installing a new, efficient garage door

If you had an incident occur where your wooden garage door became cracked because it was hit by a baseball or was tapped by your vehicle, you will most likely want to take steps to repair it. Taking the time to fill in a crack will ensure you can open and close your door without further damaging the door. Here are some steps to follow when making a simple wood repair to your garage door on your own.

Materials You Will Need

• Garden hose
• Mild detergent
• Microfiber cloth
• Needle nose pliers
• Wood putty
• Medium-grit sandpaper
• Paint
• Paintbrush

Check The Intensity Of The Damage

Go into your garage to look at the interior of the garage door. If the crack has gone straight through to the interior side, the damage will be too difficult to repair on your own. Call a professional garage door repair specialist like DSI Door Services North Shore in this situation. If the crack is rather shallow and is limited to the exterior of the garage door only, you may be able to do the repair on your own.

Clean The Affected Area Beforehand

Before starting repair work, it is best to clean the area where the wood is impacted so that the filler you will be using to mend the crack will adhere without any obstructions in the way. Rinse the cracked area well using a garden hose. Scrub the area with a mild detergent using a piece of microfiber cloth. Rinse well to remove all soap. Use a pair of needle nose pliers to remove any splintered wood from within or near the crack.

Fill In The Damaged Portion

Use wood filler to make the repair to the cracked part of your garage door. This is made from a stretchy material that can be pushed into the crack using your fingers or a flat, hard object like a putty knife or screwdriver. Push the putty into the crack, making sure some of the putty is also applied to the wood on each side of the crack, sealing the crack underneath as a result. Allow the wood putty to harden.

Do Some Finishing Touches

Sand down the hardened wood putty using a piece of medium-grit sandpaper. This will smooth the putty so it is uniform with the rest of the wood door. After this is complete, you will be able to repaint your garage door so the cracked portion you had just repaired is no longer visible.