Garage door questions, answered

All three Delaware counties, Kent, New Castle and Sussex, plus Maryland's Eastern Shore. Our office is at 110 Lafferty Ln in Dover, so Kent County is home turf, and we work from Wilmington and Hockessin down to Fenwick Island and Delmar. If you're across the line in Maryland, call (302) 735-0046 and we'll confirm your town.

Yes. Estimates for new garage doors are free, and we offer them next-day. We'll look at the opening, talk through styles, insulation and options, and give you a price for the door you actually want. Call (302) 735-0046 or send the estimate form and we'll set up a time.

Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 4:30pm. You can send an estimate request through the website any time, and we'll call you back during office hours.

Yes. Blue Hen Garage Doors, in Dover, Delaware, is a proud distributor of Haas garage doors. Haas builds doors in steel or aluminum, insulated doors rated by third-party tested U-factor, and certified wind-load options up to 140 mph, in a wide range of sizes, styles, colors and window designs.

Yes. Blue Hen Garage Doors is a BBB Accredited Business with an A+ rating. You can read our profile on bbb.org, listed under Blue Hen Garage Doors in Dover.

Yes. Besides houses, we install and repair doors on shops, businesses, pole barns and metal buildings. Larger and taller openings need the right door, track and spring setup for the weight, and we size each one to the building.

Yes. Besides installing new doors, we repair and service existing ones: broken torsion and extension springs, frayed or snapped cables, openers that hum but won't lift, doors that are off their track or won't close, worn rollers, and bottom seals that let water and cold air in.

If the door has minor damage or one failing part, a repair may be all you need. For older doors, heavy damage, problems that keep coming back, or a full style upgrade, replacement is usually the better long-term investment. We'll tell you plainly which one makes sense for your door.

Don't try to lift it with the opener. With a broken spring the door is carrying its full weight, often a couple hundred pounds, and the opener can strain or pull the door out of line. Keep people and cars clear of the opening and call us. Springs and the cables attached to them are under high tension and should be replaced by a technician.

The most common cause is the safety sensors (photo eyes) near the floor: if one is blocked, dirty or knocked out of line, the opener reverses the door. Other causes are something in the track, a worn roller, an opener limit setting that has drifted, or a broken spring or cable. Check that nothing is in the door's path and the sensor lenses are clean; if it still won't close, call us.

Most noise comes from dry or worn rollers and hinges, loose hardware, a door that has fallen out of balance, or a worn opener drive. A tune-up usually quiets it down: we lubricate the moving parts, tighten hardware, check the balance and spring tension, and replace rollers that are worn out.

We don't recommend it. A door off its track can drop or twist, and the springs and cables are still under tension. Leave the door where it is, keep the opener off, and call us. We'll set the door back on its track, replace bent track sections or rollers, and find what knocked it off in the first place.

Torsion springs mount on a bar above the door opening and twist to lift the door. Extension springs run along the horizontal tracks on each side and stretch. Both counterbalance the door's weight so it lifts easily. Many newer homes use torsion springs; older doors and some detached garages use extension springs. Either way, a broken spring is a job for a technician.

It depends on size, style, materials, insulation and customization. We carry options for a range of budgets, and the estimate is free: we'll measure the opening, talk through what you like, and give you a price for that door.

Yes. There's a wide range of colors, finishes, window designs, decorative hardware and door styles, from raised panel and flush steel to carriage-house designs and wood-look finishes, so your garage door suits your home.

Usually, yes. Insulated doors can improve energy efficiency, cut outside noise, and make a stronger, more durable door. They're especially worth it on attached garages and on garages used as workshops, gyms or living space. Haas rates its insulated doors by tested U-factor, where a lower number means less heat lost, and its best-insulated residential door tests at 0.081.

Haas builds both. Steel is strong and dent-resistant and comes in the widest range of styles and insulation. Aluminum is lighter and doesn't rust, which is worth weighing near salt air, and full-view aluminum and glass doors give a modern look. We'll talk through which fits your house and where it sits.

A wind-load rated door is built and tested to resist a certain wind pressure, so it stays in its opening in a storm. The garage door is the largest opening in most houses. Haas offers certified wind-load options up to 140 mph. What rating your address needs depends on the local building code and where the house sits, so ask us when we measure and we'll check it with you.

Yes. We install new openers, program remotes and keypads, set the force and travel limits, and line up the safety sensors so the door reverses the way it should. If your opener is failing on an otherwise good door, we can repair it or replace it.