Open Sesame Garages · Oklahoma City
My garage door was damaged in a storm. What should I do?
Make the garage safe first: if the door is bowed inward, off its tracks, or hanging open, stop using the opener, keep people and cars out from under it, and do not try to force it closed. Photograph the door inside and out before anything is moved, because wind damage is often an insurance claim. If the house is left open, a car you need is trapped, or the door is hanging crooked, call for emergency service. If the door still closes and sits level, schedule an inspection, since storms loosen track fasteners that fail weeks later.
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What Oklahoma storms do to garage doors
- Wind load bows the door inward, bending struts and panels and pulling rollers out of the tracks.
- Gusts rack a door that was left partly open, bending the horizontal tracks and throwing cables off their drums.
- Power surges and outages kill opener logic boards, leaving a working door with a dead opener.
- Hail dents steel panels, which is usually cosmetic unless the door no longer travels smoothly.
- Repeated wind cycling loosens track brackets and hinge screws, so a door that seemed fine after the storm starts shaking a few weeks later.
Making the house safe tonight
If the door is closed and level but the opener is dead, the power or the logic board is the likely cause. Check the outlet, the garage GFCI and the breaker, and if the springs are intact you can pull the red release cord and operate the door by hand.
If the door is stuck open and the springs are intact, pull the release cord, lower it by hand, and clamp locking pliers onto the track just above a roller so it cannot be lifted from outside. If the door feels dangerously heavy, a spring is broken: stop and call.
If the door is bowed, off track, or hanging crooked, leave it alone. The cables and springs are still under tension, and a racked door can drop when it is moved.
After a major storm
Every garage door company in the metro is booked at once after a big wind event, and arrival windows lengthen for everyone. Open Sesame Garages gives an honest arrival time on the phone rather than a hopeful one, and secures doors that need ordered parts so the garage is not left open while you wait.
Related questions
Does homeowners insurance cover wind damage to a garage door?
Sudden storm and wind damage is often covered, while wear-and-tear failures are generally not. Photograph the door, the tracks and any debris before the repair and ask your carrier. Itemized invoices that describe the cause are what adjusters ask for.
Can a bowed garage door be repaired or does it need replacing?
A door that bowed and sprang back often only needs rollers reseated, struts replaced, and the tracks re-secured. Creased panels can sometimes be replaced individually. When several panels are creased, replacing the door can cost less than rebuilding it.
How do I stop my garage door blowing in next storm season?
Keep the door fully closed during high wind, have loose track brackets and hinge screws tightened on a maintenance visit, and ask about reinforcement struts or a wind-rated door if you are on the exposed west side of the metro.
Need this fixed, not just explained?
Open Sesame Garages serves Oklahoma City and the surrounding metro with same-day estimates and 24/7 emergency repair.