When your garage door is brand new, its function should be smooth with little noise. As time goes on, even the highest quality doors will begin making some funny noises due to wear and tear. Some noises are normal, but many mean that you need maintenance or a repair. In order to be able to diagnose which is necessary, we’ll share some tips on how to listen to your garage door. Here are some sounds you may hear and what they mean.
Clunking
Probably one of the more serious sounds you may here, a clunking or thumping sound as you open or close your garage door most likely means your garage door opener is straining. It doesn’t have enough power to do its job effectively. Try replacing the batteries. If that doesn’t work, then you may need to replace your motorized opener. You also could have a broken torsion spring which would require a professional garage door technician to fix it.
Squeaking
A high pitched squeaking noise as you raise or lower the garage door may mean the weather-stripping is wearing down. It could also mean that your rollers are having trouble moving along the track due to lack of lubrication. If you tried adding lubrication to your rollers and the squeaking persists, call your local garage door technician to replace the weather-stripping or fix the true cause of the sound.
Maintaining your garage door is the best way to prevent high costs for replacements, large repairs or a brand new door.
Grinding
A metallic grinding noise can be related to the chain or the belt being too loose and skipping a link. You may try to force the opener to work, only to hear a medium-loud grinding noise instead of it functioning. If you are a handy person, you can try to adjust (tighten) the chain or belt yourself to see if it stops the sound. However, we suggest calling a professional before you accidentally cause an even larger repair or hurt yourself.
Clinking
A clinking sound is fairly common and brought on by your garage door’s coils and springs rubbing together due to rust build up. Try to lubricate your coils and springs regularly.
It could also be a defective roller which is causing the garage door to operate improperly. You will need a replacement if that’s the case.
Maintenance is Key to Extend the Life of Your Garage Door
Reading through this blog, you may have noticed that lubricating your garage door mechanisms and making small replacements to worn down parts are key to keeping your garage door working smoothly. Maintaining your garage door is the best way to prevent high costs for part replacements, large repairs or a brand new door. If you notice your garage door has been making loud or strange sounds, call The Door Company to come take a look.