Garage Door Panel Replacement
Backed into it, hit it with a mower, or found a crease along the hinge line? Most damaged doors need one new section, not a new door. We confirm your model is still made, then quote it both ways.
A Garage Door Is Four Sections. Usually One Is Hurt.
A standard 7-foot residential door is built from four horizontal sections, sometimes five on an 8-foot door, joined by hinges and carried on rollers in the track. Each section is its own manufactured part with its own model number. That is what makes a single-panel repair possible. When a bumper, a trailer tongue, or a basketball pole catches the door, the damage almost always lands on one section, most often the bottom or the second from the bottom.
Replacing that section means unhooking the lift cable if it is the bottom panel, pulling the hinges and rollers, lifting the damaged section out of the stack, and setting a new one from the factory in its place. Done right, the door runs, seals, and locks exactly as it did before. Done wrong, with reused bent hinges or a track that was never trued, the new panel binds on its first cycle. Our checklist on every panel job:
- Model confirmed with the manufacturer before ordering
- Damaged section replaced with a factory section
- New hinges and rollers at the replaced section
- Track checked at the impact point and trued
- Bottom seal replaced when the bottom panel is swapped
- Wind-load struts restored on rated doors
- Balance test and opener force reset
- One-year workmanship warranty
Replace the Panel or the Door?
Six questions settle it. We answer all six before we quote, and when the answer is close we write both prices on the same page.
Is the Section Still Made?
The deciding question. The model and date code are on a label inside the door or stamped on the end stile. If the manufacturer still builds that section in your width and stamp pattern, a single panel is on the table. If it is discontinued, it usually is not.
How Many Sections Are Hurt?
One damaged section favors the panel. Two usually favors a new door, because two sections plus hinges, rollers, and labor land close to the price of a complete insulated door with a fresh warranty.
How Old Is the Door?
Past about fifteen years, a new section is being bolted to springs, rollers, and cables near the end of their life. We will still do it, but we will tell you what the rest of the door is likely to need next.
Is It Creased or Just Dented?
A shallow dent in a flat field is cosmetic. A crease across a hinge line, a split skin, or a bow that rubs the track is structural. The door will keep binding at that joint until the section is replaced.
Did the Track Bend Too?
A hard hit often pushes the vertical track out of plumb at the impact point. That has to be straightened or replaced first, or the new section will not seal against the floor. It adds to the panel price, not to a new door.
Is It an Old Uninsulated Door?
Single-layer steel doors from the 1990s and early 2000s are still out there on the coast. Putting a new section into one keeps an uninsulated door. Many owners take the damage as the moment to move to an insulated one.
Do Not Force a Bent Door Closed.
Stop running the opener if the door bound, jumped, or stopped after the hit. A creased section flexes at the damaged hinge instead of rolling through the curve of the track, and the opener will push until something gives. Usually that is a roller popping out of the track, which turns a panel job into an off track garage door repair as well.
Leave the bottom corner brackets alone. If the bottom section took the hit, the lift cable is anchored right there, and that bracket carries the full pull of the spring even with the door closed. It is not a panel bolt. Our garage door cable repair page explains why that one bracket hurts people every year.
Take two photos. One close-up of the damage and one of the whole door from the driveway. If you can find the label on the inside of a section, photograph that too. With those three pictures we can often tell you on the phone whether your section is still made.
Both Prices. One Quote.
- One replacement section, installed: typically $250 to $550
- Bent track section replaced: typically $250 to $500
- Painting the new section to match: quoted on site
- New insulated steel door, for comparison: typically $1,200 to $2,000 installed
Where a section lands inside that range depends on the door width, whether it is insulated, and the finish. A 16-foot insulated bottom section costs more than a 9-foot uninsulated one. Written quote before work starts, and the quote you approve is the invoice. The diagnostic is waived with any repair and $50 off any repair applies. If the numbers point to a new door, the styles and full pricing are on our new garage door installation page and in the garage door installation cost guide.
From a dented section to a door that runs true. Five steps.
Call or send photos
A real dispatcher answers (912) 209-4079, 24/7. Tell us which section is damaged and whether the door still closes. If it will not close or lock, that visit is scheduled same-day.
Model confirmed
The tech reads the model and date code, measures the door, and checks the track, hinges, rollers, cable, and spring at the impact point. Then we confirm with the manufacturer that your section is still built.
Written quote, both ways
You see the single-section price and, when it is close, the new-door price on the same page. Nothing is ordered until you approve one. If the door is unsafe in the meantime, we secure it before we leave.
Section ordered and installed
Sections are built to order, and we give you the ship date on the quote. On install day the damaged section comes out, the new one goes in with new hinges and rollers, and the track is trued.
Balanced, sealed, tested
Spring balance checked for the new section weight, cables re-tensioned, opener force and travel reset, photo eyes realigned, and the bottom seal checked against the slab. The invoice matches the estimate.
Before You Call.
How much does garage door panel replacement cost?
A single replacement section on a standard CHI or Clopay residential door typically runs 250 to 550 dollars installed, depending on the door width, insulation, and finish. If the impact also bent the track, a bent track section typically adds 250 to 500. When two or more panels are damaged, we price a full new door beside it, because an insulated steel door typically runs 1,200 to 2,000 installed and the gap closes fast. You get a written quote before any work starts, the diagnostic is waived with the repair, and 50 dollars off any repair applies.
Can you replace just one garage door panel?
Usually, yes. Two things have to be true. The manufacturer still makes that exact section in your width, stamp pattern, and color, and the rest of the door is sound enough to be worth keeping. We read the model from the label on the inside of the door or the stamp on the end stile and confirm with the manufacturer before we quote, so you know it can be done before anything is ordered.
Is it cheaper to replace a garage door panel or the whole door?
One panel on a door under about fifteen years old is almost always cheaper to replace on its own. Two damaged panels, a discontinued model, an older uninsulated door, or an impact that also bent the track usually tip the math toward a new door. We put both prices on the same written quote so the comparison is yours to make.
Will a new garage door panel match the rest of my door?
The profile and stamp pattern will match if the section is still in production. The color may not, because the old panels have faded in the sun and the new one has not. White reads slightly creamier on old sections, and darker colors hide the difference better. The options are to live with it, paint the new section to match, or repaint the whole door, which is the right call when more than one section is new.
Can a dented garage door panel be repaired instead of replaced?
Shallow cosmetic dents in a flat area can often be left alone, since they do not affect how the door runs. A dent that creases the panel at a hinge line, splits the steel skin, or bows the section so it rubs the track is structural, and that section needs to be replaced. Pulling or filling a creased hinge line does not restore the strength, and the door will keep binding at that joint.
How long does garage door panel replacement take?
The install itself is usually a single visit of two to three hours. The wait is the panel. Sections are built to order by the manufacturer, so the ship date depends on the brand, size, and color, and we give you that date on the quote. If the damaged section leaves the door unsafe or unable to close in the meantime, we secure it on the first visit so the garage can be locked.
Wind Ratings, Salt, and Sun.
Three things about panel work are different between Savannah and Jacksonville. The first is wind load. Many doors on the barrier islands and in newer coastal subdivisions are wind-rated, and that rating depends on the reinforcing struts bolted across each section and the specific section model the manufacturer tested. Replace a section with a non-rated one, or leave the strut off, and the door no longer meets the rating on its label. We match the rated section and put the struts back every time. Our hurricane garage door prep guide covers why that matters in September.
The second is corrosion. On the coast the bottom section is the one that rusts first, from the lower edge up, because it sits in blown rain and the salt water a car drips onto the slab. A bottom panel with rust bubbling through the paint along its lower edge is a replacement candidate even without a dent, and it is worth replacing the bottom seal and retainer at the same time. The third is sun. A south- or west-facing door in Glynn or Camden County fades faster than the same door inland, so color match on an older door is a real conversation. We will tell you honestly how close the new section will look. For more on that decision, read our guide to replacing a single garage door panel, and for every other repair on the door, see garage door repair.
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Dented Section? Send a Photo and Call.
Across Coastal Georgia and Northeast Florida. Written quote before work, both ways. $50 OFF any repair.
Call (912) 209-4079