage Door Won’t Open

This could be caused by a few common issues which are easy to overlook.

Dead Transmitter Batteries

A transmitter for your garage door must be adequately powered to open and close the garage door. If the batteries are depleted, it won’t work. To check the transmitter, simply press the button to open or close the door. If that doesn’t work, you may just need new batteries. If you have more than one transmitter, now’s probably a good time to check the batteries in each one. This may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many service calls we go on end for this very reason.

Dirty or Misaligned Photocells

There’s another potential issue if the door doesn’t close when you use the remote: It’s likely the photocell eyes aren’t working for some reason. They could be dirty, meaning the light can’t pass between the cells on each side of the garage. If the cells are misaligned, the light won’t transmit between them, either. If you suspect a problem with then photocell eyes, clean them gently and make sure they’re properly aligned and not blocked.

The following possible causes could also be to blame:

• The torsion springs have been inadverntently damaged.
• The garage door is manually locked.
• Something is blocking the garage door path and triggering the reversing mechanism.
• Your garage door's track is misaligned.
• The limit settings – set at the motor above the door – are set incorrectly, and sending the wrong data to the garage door opener.

Poor Aesthetics

Garage doors can be heavy, complicated to install, and time consuming if not installed properly. One of the consequences we often see with DIY installations is poor aesthetics. In other words, whoever installed your door caused damage to the exterior or interior of the door. If exterior damage is visible, it can become an embarrassing eyesore – especially if door panels are cracked or scratched. If the interior of the door has been damaged, you may also see visible cracks or chips in panels and insulation. A poor garage door installation can sometimes damage the insulation, meaning the interior of your garage isn’t as warm or cool as it should be.

Call Our Experienced Garage Door Installers

The best way to avoid these six undesirable consequences of a poor garage installation is to work with the professionals at A Better Garage Door. Call us today at 303-920-2267 for more information or to schedule an in-person quote.