Isn’t it annoying when you go home late and then your noisy garage door wakes up someone in your home? Most probably it would be the person sleeping next to or above the garage. Sometimes it could be everybody in your home, or worse, your neighbors.
There are different noises a garage door can make. It can rattle, squeak, or shriek whenever it opens, closes, or both. It may be annoying, but it’s warning you that something needs to be repaired, replaced, or greased.
If your door still opens and closes properly, then you would have an easier time silencing it with just a little maintenance. If not, you probably need to look for a professional to do it or replace it with a new or quieter model.
Here are some tips on how you can fix that noisy garage door. This way, you don’t announce to the entire neighborhood when you’re leaving or getting back home.
Tighten the nuts and bolts
The most common culprit of noisy garage doors is a loose screw. Nuts and bolts tend to loosen due to vibrations whenever you open or close the door.
Check if the nuts and bolts on the door and track need tightening. If so, use a socket or an adjustable wrench to make everything snug - but don’t make it too tight.
While you’re at it, inspect the garage door opener chain (if you have one). It can make a lot of noise when it’s loose. Here's a video on how to tighten it.
Use oil or lubricants
There are a lot of moving parts in garage doors. If these are worn or dry from too much friction, it will make noise. Moving parts cause vibrations and need to be reduced to make the door less noisy.
To make the garage door quieter, you will need to:
- Grease the inside of the tracks, the metal rollers, and pulleys.
- Apply some lubricant to the top of the spring until it flows down to the base.
- Lubricate the hinges between the panels.
- If you have a garage door opener chain, lubricate it as well. Test if it can easily slide around the gears.
- To make sure, spray lubricants around and on the metal parts of your garage door.
Do these every six months or more, if necessary. Don’t hesitate to apply a lot because if you don't use enough, then you’re not going to fix the noise problem.
This is also an important step of maintaining a garage door as lubricating the moving parts can prolong its and overall, your garage door’s lifespan.
Note: Make sure to use lubricants for metal applications.
Install new rollers
Worn metal rollers are another culprit for a noisy door, especially since these roll along the metal track. There’s bound to be noise when metal is against metal. They don’t usually make a loud noise unless it looks worn down. If lubricating these don’t work, it’s time to install new ones.
Other than metal, you could also use nylon rollers for a quieter garage door. You also don’t need to lubricate it. But the only disadvantage is, it will cost you twice the metal ones. If you have a five-section garage door, you will need more than a dozen rollers - so if noise reduction is worth the extra expense, go for it.
Note: Make sure to measure your old roller before buying a new one. The standard ones have a stem of 4 inches and a roller of 2 inches.
Replace the hinges
If it’s not the rollers that are causing the noise, it’s probably the hinges. This part of your door flex and bend to open the door. When these get worn out, it will make noise.
Check if there is a hole in the hinge where the roller stem is located or where it meets the hinge bracket. Replace the ones that have holes that are oblong-shaped, since it should be more round. If the door is still making noise, inspect all of the hinges to make sure.
Here's a video on how can you replace hinges and rollers of a garage door:
Inspect the insulation strip
Check if the insulation strip below the door is missing or worn out. But without inspecting it, you should already hear a loud bang when the door closes or feel cold when going inside your garage if it’s missing. If you’re going to buy your own insulating strip, get at least a 16-feet roll of rubber insulation.
Note: Don’t exactly cut the insulation strip to the width of the door because it will shrink. Leave a few inches and it’s always better if it’s longer than cutting it too short.
Add more buffers
Another way to reduce the noise is to add more buffers such as pieces of rubber. Since metal can be noisy, you would need buffers to reduce the noise and absorb the vibrations.
You can add pieces of rubber between the bolts and the door or to the end of the garage door opener’s frame.
There are more, but it’s going to be more difficult to do. You can use rubber to hang the motor from the mounting straps of your garage door opener and then install thin rubber pads or noise insulators between the metal brace that holds the motor to the ceiling and its block. Be careful not to damage the motor and make sure your garage door opener still works after doing these.
Get a professional to do it
If the noise still persists, you will need to hire a professional to fix it. Not only can they do it faster, but you won’t have to worry about your garage door getting damaged.
You also don’t have to spend a lot of time looking for the source of the noise since they can do a full check-up. Aside from reducing the noise, they can also fix the chain or install a belt-driven garage door.
Replace the entire garage door
If the professionals can’t fix it (which they will tell you), then you have to accept that it’s time to replace your garage door.
On the plus side, you can get a new design or change the material to wood, aluminum, or steel. The experts can even recommend a quieter, less expensive, or low-maintenance model.