Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Garage door repair in Somerville, MA
Garage door repair and replacement in Somerville, sorted by what stopped working. Here half the homes were built before 1940 and the area averages 92 freezing nights a year.
Call (844) 833-1738 to schedule a visitCalls may be recorded. Describing the problem commits you to nothing.
What stopped working?
Each of these has its own page: what it looks like, what is safe to check yourself, and what the visit covers.
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Broken springA loud bang, then a door that lifts a few inches or feels far too heavy. -
Snapped cableThe door hangs crooked, or a cable dangles beside the track. -
Off trackRollers have left the track and the door tilts, binds or grinds. -
Won't openNothing happens, the opener hums, or the door lifts a few inches and quits. -
Won't closeThe door starts down and goes back up, or closes only while the button is held. -
Opener runs, door doesn'tThe motor hums or runs and the door stays where it is. -
Car hit the doorPanels bent, tracks pushed out, and the garage may not close.
What is different about Somerville
These come from public data about Somerville and from the rules that apply here. Each one names its source.
Hurricane risk
FEMA's National Risk Index rates hurricane risk relatively high in Middlesex County. A replacement door here should carry a wind-load label in pounds per square foot, and the positive and negative ratings are worth checking against what your building department requires.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index; ICC Building Safety Journal, garage door provisions in the International Residential Code
Openers older than the safety rule
Half the housing in Somerville was built before 1940 (the Census Bureau’s earliest bracket is 1939 or earlier). A home that still has the opener it was built with may have one older than the federal protections: openers made for sale after January 1, 1991 have had to reverse on contact, and a second, external protection, usually photo-eye sensors near the floor, was required from 1993. If yours has no sensors near the floor, run the reverse test before anything else.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; CPSC Publication 523, non-reversing automatic garage door openers
Freezing nights
On average, Somerville has 92 days a year with a low at or below 32°F at the nearest NOAA climate normals station, about 5 miles away. In a freeze, the rubber seal along the bottom of a door can stick to the floor; free it before blaming the opener.
Renters call too
Most homes in Somerville are rented. The line on this site takes calls from renters as well as owners; who pays for the repair is a matter for the lease.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates
Who licenses the work in Massachusetts
Massachusetts's contractor licensing is run by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, Home Improvement Contractor Program (HIC); Office of Public Safety and Inspections (Construction Supervisor License). This site did not confirm whether every garage door job falls under that license. Ask the company which license it holds, if any, and look it up in the state registry.
What you will be asked
- What stopped working, in one sentence: a bang and then the door would not lift, a crooked door, a door that goes back up.
- The door: sectional panels or one solid piece, one car wide or two, and roughly how old.
- The springs: a coil on a bar above the door, or springs along the tracks, and whether one shows a gap.
- The name on the opener’s motor housing, and roughly how old it is.
- Whether the door is open or closed right now, and whether a car is inside.
The line takes: repair, replacement and installation of garage doors and openers, for owners and renters, at homes and at commercial buildings. It is not for: buying parts, doors on box trucks and trailers, or a price quoted over the phone without a visit. The price is named after someone has seen the door.
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Reverse testThe monthly check with a 2-by-4 that residential opener manuals require. -
Door replacementA new door: measurements, wind label, insulation and the three-day rule. -
Opener replacementAn old opener, one that fails the reverse test, or one that has quit. -
Wind-rated doorsCoastal Texas, South Florida and anywhere the code asks for a wind label. -
Before you callWhat the call covers, what you will be asked, and what to check.