Garage door repair ideas???

[mark page]

I went and did something by accident by relying on the light beam safety device. I closed the garage door on one of the kid's bicycle. It was straddling the beam and it didn't pick it up. I had the limiter switch setting a little on the high side. The closing force warped the top door panel and now it's bowed in about four inches in the center. The door is an insulated aluminum design. It didn't crinkle it but just bowed it and the aluminum brace. The door is a 16 footer. I was thinking along the lines of a piece of angle aluminum or iron 16ft and replace the brace. Maybe even small width channel iron/aluminum may be stronger. I just don't know how thick I would need to bring the bow back to straight again. It doesn't take much strength to push it back straight, maybe 25-30 lbs of force, guessing. I don't want to add any uneccessary weight to the door although my opener is a heavy duty enough one to handle it. It's a top of the line Genie one. Anyone have any ideas on the fix. I am sure I'm not the first one to have this happen to. I don't want to replace the panel and incur the cost of that if not needed. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

[David G Baker]

Mark,
Get a price on the repair of the door. Depending on the deductible on your home owners insurance it may be worth your while to turn in a claim to your insurance company.
I don't know exactly what damage your door suffered but unless it is very minor, you probably won't be happy with a do it yourself fix.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Also check with the local garage door suppliers they have replacement panels and other parts. Maybe you can buy an actual garage door beam for a reasonable price.
I had a similar problem with one of my beams. I took off the whole center cross support (parallel to the ground), straightened it and put it back in. Everything worked fine after that.

[Greg Peterson]

Given that it is the top panel, replacement should be relatively easy. You should be able to lock down the lower sections with a couple of C clamps in the tracks, disconnect everything from the top panel and put in a new panel.

Two biggest questions are is the exterior painted to match your house and is a replacement panel available? Affixing a splint on the panel may add enough wight so as to require adjustment of the spring counterweight.