What do You do if You Back Into Your Garage Door?

It happens more often than you imagine. You’re leaving your house in a hurry, put the car in reverse, and back out before the door has fully opened. You’ve backed straight into it before you notice, and now, you’re at a loss for what to do next.

Don’t worry if this sounds like you. There are a few simple solutions. The right one in your situation depends on the extent of the damage.

This guide will clarify the steps you can take if you back into your garage door with your vehicle, the most typical damages in these cases, and how much you can expect to pay for repairs.
The first thing to do is to put the vehicle in park. You don’t want to leave it running while you get out to inspect the damage. This also happens more often than you think.

Evaluate the Damage

Inspect the vehicle and the garage door for damages on the surface to see what intervention is needed. If you hit the door from the outside, enter the garage from your side door or house to check the damages. If you hit it from the inside, move the vehicle forward to see if there are any dents.

Make a list of damages

Before you call a repair service or your insurance provider, make a list of the damages to report. If the door has slid off its tracks or cannot be opened manually, you need to get the company to repair it before using it. To avoid injury, keep a distance from the door of at least eight feet. It’s also a good idea to measure the dents, so your repair service knows what type of damage to expect when they come to your location. Write down what material the door is made of as well.

Call a repair service

You’ll need to call a repair company no matter what damages you identify. This is the case even if you can open the door. Don’t attempt to repair it; this task is best left to professionals. Unless you are one – and probably not if you’re reading this – you might inflict even more damage, which will cost more money and take more time to eliminate. Don’t touch the door if it’s off the rails. You might cause injury. Technicians are specially trained to check and fix the damage, such as opener issues, track problems, and dents.

Check if you can open the door manually

After backing into your garage door, you might be tempted to try and open it with your remote to see if it still works. You shouldn’t do this as it might end up causing even more damage to your garage door by forcing it to open. The whole system might be damaged as a result. Don’t try to move the garage door if you see that it’s no longer aligned with the rails. There is a risk that it will fall. As you inspect for damages, you might identify dents only on the surface. In this case, check if you can open the door manually. You must disconnect the door opener and move the door physically to open it this way.

Determine the next steps

You’ll want to decide how to proceed depending on the situation after the repair service assesses the damages. If there is only minor damage, like a few dents and scratches, the price to pay will probably be less than an insurance deductible. However, it’s a different story if there are extensive damages, like structural problems or replacing the door completely. In the event of high repair costs, consider filing a homeowners’ insurance claim. You might have to call your car insurance provider depending on the severity of the damages. Keep in mind that your car insurance won’t pay for garage door repairs, and neither will your homeowners’ insurance for car repairs. After you assess the damage to your car and door, do what you think is most optimal using your best judgment.

Most common problems after backing into a garage door

While the extent of damage depends on how fast the car was going when you hit the door, the most common problems include broken panels, dents, misaligned rollers, and damaged tracks. After backing into a garage door, people usually notice dents in the bottom part. Typically, residential garage doors consist of four panels. If two or more of the panels are broken or dented, it’s best to replace all of them just to be safe.

A broken or misaligned garage door track will make the door risky to operate. You need a professional to inspect and fix it to make sure it doesn’t fall and hurt someone. These people use special tools to bend a track into place safely or replace it. This type of repair costs around $130.

Finally, you can bend the vertical track if you back into your garage door really hard. This can lead the rollers to come out of the track channel. Damaged or broken rollers cost around $15 each to fix, on average, while hinges cost about $10 each.

Contact a professional for a garage door repair or replacement

Consider replacing the door with a brand-new one if you have noticed extensive damage. The repairs and labor costs of fixing some sections approximate the costs of an entire garage door replacement. It’s crucial to keep in mind that the older your door is, the more repairs it will need in the future, and these will add up. It’s best to install a new one in some cases.

You want to contact professionals to repair or replace any materials affected, regardless of the extent of the damage. AlliedDoor.com is here for you if you’ve had this incident recently. We pride ourselves on our quality customer service, around-the-clock interventions, and expert craftsmanship. We’ll evaluate all the damages and work with you to fix or replace your garage door as soon as possible.

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