Having a loud garage door can be a frustrating problem that annoys your family as well as all of your neighbors. Luckily, that excess noise can often be reduced or eradicated entirely with a few simple maintenance tasks that require nothing more than some inexpensive tools and products.
Lubricate Moving Parts
Applying a high-quality lubricant to all of the moving parts is one of the easiest and most effective ways to make your garage door quieter. Garage door gears and tracks must withstand quite a bit of wear and tear, and the ongoing friction could result in rattling, screeching, and other unwanted sounds. WD-40 will work if you have no other lubricants, but you typically want a lighter lubricant that won’t gum up.
However, if each part is really dirty, lube will only work for a short time before the dirt starts causing problems again. If you think that dirt might be the problem, then it’s probably a good idea to clean each piece. After it’s all cleaned, you can lube it and get a lot more time of having a more quiet garage compared to just lubing it.
Balance the Door
Another maintenance tip that could drastically reduce the noise that your garage door makes is balancing the door itself. Over time, many garage doors will begin to slump to one side, and that is going to put quite a bit of stress on the motor as well as the track. In addition to looking at the garage as a whole, you can also look at the tracks and the wheels on those tracks to review if they are closer from one side to the other. If you notice that they hug to one side of the track as they move, that’s a good indication that the door isn’t balanced. In most cases, homeowners will need to contact a professional to have their torsion springs adjusted so that the door is well-balanced and moving smoothly on its tracks. Adjusting the springs can be incredibly dangerous so most professionals recommend that homeowners leave that aspect to the professionals. If you want to adjust something like the location to the track using a screwdriver, then you’ll probably be fine doing it on your own.
Have the System Serviced
Even though you should be able to lube all of the moving parts and tighten the bolts on your own, a contractor must still professionally service the entire system at least once every year or two. During those appointments, your contractor can carry out vital tasks such as adjusting the torsion springs, lubing parts that you might have missed, and replacing the weather seal. They can also apply grease to the rails and gears so that they don’t prematurely break down when the weather changes. Additionally, they may be able to recommend upgrading specific parts to newer more quiet pieces.
Replace Older Parts
No matter what steps you take to protect and maintain your garage door, certain parts will break at some point. That is when you will need to contact a company like Raynor Door Company and order high-quality replacement parts. A reputable garage door company can also help you replace those parts and inspect the entire system for additional signs of damage. Though you can typically replace the parts with the exact same specs as the ones you have, you may want to consider shopping around for lighter materials or stronger materials that can help your system get longer.
Insulate Your Garage Door
One of the most common ways that professionals decrease the noise of the garage door is by adding insulation. The Vibrations tend to be what causes all of the noises and the exposed metals make them even louder. Insulation helps deaden the vibrations and thus, significantly decreases the sound that comes from the garage door.
Replace the Opening Track
Cheaper and older garage door openers are based on chain-driving machines. Belt-driven garage door openers, on the other hand, are much quieter. There are a number of systems that use belt mechanisms, but a lot of them still have quarks to be worked out. For example, some have been reported as jerky or break down often.
Tighten Nutts and Bolts
If there are loose screws or bolts, then it is likely that they will cause vibrations and make your garage door noisy. One way to decrease these vibrations is by tightening the nuts and bolts. Even if they don’t look loose, you may benefit from going through each one, just in case.
Replace Rollers
Replacing the rollers with more quiet nylon rollers. Additionally, this tends to be an easy and low-cost way to make the garage door less noisy. Most garage door rollers can be replaced simply by removing the brackets. However, there are multiple videos online that can help you through the process.
Replace the Side Seals
A commonly forgotten consideration for making your garage door quieter is making the seal quieter. In addition to sealing the bottom and side seals, additional padding can help make the garage door seal more silent.Â
While you should be able to carry out some minor garage door maintenance on your own, you must never attempt to repair or replace the spring without professional help. Garage door springs are incredibly dangerous, and a single mistake could result in severe injuries or expensive damage to your home.
