Replace / repair garage door sections?

It sounds like there's more to that story, but I won't go there.

Personally I would recommend that you replace the sections since they will continue to flex back & forth each time the door is used. Therefore the cracks will get bigger until the door bows so much they will buckle & may even come out of the track.

While you could brace the inside of the door to prolong it's use the cracks will be difficult if not impossible to repair. As you have discovered any type of welding is going to burn the heck out of the paint.

Doordoc

LOL. No really - no more to that story 8o)

Great. Since I have no idea how the garage door industry works, I can use some guidance. I am in Chicago suburbs - Naperville area. What would be the best way to find some reputable contractor to do this? Where can I buy the sections? Home Depot? Lowes etc..

Basically, just trying not to get ripped off by some garage contractor.. so can really use some education, do's/don'ts etc. Any cost estimates? It's a regular 16x7 feet sectional door.

Thanks doordoc!

Check the yellow pages to see if there is a Wayne Dalton store near you. THey make great doors and service all brands and I've always found them to be reliable. Their IDrive opener is particularly neat since it fits above the door instead of in the middle of the ceiling. Lowes sells them too but WD stores will probably sell and install it for less or fix the old door if possible.

How could a car power antenna cause all this damage to the garage door?

cheers Bob

Good question. When I heard the crashing sound coming from the garage, I ran over there and found the following.

I am sure the back of the car (or the bumper) didn't hit the door as there is no damage to the car except the antenna.

I didn't pay much attention to the door at this point.. it looked okay at first look. Then I ran the auto opener to open the door fully - and the fun started.

The door opened, but some of the rollers came off of the track, and the door was partially "hanging". When I tried to close it (manually), it would not come down all the way, with one side of the door not level with the other side. At this point I noticed, that the right hand side string is off the pully.

(Read my first post to learn what I did to "fix" the door somewhat)

So, yeah - not sure what caused what.. but this is the best I can figure out.

So, any ideas on how I can go about fixing the damage in a economical & sensible way? Thanks.

It sounds like all the problems are related to moving the door, not the surface condition of the panels.

It sounds like the door uses coil torsion springs to carry the load. These are large springs wound around a heavy steel bar mounted on the wall just above the door. THESE ARE DANGEROUS!!!!!!!

There is a steel cable that goes down each side of the door and coils on a drum at the ends of the heavy steel bar. It sounds like the cable has jumped or the drum is out of time. THIS THING IS DANGEROUS!!!!!!!

The best thing to do would be to hire a local professional to reset the door. If you insist on trying, you might study this site: