Sixteen years ago, Steph and I tackled the removal and installation of a new garage door opener at my house. It was after that successful, but extremely difficult install, that we decided that some things can be DIYed, but some things require a pro. Today was one of those days where it was better off bringing in a pro rather than DIYing.
Some weeks back I was working in the garage and throwing boxes out of the garage. One got hung up on the top of the garage door which I failed to remove before closing the door. Somehow that little cardboard box broke the door. The door continued to close but not all the way. Fast forward to this week when I mentioned I found a little pile of ‘stuff' in the garage left from some critter. That’s when my husband said that maybe it was time to get the door fixed.
Steph visited the online site HomeAdvisor.com to search for a garage door professional. We have never tried this site but have heard a lot about it so Steph thought we should try it out for this project (if nothing else to see how it works)!
From their website: "HomeAdvisor makes it easy to find local pros who specialize in exactly the type of work you need done. Just tell us a few details about your projects and we’ll match you to the best pro for the job.”
I got an email and a call from the garage pro and we set up an appointment for the next day. I was given a 2-hour window in which to expect him to arrive with a courtesy call 30 minutes prior to his arrival.
Well, the 2-hour window came and went with no call. Fifteen minutes after he should have been here I received a message that he would arrive shortly. I had already left my house but he took a look and texted me a price to replace the door and a price to repair it. Not a bad experience, but failing to call and show up on time made me look for another professional. I like to get referrals via Facebook so I posted a message and Capital City Garage Door (here in Tallahassee, FL) was the clear favorite. I called about 10am and by 4pm the door has been repaired at about half the repair cost of the first estimate!
Turns out all the rollers on the door (all 8) were not rolling. How the thing was even closing is a mystery to me! He changed out the rollers and secured a support beam that had bent and attached the sensors to the rails.
When Steph and I installed the garage door opener 16 years ago, we could not figure out how to get the sensors (safety eye) to attach to the side rails. We found a workable solution, but I’d have to re-adjust them on a regular basis as they would get knocked out of position.
When I asked him about the sensors and explained why they were positioned the way they were, he said, “you put up the opener too?” He grinned and gave me a high five! He said most guys can’t do what we did! That is high praise coming from a garage door professional!
The takeaway from this experience:
Please note: We are not sponsored by any of the companies that were mentioned in this post. Related Projects
4 Comments
William Bielecki
8/4/2016 11:00:51 am
I too have repaired my garage door, but then i know what I'm doing. I used HomeAdvisor for new concrete walks, patio, and steps. They gave me three referrals and one of them had an F rating from BBB. They go by three different names and con artists. I found out, from forums, contractors that advertise or pay a fee to HomeAdvisor are on top of the list for referrals. Will never use HomeAdvisor and advise friends and family not to.
Steph
8/4/2016 03:01:56 pm
Thanks for the info William- good to know. It's absolutely fine to do your own garage door repairs IF you know what you are doing and are confident doing so. If not, please do not risk it. Call in the professionals every time. The unbelievably high tensile strength of those springs could literally take an eye out. Garage door work can be so dangerous. Great article, honest and well written. Keep up the great work friend. Leave a Reply. |
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