In a time when the internet is full of useful information and big box hardware stores abound, it’s easy for homeowners to get in over their heads on home repairs and maintenance. There are projects they can safely take on and there are projects where it’s probably wise to ask for some professional assistance, such as when it comes to garage door repairs.
The motivation is understandable; if you fix that broken garage door yourself, you expect to save some money.
It’s easy to look up garage door opener repairs on google, watch a video and have a sense that you understand what you need to do. But, when you put the theory into practice, you’re likely to find that repairing a garage door opener will prove more difficult than the video let on.
A garage door technician knows the little nuances that make garage door opener repairs go smoother. And, when the job is done, the garage door opener will tend to work better, too. It’s the little “tricks of the trade” that make a garage door technician more proficient in fixing your garage door opener. Take that project on yourself and you may find yourself dealing with substantial frustration long before the garaged door opener is actually fixed.
It’s the 10,000-hour rule that Malcolm Gladwell wrote about: the experience of an expert is something you can only gain from repetition. In other words, there is no substitute for experience and training.
On the other hand, you might want to consider the value of your time. A project, such as fixing a garage door opener, can that take you four or five hours to accomplish while a pro can have the job done in an hour. While you’re trying to figure things out the garage door technician is applying techniques that quickly address the problem with your garage door opener.
Another problem with fixing a garage door opener yourself is that working with garage doors involves a certain amount of risk – it can be dangerous. In particular, the large springs involved with garage doors pose a potential threat to your safety. That threat exists while you are working on the garage door and after you’re done, if the garage door opener is not repaired properly.
The springs serve as counterweights for your garage door opener. They’re under a great deal of force when under pressure. If that tension is released at the wrong moment, the spring can launch across the garage doing serious damage or injury. If the brackets holding the springs are loosened incorrectly, the nuts can fly out like bullets and the spring can shred a hand that is too close.
Garage door technicians frequently receive calls from someone who started on their garage door opener and then ran into problems. It’s hard to overstate the value of knowing your limitations – when to stop. If a homeowner starts a garage door opener repair project, and then realizes they need help, the concern then is that they may have created other problems.
A qualified garage door technician can usually arrive on fairly short notice to repair your garaged door. Though you’ll pay for their services, the cost usually isn’t that much and, in the long run, you’ll save time and aggravation while knowing that your garage door opener is fixed right.
