Garage Door Panel Replacement: what to note first

From outside, the horizontal groove between two sections now steps sideways by a centimetre. One section has shifted on its hinges after a roller jumped the track, and on the way down the door catches at exactly that point.

Worth answering before the call

Are any hinges, rollers or cables visibly bent, loose or hanging? Are any other sections dented, rusted or out of line? Roughly how wide and how tall is the door?

Can a section with windows be replaced, or windows added?

Yes on both counts, within what the manufacturer offers for your model. A damaged glazed section is ordered as a glazed section, with the frame style and glass type specified. Windows can also be introduced by ordering the replacement, usually the top section, in a glazed version. Bear in mind that a glazed section can weigh differently, so spring tension is checked, and that the window frame style should be chosen to suit the door's panel design.

What happens to the opener during the work?

It is disconnected at the release cord and unplugged before any hardware comes off, so the motor cannot pull on a door that is missing a section. After the new section is in and the door has been balanced by hand, the opener is reconnected and tested: its reversal against a board on the floor and its photo-eyes are checked every time, and the open and close limits or the force setting are reset only if that check shows they need it.