We have all been there before. Whether it’s a microwave that has shorted out on us a number of times, a TV that won’t turn on unless it is plugged in just right, or a lawn mower that simply won’t start, we run into issues with all types of home appliances in our day today. It could be recurring issues that make the odds of the appliance working when you need it to be 50/50, a massive issue that more or less makes the appliance obsolete, or even just some specific finagling you need to do in order to get the appliance functioning. Whatever the specific case may be, we all have appliances that have these types of issues, and oftentimes, we keep pushing them until they simply can’t function anymore. Whether it’s not wanting to deal with the process of purchasing a new appliance, or wanting to get our money’s worth from the old appliance, we like to resist replacing things, both to save money, and our pride.
Because there is a lot of pride wrapped up in being your own “handyman”. Whether it’s smacking an appliance in the right way to get it to work, or getting greased up for a full on appliance dissection, we love to attempt to fix the things that we purchased, and show off our knowledge and ability. For many, it is more or less a financial equation; a DIY repair won’t cost anywhere near as much as a professional service or new appliance will. However, the pride of successfully fixing an appliance, and the notion that you can continually fix this appliance in the future is attractive to many as well. All in all, there are plenty of benefits to attempting a DIY repair on a variety of household appliances, both financial and self-gratifying.
But there are a few items in your home that should not be attempted to DIY repair, and your garage door is one of them. For the most stubborn DIY’ers out there, you may have a garage door issue arise, and you may take a look at the spring-loaded system and how it operates the door, and you may think “I can figure this out, I can determine the issue and figure out what to do next.” But no matter how much you believe in yourself and your abilities, you should never try to DIY repair your garage door. That’s where professional garage door service providers like Thompson’s Garage Door and Openers come in. We provide high-quality garage door repair and installation services to the folks of Southern Minnesota, and we have seen firsthand the dangers of DIY garage door repair attempts. Keep reading to get a better understanding of why you should not DIY repair your garage door, and how Thompson’s Garage Door and Openers can help.
It’s Dangerous
The first thing you need to know about your garage door and why you should not attempt to repair it yourself without proper training is that it is dangerous. The weight of your garage door will vary by material and size, but they can be as heavy as 400 pounds, and even the smaller ones can weigh up to 300 pounds. Even for the biggest and strongest among us, that is a lot of weight. And when you are dealing with a potential issue in your garage door system, you can’t trust that your garage door will catch itself if it were to fall while it was open. That means that any attempt to fix it without proper knowledge or training could release all that weight onto your body, or the body of a loved one or pet, which could result in anything from grave injury to death. The money you might save by trying to fix your garage door yourself is not worth the risk.
It’s Really Dangerous
Did we mention that your garage door is somewhat dangerous? In addition to the weight of the garage door and the potential danger there, there is also plenty of risk and danger from the garage door spring. That heavy door that we were just mentioning, potentially weighing up to 400 pounds? The reason the door doesn’t slam when it closes is due to your garage door spring and the tension it offers as a counterweight to the weight of your garage door. That also means that that garage door spring is tensed with up to 400 lb of force, which means that if you were to accidentally mess up any system in your garage door without proper knowledge or experience, that spring could explode, or fly off in some direction with incredible speed and force. And with that much speed and force, your garage door spring could cause grave bodily harm or death.
Lacking Proper Tools
Like any DIY’er, you might have a tool box with a wide selection of tools to help you try to fix your appliances and other odds and ends in your home. But for many garage door brands and systems, you need highly specialized tools in order to properly disassemble and provide maintenance on your garage door. Using improper tools could cause any of the potential injury concerns listed above, as well as potentially causing more damage or voiding your warranty, as listed below. You may even be able to do the job with the tools you have on hand, but the damage or improperly disassembled system from using improper tools could lead to the whole thing falling apart when you least expect it.
Cause More Expensive Damage
For many DIY’ers, the purpose of attempting to fix an appliance with your own two hands and knowledge is to save money. It’s no secret that the more of a lifespan you can get out of your appliance, the farther your dollars that you paid for it will have taken you, and the more you are saving. But with that sentiment in mind, a DIY attempt on your garage door could just as easily cause more damage and maintenance problems. Now, instead of saving money by not replacing your garage door or using a professional service, you are spending even more money than you would have before repairing the damage you may have unknowingly caused to your garage door system.
Lose Your Warranty
This one is probably the most obvious reason, and a no-brainer; any attempt at a DIY repair on your garage door will most likely avoid your garage door warranty. This is obviously depending on the brand, the manufacturer, and a variety of other aspects, but for the most part, almost all garage door brands have a warranty in case certain things within the system go wrong. These warranties usually offer free replacement parts, and or services to fix faulty mechanisms without paying very much at all. That means that any attempt to fix the garage door yourself will void the warranty, and the financial protection it offers in case something were to go wrong. So if you attempt to repair your garage door, and eventually, it becomes completely dilapidated, you will be paying full price to get a new one or repair this one, as your warranty will not be able to help.
Garage Door Repair Services in Minnesota – Thompson’s Garage Door and Openers
As you can see, there are more than a few reasons why it is not a very smart play to attempt to fix your garage door by yourself. Not only is it dangerous, but more often than not, you can end up paying more than you would have paid for a simple professional garage door consultation. That’s where Thompson’s Garage Door and Openers comes in. We have proudly provided southern Minnesota with a wide variety of high-end garage door repair services and installation services. If your garage door has an issue, don’t try to fix yourself, contact us and see how we can help!
