Repair Or Replace? What To Do About Your Garage Door Panels

When it comes to garage doors, they very rarely need to be replaced because of functionality issues. Of course, the color of the panels can fade, prompting homeowners to repaint them or invest in new ones. There is always a chance that your doors could get damaged by getting hit by your car. However, most homeowners never even consider updating their garage door panels until after they make other exterior remodels (like painting their outside walls) and they realize that their garage door doesn't match or look stylish with the rest of the color scheme. Regardless of your reasons for investing in new garage door panels, this article explains your best options for the project.

Replacing Panels

Replacing your panels completely is obviously the most expensive and full-scale approach to the project. While this will often require that you replace your entire garage door system, you might be able to get away with only replacing the panels. This will obviously make the project much cheaper. But, this is only possible if you have the type of garage door door that has removable panels. Most garage door panels are built with a simple frame system, where the panels can pop out of the metal frame quite easily.

That being said, you usually don't have a lot of replacement panel options, especially if you have an older garage door model that is no longer popular. That is, you won't have that many panel options to choose from. If you have a particularly old garage door system, you might just be better off replacing the entire thing, not only because it is hard to find replacement panels, but also because your motor might not be very efficient or quiet. New garage door motors are very quiet and smooth.

Painting Panels

If you want to keep your existing garage panels, you might be tempted to paint them to save some money. The problem with painting garage door panels is that they're usually made out of a smooth, synthetic materials like fiberglass or vinyl. These materials are very effective for garage doors because they're lightweight, but they aren't that easy to repaint because you need to use spray guns. If you hire a professional painter they will probably want to (if possible) to remove the panels completely in order to spray them. This can make the project pretty expensive.

So, for a little bit more money, it might be more practical just to buy new panels. Reach out to a garage door repair and replacement specialist for more information.


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