Can a dented garage door be repaired?
Often, and the type of door decides how. B&D describes a sectional door as panels running on tracks, so a damaged panel on one can sometimes come out and a new one go in. A roller door is a single curtain that rolls up above the opening, and a tilt door is one piece, so damage on those is a bigger conversation.
The first question for any of them is whether the door still runs. A dent that only spoils the look can wait for a proper quote. A dent that makes the door catch, jam or run crooked can't, because something behind the panel has moved too.
Panel, curtain or whole door
| What is usually possible | Ask about | |
|---|---|---|
| Sectional door | A new panel in place of the damaged one, if the same panel is still made | The profile, the colour and whether the panel is insulated |
| Roller door | The curtain is one piece, so a bad crease can mean a new curtain | Whether the dent will still roll up cleanly around the drum |
| Tilt door | Repairs to the one panel, or a new door | Whether this is the time to replace the door instead |
Matching a replacement panel
A panel has to match the door in three ways: profile, finish and colour. Steel-Line alone sells sectional doors in Flatline, Slimline, Glacier, Ranch and Heritage profiles, in Colorbond, DecoWood, UniCote LUX, Savannah and Matt Finish ranges, plus more than 70 Dulux colours. Two doors that look alike from the street can need different panels.
Insulation and windows count too. Steel-Line fits its insulation into the back of the panels, so a replacement for an insulated door needs the same. Windows only go on its Ranch or Heritage profiles, so a windowed panel narrows the match even further.
Expect a new panel to look slightly fresher than its sun-worn neighbours. The Australian Garage Door Association's inspection guide judges door surfaces from at least 2m away in normal daylight, and says slight variations in colour and finish are not generally a defect.
Ripples in a new door
Not every wave in a steel panel is damage. The AGDA guide calls ripples in a pressed steel panel oil-canning, and accepts them where the distortion over any 150mm is no more than 1mm. If a newer door shows a slight ripple in low sunlight, that figure is the one to raise with whoever installed it.
When a dent is more than cosmetic
- The door catches, jams or runs unevenly since it was hit
- A roller or wheel has come out of the track
- A hinge is torn or a panel has pulled away from the next one
- A cable looks slack or out of place
- The bottom of the door no longer meets the floor evenly, so the seal is open
- In a cyclone area, any damage that weakens the door: the Cyclone Yasi report found many roller doors came out of their side guides before they failed
Leave the bottom fixings alone
Damage near the bottom of a sectional door sits close to the cable fixtures, and Steel-Line warns never to loosen them, or anything on the spring assembly, because the spring could unwind or the door could fall. If the hit has pushed the door off its track, B&D says not to try lifting it back on yourself. Stop using the door and let the door specialist free it.
Photos and details that help
- The whole door from the driveway, so the profile and colour show
- A close-up of the damage, and the same spot from inside the garage
- Any label on the door, or the paperwork from when it went in
- Whether the door still opens and closes, and how it sounds
- Whether it is insulated or has windows
What you can do, and what to leave
You can
- Take the photos above
- Wash the panel so the damage and the colour are easy to see
- Stop using the door if it catches or jams
- Find the door's paperwork or label
Leave to a door specialist
- Taking out and fitting panels
- Straightening tracks, hinges and rollers
- Anything near the bottom cable fixtures
- Checking the door's balance afterwards
What we would do
Ask for the door's balance to be checked once the new panel is in. Steel-Line says spring force is generally equal to the door's weight, so a panel that is heavier or lighter than the one it replaced, or an insulated one, can leave the door working harder than it should. It is a quick check while the door specialist is still there.