Injuries from a garage door. It’s not something we often think about. Yet it’s reported that garage door accidents can cause as many as 30,000 injuries a year. This includes repairing your own garage door. Now, unlike other professional garage door companies, we are not trying to discourage you from repairing your own garage door. Yet, we do want to caution you that these doors can weigh a lot, have a lot of torque in them and can hurt you if you are not careful. Here are some common DIY garage door repair injuries that are preventable.
Pinching Injuries.
It may sound like common sense not to get your fingers pinched by garage doors. Yet 7,000 pinching injuries (which can result in finger amputations) happen every year. That is because there are several places your fingers could get caught, including between the door and the ground, between panels, and even the sides of the garage door. If you’re going to repair your own garage door, you need to be mindful of where your fingers are at all times.
Lacerations, Punctures, and Severe Injuries from Spring Repair.
Many garage door companies will discourage you from trying to repair garage door springs yourself, and for good reason. If you are not careful and follow the proper steps, you can lacerate, injure, or even kill yourself or others. Torsion springs store mechanical energy when they’re wound up and are designed to keep doors that are hundreds of pounds up in the air. You don’t want that kind of energy hitting you! Yet, you can change your springs if you are careful, have the right set of tools, and have a knack for getting things fixed. Our sister company, Parts 4 Garage Doors, has a great post on how to repair your garage door springs. If this, not something you’re completely comfortable doing, it’s best to call in a professional garage door technician to do your garage door spring repair.
Getting Hit with the Garage Door.
If you try to do the repairs in the wrong order or the wrong way, especially if you have the garage door up, you could get hit with the garage door. These doors can weigh a lot. Wooden garage doors can weigh hundreds of pounds. All that weight can hit you on the head or back, causing serious injury.
Ladder Falls.
Oddly, this is not really talked about but should be! If you are fixing your garage door opener, chain or tracks or even installing a new door, you are probably going to be on a ladder. This means carrying things that are awkward and even heavy up and down the ladder. You have to be careful of your footing and balance and try not to rush. In most cases, the ladder falls when the person is trying to do something in a way they shouldn’t. Remember, we said preventable injuries and a ladder fall is preventable by having the right ladder, stable footing, balance, and taking your time.
We encourage you to make your own judgment. If these are injuries you feel you can avoid and want to tackle doing the garage door repairs yourself, we do not discourage that. In fact, we encourage you to take a look at Parts 4 Garage Doors for your garage door parts.
However, garage door repairs should not be made by everyone. Those that really should not be doing their own repairs are usually the ones that get injured trying. Spectrum Overhead Doors LLC has been providing the Houston area with award-winning garage door repairs for over 15 years. Call us at 281-748-9542 or if you live on the east side of Houston, 713-557-3407 for a free quote! It’s better than doctors and hospital bills!