Most people are familiar with hearing the motor of their garage door kick on and move their door upward. However, if you start to notice more odd noises coming from your garage door, it can be quite alarming. Your first question is likely what’s causing the excessive noise. There are several ways you can fix garage door issues, including calling our team of professionals for assistance.
Worn Rollers
When your garage door makes a squeak, squealing, or vibrating noise when it’s opening, the problem may lie with its rollers. When rollers wear out, they can easily slip out of their proper position and, in some cases, even fall off the track. Typically, nylon and steel rollers last quite a long time with proper lubrication. On the other hand, plastic rollers don’t need lubrication but will need to undergo replacement around every two years.
Lack of Lubrication
Noises like grinding, rattling, and clinking can all point to a lack of adequate lubrication for your door. Lubrication is an absolute necessity to help prevent corrosion of metal components as well as easier opening of the door. Lubrication is necessary for the door’s rollers, hinges, springs, bearing plates, armbar, top rail, and lock.
Not all lubricants are created equal. It’s vital to use lubricants that are weatherproof and will last, such as white lithium grease. Lubrication is typically necessary every six months to ensure optimal functioning. If your door is lacking lubrication, it will either need to be lubricated more frequently or you’ll need to upgrade to a better lubricant.
Worn-Out or Damaged Springs
Loud creaking, banging, and popping noises typically lead to a problem with the door torsion springs. Over time, your door springs will wear out and can lead to unwanted jerking of the door as it moves up and down. Eventually, the torsion spring will break and create a very loud banging noise as it shoots across the room. When it comes to spring issues, it’s always best to rely on a professional. Springs must be handled with care, as they have lots of tension that could lead to physical harm if you’re in the path of their snapping motion.
Misaligned Tracks
For your garage door to operate smoothly and quietly, its rollers must travel along its designated tracks. Unfortunately, these tracks can become misaligned over time due to various reasons. Some of these include daily wear and tear, improper installation, physical damage, and a lack of lubrication. The tracks must be carefully realigned by a professional to get your door back to functioning like normal.
Worn or Damaged Hinges
If your garage door is emitting an awful squeaking sound when it runs, the problem could be with its hinges. Without adequate lubrication, they may struggle to easily open and close. Furthermore, just like any other component of your garage door, hinges can wear out over time and need to undergo replacement. One of the best ways to maintain the longevity of your garage door hinges is to ensure they receive adequate lubrication throughout the year.
Loose Hardware
If you look at your garage door, it’s very clear that it has many different components. Even the smallest components can lead to unfortunate noise when they dislodge or loosen from their position. For example, a loose bolt will vibrate while your door is moving and can cause the now-loose door to rattle as it operates. Sometimes tightening up loose hardware is all that you need. In other cases, you may need to replace lost or damaged hardware to eliminate the excess noise.
Garage Door Opener
A garage door opener has many different components that must function together to open your garage door. This includes screws, belt drives, and chains. If they aren’t properly maintained, sounds can develop during use, including grinding, scraping, and squealing. The sound you hear can help you pinpoint the direct component of the opener that isn’t functioning properly.
Prompt Repair Service is Essential
When you first notice that your garage door is making more noise than usual, it’s necessary to address the problem as quickly as possible. While issues like a lack of lubrication are something that you may want to attempt doing on your own, most other issues should be assessed and addressed by a garage door expert.
They have the knowledge, equipment, and skills to determine the root cause of the excessive noise and fix it promptly to get your door back to operating in a quiet manner. You never want to just keep running your garage door with this issue, as it will likely lead to more damage over time.
A Note on Getting a Quieter Garage Door
Not all garage doors need to produce a lot of sound when they operate. The type of door you have, the opener setup, and the style of rollers it uses will all play a large role in the overall noise level that your garage door produces when opening and closing. If you would like to invest in a quieter-sounding garage door setup, there are a few different things that you’ll want to look for.
Insulated garage doors tend to be quieter than uninsulated doors. Wood and composite are much quieter to move than steel garage doors. Chain-driven garage door openers are going to be much louder than belt-driven openers. However, it’s important to keep in mind that belt-driven openers are much costlier. Additionally, nylon rollers tend to be the quietest rollers on the market.
One factor that can increase the sound that your garage door makes is the echoing from your garage. You can work to minimize this noise by using sound-dampening insulation and acoustic panels on the interior walls of your garage. One of our garage door experts can help you assess the best overall garage door setup to provide you with the quietest door operation for your individual budget.
Professional Garage Door Maintenance Service
A garage door, just like any other system in your home, should receive annual maintenance by a professional. This will include services like lubricating moving parts and checking spring tension to ensure that your garage door is functioning optimally. Regular maintenance will also catch potential problems when they’re small and much cheaper to fix, while extending the overall lifespan of your garage door and its components.
Homeowner Garage Door Maintenance
Apart from having professional maintenance on your garage door each year, there are various things you’ll want to do as a homeowner to keep your door in good working condition. Regular washing of your door will help to keep dirt and other debris from transferring onto the door tracks and getting stuck to the rollers. Additionally, it’s necessary to wipe off the photo-eye of each door safety sensor and verify that they’re in proper alignment. Be sure to give your garage door a visual inspection each month so you can catch any potential issues while they’re small.
Reliable Garage Door Maintenance Service
Halls Garage Doors offers reliable garage door maintenance service for the Roanoke Valley, VA community. We can help with all your garage door opener, repair, commercial, and residential garage door needs.
Contact us today to book your next garage door repair consultation.
