If your garage door is dented or operating sporadically, you may try to ignore the problem in order to avoid needing to replace it. But oftentimes, your garage door can be repaired quickly, without a huge cost. When you consider that a garage door is often a main entry point to your home, damaged doors can be an easy target for breaking into. Read on to figure out if your garage door might need full or part replacement, or whether a routine service might be all it needs.
Note that in order to keep your door and opener running well and to keep your warranty valid, we recommend that it is serviced within the first 12 months and then once every 2 years, or earlier if required. An authorised Dominator service technician should carry out all garage door and opener repairs - please do not attempt to repair your garage door yourself!
We love being able to repair your garage door but in some instances, it's just not viable. Cases in point above!
When Your Garage Door is Dented or Damaged
Got a few dings or dents in the garage door? When the dents or damage have been caused by a vehicle, extreme weather or a home invasion, you may need to replace the garage door. But depending on the type of garage door you have and the damage done, it might be suitable for repair, so it’s always wise to first contact our friendly team for assessment.
For instance, if yours is a Dominator Sectional Garage Door, single panels can often be replaced without too much difficulty. However, large dents in a roller garage door may prevent the door from closing or doing its job properly, in which case replacement could be your only option. Smaller dents could benefit from being smoothed over, so rather than grin and bear it, take some photos, measure the damage and contact your local Dominator dealer for advice.
Sectional garage door panels can often be replaced. Above left, Dominator Nevada. Right, Dominator Valero.
When Your Garage Door Doesn’t Close Fully
When your garage door isn’t closing properly or is stuck in the open or closed position, first check your owner’s manual for troubleshooting tips. If you don’t manage to find and remedy the malfunction it’s quite likely we’ll be able to fix the problem for you, with a routine garage door opener / motor service. Contact your local service and repair team here.
However, if the tracks are faulty, damaged or out of alignment, replacing the tracks might be the best solution. Sometimes the advice may be that you replace the entire door, especially in the case of a damaged or very old garage door. It’s one thing to be economical and fix certain parts to get more lifespan from your existing garage door, but in the long term, it may not be worthwhile paying to repair part of the problem when you’ll need to address another issue a couple of years down the track. A trained professional will be able to assess the problems and offer advice specific to your situation.
Dominator's garage door motors feature an inbuilt system to help you diagnose problems.
When the Garage Door Opener is Faulty or Broken
Depending on the model, most garage door openers have an inbuilt system to help you diagnose problems that may occur. The main light on Dominator’s Smart, Select and Secure openers will show a series of flashes to alert you to the cause. Count the number of OFF flashes and refer to your owner’s manual in the first instance. If the problem isn’t one you can solve yourself, such as the batteries needing replacement, it's time to contact your local Dominator dealer for service and repair.
Before contacting your local service and repair centre, have the following information at the ready:
- Has anything untoward happened since the opener last operated, such as a storm, jolt to the door or power cut?
- What is the current light status on the opener - how many OFF flashes do you count?
- Have you disengaged the opener and attempted to manually open and close the door? (Instructions to do this are in your owner’s manual).
- What model is your opener? Check the model number on the rear of the opener.
- Who installed the opener? Dealer details will be on a sticker on the back of your garage door.
- Do you know the installation date of your opener?
All of these details will help us to have a better understanding of the issue and arrive with everything we might need for a speedy solution.
Follow our guidelines to gather the information necessary to ensure a swift solution to your garage door and opener problems.
At Dominator, we design and build garage doors and openers that work in unison to provide dependable protection for your assets and your family. Our dealers are all trained to offer the best advice and quality products backed by our impressive warranties. So if you do need to replace your garage door, you can trust that you’ll get the optimum solution for longevity and security. Call us on 0800 366 462 or send an online enquiry for a quote today.
