Just like anything mechanical, your garage door might start making noises, and just like anything mechanical, you’re better off finding out what is causing the noise.
Luckily, not every noise emanating from a garage door is the sign of something more serious, but in order to keep you and your family safe, you need to know when to do something about it.
To help, we’ve written this post about how to recognize the sounds coming from your garage door, and what you should do in each case.
Let’s start with the not-so-serious…
A constant grinding noise, could be a sign that your garage door opener’s chain or belt is either too loose or too tight, either way it needs adjusting!
If you hear a squeaky noise when the door is opening and closing, this is most likely a sign that the PVC part of the exterior frame weather‑stripping and the weather-stripping between garage door sections have probably dried out and are sticking together due to a lack of lubrication. This one is easy to fix: You can obtain some silicone-based lubricant from your local garage door specialist and apply it to the bottom of the door, between the sections and around the exterior frame.
Another irritating noise you might be hearing when opening and closing the door is a clinking sound. There are a couple of reasons why your door would be making this sound:
- The spring coils, have rusted and are rubbing together. This is an easy fix: Simply buy some oil-based lubricant from your local garage door specialist and apply it to the metal parts (the springs, the rollers and the hinges).
- This second reason is more serious: Your roller may be defective. If this is the case, they need replacing immediately before they fall off.
And finally, a situation you need to remedy without delay!
Say you hear a loud thumping sound when opening and closing the door; this is usually the sign of a serious problem, most likely a broken spring. To check if this is the case, simply look over your garage door. If this is the case, it needs to be replaced right away. If you have a double garage door it is very unlikely that both springs would break at the same time, and your garage door will open with just one spring. A single garage door only has one spring, so you need to call your garage door specialist right away about replacing it, as your garage door now poses a risk.
What can you do about it?
Well, as we’ve mentioned above, some of these situations are easily remedied, such as by lubricating parts. For the more serious situations, you’ll need to call in an expert. Do not attempt to repair or adjust garage door parts on your own. Garage doors are calibrated to a specific weight, experts know how to recalibrate doors after carrying out repairs to ensure they are just as safe as they were the day they were installed.
To avoid any garage door-related accidents…
…You should be scheduling a tune-up service at least once every year and a half (for doors over 5 years’ old). As experts, we can spot issues that you might not see, and we can make sure your door runs smoothly for many more years to come. And what’s more, we guarantee all our work! Why not contact us and schedule a tune-up today? Our residential maintenance program includes a 26 -point checklist, adjustments and lubrication to the main and essential garage door parts. Call us at 724-287-1673, come down to our showroom, or request a quotation online today.
If you haven’t already, feel free to try out our Design Centre or to look through our image gallery where you’ll find tons of garage door ideas.
