I think maybe when all cars or trucks on the road are required to have backup cameras this issue may go away entirely.
This does happen and more frequently than you’d think. When a vehicle and a garage door try to break the laws of physics and attempt to occupy the same space the car normally wins as evidenced in this photo.
Hopefully this will never happen to you but with garage door damage of this magnitude there are some safety concerns we’d like to let you know about before you try to inspect or even make a temporary garage door repair yourself.
It may be difficult to remain calm when this happens but please take just a second before you slowly move your car forward again. If the garage door rollers have become separated from the tracks the door may “fall off” the opening. With that in mind you don’t want to do any more damage to your vehicle nor injury to yourself when getting out of the car.
*** Once out of the car we recommend you immediately call a qualified service company for assistance.
A garage door is far heavier than most people realize and a door that is or has the potential to fall off its supporting components is not something to be underestimated.
If the garage door is still securely supported by the tracks do not attempt to bend the door panels (steel doors) back by yourself. For one it will be very difficult and two; assessing the way the bent panels will affect the supporting components when pushed or pulled on can be hard to determine.
There are two things that will be dangerous (I do not use that word lightly in this situation) when the door is in this condition. The spring(s) and the cables will probably still be attached to each other but not correctly. This means that there is still a large amount of tension on both the garage door springs and garage door cables. Releasing the tension must be done in a specific order for safety. Even if one of the cables is loose there is a good chance the other is not. Please do not attempt this.
If you’ve only just tapped the door and have creased or dented a single panel there is a good chance you can get a single panel replaced. In our picture here it would take more duct tape and bailing twine than possibly available to fix it so a replacement would be necessary.
All kidding aside we want to help you stay safe should major damage be done to your garage door of any kind. Remember to steer clear of the cables and springs specifically until you can get a professional on site.
Your Overhead Door of Albany Team™