Is your garage door warped or bowing in the middle? This is a concern you need to fix. It’s obvious a sagging and bowing door is unsightly, but it’s more than just an aesthetic problem. It can seriously affect how your door opens and closes, and even ruin the track and other parts of the garage door if ignored. It can also burn out your garage door opener motor prematurely.
Let’s take a look at what’s causing your garage door to bend in the middle — and what you can do to repair it.
Why is Your Door Bowing?
Bowing is a type of warping that can occur across the surface of your garage door. It makes it look caved in and disheveled. It’s something you’ll notice immediately (and so will your neighbors). Not only is it unsightly, but a warped door can also be a heavy strain on your garage door opener.
Your door is bowing because of extreme changes in temperature. This happens a lot during the winter. The extreme changes in temperature can cause your door to warp. This usually happens with wooden doors, though in rare cases steel doors can have a similar issue. Steel doors tend to bow because the garage door opener is not strong enough to handle the weight of the door. An upgrade is usually necessary.
Yes, a Bowing Garage Door Can Be Repaired. Here’s How.
You can repair one or two bowing panels of a garage door by simply replacing them. It’s a more cost effective option than installing a new garage door. It’s a lot cheaper to replace a garage door panel than to replace the entire door.
But if your whole garage door is bowing, or it’s bowed so much you can’t open or close the door, your best option is to just install a new door.
The best way to avoid a bowing door in the future is to choose a steel or aluminum door and make sure your opener is powerful enough to handle the weight. Like the natural look of wood? No problem. You can still choose a steel door that has a wood grain finish that looks like real wood for all practical purposes (with none of the non-practical downsides of a wooden door).