Why Is My Garage Door So Noisy? Tips to Diagnose and Fix It

A noisy garage door is not only an annoyance but the first sign of a problem that you will need to address. Almost always, one of the door's parts is loose or worn, or the roller's method for rolling is broken down (dry hinges or rollers), or there is misalignment of the track or a spring that is not balanced. This guide will review common causes for garage door noise, how to determine the cause of various noises, home maintenance options available, and when you should call a professional. If a homeowner understands the issues that can be resolved and acts fast they will increase the chances of keeping their garage door working fine and quiet and these fixes are often no cost or minimal cost.

Misaligned Tracks

Common Causes of Garage Door Noise

1. Loose hardware (nuts, bolts, or hinges): Over time, the vibration can loosen the door's nuts, bolts, and hinges. Loose hardware often produces rattling or clanking sounds as the door opens or closes. Tightening loose fasteners usually will eliminate minor jingling or squeaking.

2. Worn or damaged rollers: Rollers are the wheels (usually small) that run in the door's tracks. Old metal rollers will rust and flat-spot. Even nylon rollers will crack overtime. Wear on rollers may produce squeaking or squealing when they rub on the track or they might squeak, grind and scrape if they are severely worn. In extreme cases, they will perform jerky movement or vibration. Replacing bad rollers and lubricating good rollers is the key to getting a door quiet.

3. Bent or misaligned tracks: If the metal tracks become warped, dented, or unfastened, the rollers may thump against the edges of the tracks or scrape.In some cases, misaligned tracks create a screeching/scraping noise as the door travels. If the roller runs into a dent, you may also hear a banging or thumping sound. A bent track most likely will need to be realigned by a professional, as an improperly aligned door can bind in the track or come off the track if it is warped.

4.Dry or dirty parts (no lubrication): Garage doors use many moving parts (rollers, hinges, springs) that require lubrication. A common symptom of dry parts is if you hear a consistent squeak or squeal every time the door cycles. If squeaky parts are the problem, spray the rollers, hinges, springs, and the opener chain/screw with a silicone-based spray or apply white lithium grease to these parts to silence the squeak. (Do not use WD-40 or regular grease; those products tend to gum up and attract dirt and dust.)

5.Unbalanced springs or cables: The garage door springs (either torsion or extension type) operate the counterbalance for the garage door. If the springs lose tension or if the cables are frayed or damaged, the garage door becomes unbalanced. An unbalanced garage door can rattle, vibrate, or clank as it travels up or down. You may also hear noises caused by misalignment or even a "snap" or “bang” if a cable or spring fails. Failure of a cable or spring is a serious issue (high tension and dangerous issues) and should be addressed by a professional.

6.Opener/chain/belt: In chain-driven openers, the chain may be loose and could cause it to slam or "slap" against something. If the opener gears are worn, it can grind. Belt-driven openers will inherently be quieter, so any loud opener connecting to the door usually means a problem with chain slack or with the gears.If the opener itself is defective or mis-set it may cause a whining or thumping sound. There are many types of garage doors (steel, wood, insulated) and openers (chain, belt, screw) and each one a sound signature of its own, but the issues addressed here cover most residential doors. If you can identify the sound, you can greatly reduce the pool of possibilities for what the problem tends to be.

Diagnosing noisy sounds

Listen closely as you open and close your door, different sounds point to different issues.

• Squeaking or high pitched whining - usually this is just a lack of lubrication on the rollers, hinges, springs or bearing plates. Usually tightening up loose nuts or oiling dry rollers will solve this (grease applied to metal on metal friction usually creates squeals).

• Rattling or clanking - is usually caused by loose hardware or loose chain slop. Check for nuts or bolts that can be wiggled and a slack chain. Also check to see if there is debris stuck in the track. Usually tightening loose parts or securing loose hardware will end the racket.

• Grinding or scraping - is a harsh sound and would suggest metal rubbing against metal. A good possibility could be worn rollers, a misaligned track or a loose chain on the opener. Check the rollers (lubed of course!), and watch the door move to see where the scrape seems to be happening. If all this checking leads to still hearing grinding - then a technician would likely be required.

• Banging, thudding or loud thumps - Usually loud bangs are caused by loose hardware making contact with the door or with the track, or there may be spring/spring anchor issues. If you find your door seems to slam into its stops while closing, or if you suspect that springs could be breaking, have a technician examine rightIf mild bangs are simply due to an adjustment or a broken spring you can replace, those would be easy issues to rectify.

• Clicks or Pops: The noise could be due to the torsion springs winding or unwinding, or opener chain skipping. Springs can "pop" when under a great deal of tension, which indicates that they are wearing out. These noises must be approached with extreme caution and other than being helpful to you, should be evaluated by a professional.

• Strange or Random Noise: If the noise was previously normal but is now extraordinarily loud, or jerky, or the door has begun acting strangely; wear does occur. If any of these situations happen, stop using that garage door immediately. It may not cause immediate physical damage to the door, but continuing to use it may lead to eventual breakdown necessitating repair.

Consider when the noise occurs (up vs. down) and what area it comes from (loud/soft), testing to notice if the noise goes away when operating the door manually without an opener attached will help you narrow down its direction. Regardless of the cause or potential fixes, any time you start hearing abnormal noises, you should consider maintenance as wear and tear on the system.

DIY Maintenance Steps

Generally speaking, many noisily falling components related to garage doors can and will remain silenced by serviceable and maintenance intervals.

Consider following a few simple DIY Maintenance Steps, (make sure the door is fully down and powered off when doing the maintenance steps).

• Lubricate the moving parts: Use a silicone-based spray (or some white lithium grease) to lubricate the rollers, hinges and springs. You will also want to lubricate the opener's chain or screw drive (follow the manufacture's instructions) and the center bearing plate. Pay attention while lubricating: - wipe off old grease, - do not spray sensors, - do not put grease on rubber seals. Proper lubrication decreases friction and squeaks.

  
  

• Tighten all hardware: Go around the tracks, the supports, and door frame checking each nut, bolt, and screw. It only takes one vibrating or loose bolt to rattle with the door.Tighten all fasteners that are not tight, but remember that you can overtighten plastic or nylon components, so be careful.

  
  

• Inspect the parts and replace worn ones: Look at the rollers and roll each one by hand. If they are flat, or roll wobbly, then you will need to replace them with new ones (nylon rollers are generally much quieter than metal). Identify cables (check if they are frayed, or rusty), brackets, and check the bottom rubber seal (replace if it’s cracked). If you need to replace any parts, then use a heavy-duty garage door cable and springs kit.

  
  

• Clean tracks: Dust, dirt, or little debris on tracks can create noise. Use a broom or vacuum to run through the tracks and add a damp rag to wipe them down. Do not oil the rails - if you do, when the oil gets in the way of the rollers, it will gunk up instead of lubricate. Being proficient on keeping tracks clean will help with smooth roller motion and possibly reduce scraping noise.

  
  

• Adjust the door balance: With the opener disengaged, lift the door up to 50% up or down, and let it go. A balanced door will hold and stop where you let it go. If the door moves up or down, the springs might be out of balance. DO NOT adjust spring tension - it is best left to a trained professional - for your safety. An imbalanced door puts unnecessary strain on all the components and pieces associated with that door and can lead to excessive noise or premature wear.

• Check safety features: Run the auto-reverse test (place a brick or a 2x4 on the ground in its path. When the door hits the brick or 2x4, it should auto-reverse. You may also have misaligned photo-eyes or a reverse sensor that is failing. When in doubt, check forDon't play with fire. A professional needs to step in immediately.

• Choose the proper lubricant: Do not use WD-40 or another household oil. Instead, use garage door specific lubricants (silicone spray or lithium grease) which last longer and resist dirt. Lubricate about every 6 months as regular maintenance.

Regular oiling and tightening can quietly revive a rude, noisy garage door back to smooth operation. Most homeowners can perform these simple tasks with basic tools. Keep the door when performing maintenance, and lock the door in either up (remove all tension from it) or down position (use either clamp or vice grip on either side of the track). After lubricated and tightened, if the squeaks and rattles are gone, awesome - you determined and fixed the issue yourself! If noise remains (especially if from springs or the opener motor) the problem may require further analysis.

When To Call A Profession

If DIY doesn't quiet the garage door, or the following is encountered, you should call the pro - for especially, dangerous, high-tension parts:

• Snapped or broken springs: Loud bang or pop, and the door won't come up ...usually means the spring broke completely, Don't try and fix springs. Springs are coiled up with considerable energy, the break can cause injury. You MUST call a licensed technician.

• Severely frayed o broken cables: You can see a visibly broken lift cable (or your door lifts crooked), you need a professional service.Cables work with the springs to balance the door; a broken cable will result in clanging or uneven lifting noises. Our technicians will have special tools to replace cables safely.

• Misaligned or bent tracks: If you hear an uneven scraping sound or the door gets stuck, a technician needs to realign the tracks. DIY tricks can make things worse by causing the door to come off track. A professional can also adjust the force setting of the automatic opener to accommodate the tightness of the track and prevent strain, which can make the springs fail prematurely.

• Opener issues or electrical: The mechanical sounds that the opener makes may indicate that the opener needs an expert diagnosis. These includes grinding gears, whining motor, or erratic operation. Do not open the motor yourself or take the internals apart. Often, a technician can quickly adjust or replace the worn gear or circuit board, but you may not have the training to know which is the cause.

• Noise persists after following maintenance recommendations: If you lubricated and secured everything from above, and it still makes noise or binds, it's time to call in the help. A few examples would be: significant grinding, significant impacts, or significant door unevenness that you cannot fix through a DIY approach. If you have a significant enough of a noise that DIY would not correct there is often a greater issue that needs to be diagnosed and repaired properly. A professional can either tune-up or replace parts in a method that is safe and can restore quiet operation to your door.

• Routine service path: All garage doors tend to run smoother by checking yearly. A technician during a check-up will: examine the springs, adjust the tension, lubricate properly, and catch any small problems early. Professional garage door maintenance every year will avoid costly noise failures in the future.

A trained and tested garage door technician can complete high-tension repairs or replacements safely. If your DIY attempts to lubricate or secure haven't stopped your door noise, do yourself a favor and call a professional for inspection. If you are in Orange County, the professionals at OC Garage Door Guys are always ready to help. They are a family owned and operated , licensed and insured organization that specializes in residential garage doors. Their technicians are always equipped with common garage door replacement parts and offer 24/7 service, so they can promptly and quickly complete garage door services including broken springs, cables, and rollers or openers - and often on the same day service. Whether you would like help diagnosing where a persistent racket is coming from or would like to schedule a maintenance visit, call a local pro you can trust to properly inspect your garage door.

OC Garage Door Guys: Local Professionals

If all else fails or you just want the peace of mind, call OC Garage Door Guys for professional service in Orange County. We are family owned and operated (since 1999) and are fully licensed, insured, and bonded. Our technicians all have ongoing training on the recent models of garage door systems. We can do it all, from repairs of springs and rollers, up to opener replacements and complete door service, including noisy door repair cases.We take great pride in their fast and reliable work and always 100% customer satisfaction.

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If your door is still too noisy or you would like a safety check, call OC Garage Door Guys - we specialize in getting residential garage doors will run smooth and quiet.