People can quickly become accustomed to little noises and hiccups that happen in many aspects of their life. Their house might creak and they soon come to ignore it. Their garage door might make a little noise and they ignore that, as well. As long as everything is working, people tend not to think about those noises with the garage door, as long as they are small sounds. If they have a car that makes noise, people tend to take it into the shop for a checkup and tune‑up, though, even when it seems to be running fine.
You should do the same thing with your garage door. If it has a few little irregular noises, you should still make sure that it gets a tune‑up. If the sounds are louder and indicate more issues, then you will certainly want to get help for the door. You don’t want it to break down, and you don’t want it to disturb everyone in the home whenever it opens or shuts. Here are some tips that can help.
Use Lubrication on the Door
If you want to make your door last longer, you are going to want to make sure that you are using lubricant on it. All of the metal parts that contact one another should be well‑lubricated. When a garage door is installed, the professionals should put lubrication on the moving parts, and this should last for about a year or so. At that point, you are going to need to add some additional lubrication to the moving parts to ensure that they are in good shape, and that there is no friction.
You can use different types of lubricant on the door, with motor oil being the best option. One of the items that you do not want to use is WD‑40. This is because it acts as a degreaser. You also do not want to use automobile grease, as this could be too slick and cause the door to slider instead of roll.
You will want to add the motor oil to the hinges, rollers and lift springs. You do not want to drench these areas. Use the motor oil in moderation. For the springs, you will want to use a cloth, and you will want to add it to the entire length of the springs. You can use the motor oil for other doors in your home, as well, to help keep them in good condition. Sliding patio doors are a good option.
Keep in mind that most quality garage door installers are going to be able to offer 2 types of lubricants for the door.
Keep the Screws and Bolts Tight
Because the garage door system has moving parts, it means that the movement could eventually cause the bolts and the screws to loosen a bit. Therefore, you will want to go around to all of the bolts and screws on the system and check them to make sure that they are nice and tight. You will want to double‑check the screws on the hinges, as these tend to come lose sooner than other areas. The same is true of the bolts that are at the end of the horizontal tracks. If you notice that the tracks seem to move when the door is opening or closing, you will want to tighten them right away.
The Rollers May Need to Be Changed
One of the areas of the garage door that seems to cause a substantial amount of noise is the rollers. The metal rollers need to roll rather than allow the door to slide. If the rollers are moving, they are also going to cause noise. If the system seems to be working properly, the added lubrication should help to deal with the sound. However, if it is not working properly and the rollers are not working well, nylon rollers could be a good solution.
You can choose from black nylon rollers without ball bearings and 11‑ball bearing steel rollers covered in white nylon. If you have a 9’ x 7’ door, the black rollers are a good option. For a larger door, you will want the white rollers.
The Electric Garage Door Opener
If there are issues with the electric garage door opener, it can cause a lot of noise. This will often happen if the opener has components that are not adjusted correctly. For newer models, there tends to be very little maintenance. You may not need any oil or lubrication, but you will want to check the drive, whether it is a belt or chain drive, to see if it might need to be tighter. Check the manufacturer guide for your system to see what other things you can do to keep it in good working condition.
For older electric garage door openers, you might find that you need to change out the system. If you have an opener that is 15 years old or more, then this is certainly the case. This is for safety reasons, as well as for noise issues. In addition, there is a substantial amount of new technology in the garage door systems available today, which can help to make your life quite a bit easier.
If you find that now is the time to change out the door opener, you will want to see if you can find a ½ horsepower model that has a metal reinforced rubber belt drive and a one‑piece track. Of course, you have a lot of other options that you are going to need to consider. You will want to make sure that you get in touch with the professionals who can provide you with other tips to help ensure that your garage door is as quiet as it can possibly be.
Get Help for Your Garage Door
There is a chance that you don’t have the time to go through the garage door and take care of the maintenance. You might also need to have a new system or a new door. In those cases, you will want to contact us. We can provide a 28‑point tune‑up program for the garage door, that will help to keep it in great shape.
We understand garage doors, and can help you with maintenance, repairs, replacements, and more. If you would like, we can send you a quotation by email. You could also check out the showroom if you would like.
If you find that you need to have a new garage door, you will want to check out the Design Centre. This will make it easy to find an aesthetic style that is going to work for you. If you want some added inspiration, you will want to check out the image gallery.
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