One of the most frequent calls we receive is that a customers garage is making a funny noise when it opens or closes. Whether it’s a squeal, a squeak, a grind, or a rumble, most of the time it means your garage needs servicing. Garages have a number of moving parts including springs, cables, rollers, and pulleys so noise can indicate a problem with any of these. Here’s what we have found to be the top reasons your garage is making a weird noise.
1. Lack of Lubrication
Sometimes fixing a noisy garage is as simple as applying lubrication. Most home repair centers sell garage door lubrication kits. Spray the hinges, springs, roller bearings, or basically anything that moves. If you own a track drive opener, use grease to lubricate the track and open and close the door a few times. Many times this simple step will fix a noisy garage door.
2. Worn Out Springs
Torsion springs will eventually wear down which isn’t surprising when you consider how many time a garage opens and closes during it’s lifetime. Sometime the noise means the spring is about to break entirely. We highly suggest hiring contacting a broken spring repair specialist, like Parker Garage Doors, if you suspect your spring needs replacing. Springs are under extremely high tension and can be very dangerous to work on if you don’t know what your are doing.
3. Loose Nuts and Bolts
Anything as heaving as a garage door that is constantly being used is bound to loosen nuts and bolts. Using a deep socket wrench, tighten up the nuts and bolts on your garage but be very careful not to over-tighten. It’s a good idea to lubricate the moving parts after making sure the nuts and bolts are snug.
4. Bad Vibrations
Certain types of garage door openers can cause noise and vibration because of how they are mounted to the ceiling. Many times this can be fixed by adding anti-vibration pads between the mounting bracket and ceiling, as well as between the bolt and the bracket. Rubber or cork are great material for making an anti-vibration pad.
5. Worn Out Rollers
In addition to the springs, rollers have a tendency to wear out of a period of time. Sometime they wear down to the point where the wobble in the roller track creating a lot of noisy. We suggest replacing any worn out rollers with nylon rollers with sealed bearings, as they are the quietest type of roller.
6. Weather
Most people are aware that metal expands and shrinks depending on whether it’s hot or cold. This can cause your garage to make noise when it’s real hot or real cold. Weather-proofing your garage with and insulated garage door and weather stripping can help keep the weather from affecting your garage doors performance.
If you are having trouble locating the source of your noisy garage, call Parker today. Our expert technicians can diagnose and repair any garage door problem you may have.
