Garage doors are a huge part of your home's exterior style. Since they're so large and visible, you want to keep them maintained. They also need to be upgraded, replaced, or repainted whenever you make changes to the exterior of your house. Some garage repair jobs are easy, while others should only be left to professionals. This article offers a basic rundown of various garage door problems, and how to find and fix them. It will help you decide if you can fix the problem yourself, or if you need to hire a professional. 

Checking Your Frames

If you just want to replace your panels for style reason, this is definitely a very manageable DIY project. However, it is only practical if your garage frames are in good condition. Often, when the panels get damaged, the frames do too. This usually happens when you run into your garage with your car. The frames are usually made out of aluminum, so they are a little bit fragile. You need to check the integrity of the frames by looking closely at them from the inside. If you notice any cracks or kinks in the metal, you probably won't be able to easily remove the panels and replace them. If you want new panels and you have cracked frames, you will need professional repair.

Motor Problems

You will also want to hire a professional to service your system if you are having problems with the motor. There are a lot of technical issues when it comes to a garage motor and they are not very easy to repair or replace if you are not familiar with them. You have to keep in mind that the motor needs to function properly. You probably don't have the tools to properly repair and calibrate a motor and chain.

Changing the Panels

If you want to change the color of your garage, the difficulty really depends on what material the panels are made out of. If you have wooden panels, they are the easiest to repaint or stain. However, if the metal or vinyl panels, it probably isn't practical to paint them yourself. The surfaces are ultra smooth and very difficult to paint, even if you have a pneumatic spray gun. You will definitely need to find a painter who specializes in working with these materials. That is, a typical house painter might not have the tools or experience to paint an aluminum or vinyl garage door.

As you can see, in some cases it is easier to fix your garage yourself, but you might need to hire professionals.