Garage door - strut bent

[michaeljc70]

My garage door got screwed up and the top strut is bent and the vertical support on the top panel where the garage door opener attaches is also mangled. I removed the strut and found a replacement, however the vertical support is riveted to the panel. It looks like the whole panel needs to be replaced. Is there any way around this? I could try and bend the support back, but it is so mangled it would probably be pretty weak. Any other ideas? It won't let me put a link to a photo directly, but there is one here: imageshack.us/photo/my-images/856/garagex.jpg/

[HayZee518]

bracket

you can drill out the rivets, straighten out the bracket and use pop rivets to re-fasten the bracket. you may try some door suppliers to find a new bracket.

[michaeljc70]

you can drill out the rivets, straighten out the bracket and use pop rivets to re-fasten the bracket. you may try some door suppliers to find a new bracket.

I tried drilling them, they just started spinning around. I also tried a screw driver and mallet to get the head off and using a multitool. Nothing really worked to get the rivets out. I was able to bend the old bracket mostly back into shape and bought a new steel one that I put over the old one to reinforce it and it works fine now.

[Garagedoorfixfl.com]

Next time, if you drill at an angle, that usually will get the rivets out.

[tmordoor]

Sounds like you have a Wayne Dalton door. If so, i would guess that its a model 8300. That door has a paper back and was notorious for the integrated strut and glued/riveted operator bracket to pull out. The rivets give it away. A garage door mechanic would have lagged the bracket and u-strut to the top of the door. If i am correct you might want to think about getting a new garage door.