Tuesday, May 1, 2018

The Dangers of DIY Garage Door Installation

If it is time for you to get a new garage door, whether you want it for aesthetic reasons or your old garage door has broken down beyond repair, you might think that you can lower costs a little by doing the labor yourself. Unfortunately, garage door installation usually goes beyond the skills of even the handiest DIY homeowner. In fact, installing your own garage door can be downright dangerous.

The Many Moving Parts of a Garage Door
It doesn't happen often, but many garage door companies that offer installation fully expect to receive at least a few calls per year asking them to come fix a DIY garage door installation job. One of the primary issues is that while a garage door looks fairly straightforward, it actually has a number of moving parts that need to work together in order to work efficiently and safely. While automatic openers are usually somewhat straightforward to install, the issue is picking the right track for the door and actually installing that track.

Lack of Proper Tools
When installing a garage door, typically you want to leave it to the professionals because they have the right tools and knowledge for the job. It goes beyond simple drills for fastening, but rather you need tools like a counterbalance spring system to install it correctly and do so in a way that the installation is actually safe.

Garage Doors are Heavy
These days, most people have automatic garage openers that do the heavy lifting for them. This means that tend to forget the large door that is moving up and down weights a couple hundred pounds. This means if you are dead set on doing the installation yourself, you can't. You will need at least one or two other people to help you physically lift the door and put it into position. Trying to lift a garage door yourself is asking for injury.

The Danger of the Springs
If you ask any garage door professional what the most dangerous part of an installation is, they will say without a doubt that it is doing the springs. Many homeowners have been seriously injured because they tried to adjust the springs, let along install them. The issue is that a spring stores energy to actually lift the door and if it unwinds during the installation, that energy is rapidly released. You won't be able to move out of the way in time and the springs can cause a serious injury.

Make the safe choice and call Roadrunner Garage Doors today.

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