Quiet Your Squeaky Garage Door
September 9, 2015
In most cases, garage doors aren’t particularly quiet and a squeaking door certainly doesn’t help. Here are some tips on how to fix a squeaky door and how to keep it from getting that way:
The first is the more obvious one: lubrication. If the previous step doesn’t help (do not fret because it was probably a good idea to tighten it up a bit anyways), try to use a metal or a garage lubricant along the tracks and the chain to reduce friction. Doing this every so often (once or twice a year) will increase the life of the door as well. We recommend using a silicone-based lubricant because oil and grease lubricants can get quite dirty and grimy and hard to handle.
Next, the squeaking could simply mean that your door needs a bit of a check up. Try tightening up the nuts and bolts around the door and the track. Try not to overdo it though as tightening the parts too much could put unnecessary strain and wear on your door. Maintaining its structure could mean a longer life for your door and less noise for you.
The next step is a bit harder, so it is best to do it one at a time, but it might be time to replace old rollers and hinges. Seeing as newer doors are not as likely to squeak, it is safe to assume that your door is a bit older. This could simply be caused by an old part (or parts) along the track that are no longer doing their job correctly. So pick up a couple of rollers and hinges at your local home center store (it is most likely just rollers; they get much more use than the hinges so it is more common for those to need replacing) and switch them out one at a time. Try the door, see if the squeaking has stopped, and if not, move on to the next one. This one is more time consuming and tedious, so it is best to save this for the last step.
Quick safety tip: wear protective eye gear to ensure that nothing falls into them while you are working.
Lastly, feel free to contact us if you would like assistance or don’t feel comfortable doing this yourself. We are happy to help.
From your friends at Precision Garage Door of Seattle, we hope you found this information helpful and wish you the best of luck with your squeaky door endeavors.