Problem with Noisy Garage Doors
Garage doors can be a major annoyance, especially when they make extra noise and are harder to operate. Some homeowners might complain that the screeching noises reverberate throughout the house. Meanwhile, some homeowners might experience too much friction in the garage doors’ mechanical parts. Whatever the issue is, it’s best to get ahead of the problem before it becomes a significant garage door repair issue.
Before ordering new parts, consult a garage door maintenance professional. You may not necessarily need to overhaul your entire garage door system, but regular, strategic upkeep can make a lot of difference through the years.
7 Easy Ways to Make Garage Doors Less Noisy
Garage doors are composed of small mechanical parts assembled together. During each cycle, the entire unit will naturally produce some sounds. This is entirely normal. Of course, there are instances when certain rattling, screeching, and other noises could be too much to bear and should be looked into. Here are a few basic tips on how to make garage doors less noisy without too much hassle:
Tighten loose nuts, screws, and bolts
One of the simplest ways to solve noisy garage doors is to do a little nut and bolt tightening. This you can do by yourself if you have the right tools! Just check how snug the door and tracks screws are, and make sure these tiny parts are pulled well. Keep in mind that making the nuts and bolts too tight isn’t good, either, because it could cause too much friction. As long as all nuts, bolts, and screws are rightly snug, they should be good.
Lubricate the moving parts
Garage door noise reduction can also be made by lubricating your doors regularly. Doing it at least once per year should be enough for residential garage doors. The important thing here is not to use WD-40; this formulation is too “oily” for garage doors. Essentially, if it is not silicone-based or lithium-based oil, it is not designed for garage doors and may collect build-up of dirt.
Once you have consulted with your garage door repair professional which lubricant to use, apply it periodically to these parts:
- overhead door hinges
- garage door rollers located inside the frame
- bearing plates and springs
- railings (when garage door is opened)
- garage door lock
Getting inside each track and right into the metal rollers takes a bit of maneuvering, but it’s essential to have things well-oiled to keep unnecessary noise at bay. Make sure you don’t skimp on the lubricant – use it liberally and spray enough so that the formula flows down at the base of the springs or the hinges. Just wipe the extra fluid that would drip down. In addition, lubricating these areas can help prolong the life of your garage door.
Set pieces of rubber on certain parts
Another nifty trick for garage door noise reduction is to use small rubber pieces and place them as a buffer between the bolts and garage door opener. You can do this by removing the garage door opener motor from the frame it is mounted on. Then, insert a thin rubber material in between the garage door and the bolts. Arrange it so that your garage door opener is suspended from the frame by these rubber buffers—these act as cushions to absorb the vibrations whenever the garage door operates.
Check your garage door insulation
Do insulated garage doors reduce noise? Yes, insulation certainly helps minimize any annoying screeches and sounds. This is why you always need to make sure that the insulation strip at the bottom is in good shape. Usually, this gets worn out quickly as it slams down the bottom every time the garage door closes down.
Be sure to get your garage door maintenance team to install at least a few feet longer than the exact measure of your garage doors. Why? Because the rubber bottom sealing tends to shrink over time. It’s recommended to leave a bit of allowance in length just to keep every inch of the door covered.
Get the garage door opener checked
Another critical technique to make garage doors less noisy is to check the garage door opener. While automated garage door openers make life convenient, they need periodic repairs; most automatic garage openers need reprogramming or adjustment to work correctly again.
Your garage door repairman can perform most adjustments. These are usually quick and simple fixes that a professional can easily do. We still recommend that you rely on a garage door service professional for these adjustments because any wrong move could damage the opener and create a bigger problem.
Use a garage door silencer
If your garage is right next to a bedroom, it can be genuinely inconvenient to have noisy garage doors. It’s important to make the garage doors less noisy. And there’s another key solution: installing a garage door silencer.
Garage door silencers are made of a metal frame that holds the garage door opener securely in its place. Bolted framing on the opener helps dampen vibrations that happen with each cycle. Because the frame is not directly connected to the bolt, the sounds are dampened before reaching the ceiling.
Choose nylon rollers
Garage door rollers can also help in garage door noise reduction. If you have worn-out garage door rollers, the noise they create when rolling up the frame could contribute to the bulk of the noise.
An easy solution is to invest in higher-quality nylon rollers. The nylon material makes things smoother and quieter because it creates far less noise than traditional metal or plastic rollers.
Make Garage Doors Less Noisy With Us
It’s such a hassle when garage doors create excessive noise. If you’ve been asking yourself, “How can I make my garage door quieter?” we hope you have learned some tips here to get things a lot smoother and lessen your worries.
If you still have not resolved the issue, you can contact our garage door maintenance team for help. We are available for scheduled as well as emergency garage door repairs, and we’ll always be ready to assist you. Our team has decades of experience providing reliable garage door service for homes and businesses. Talk to us today to learn more!