Garage Doors: An Abundance of Options

Garage doors are the quiet guardians of our homes. When maintained properly, they provide a level of protection from both thieves and the outside elements and very rarely do you even notice that they're there.

Until something breaks, that is. Hearing a strange sound coming from your garage door can be nerve-racking, especially if you're not sure exactly where it's coming from. Below are a few sounds that people hear when the garage doors are performing improperly; if you hear any of them, contact a technician to schedule garage door repair immediately.

Screeching

The sound of metal on metal is enough to set your teeth on edge, but it can also be an alarming sound since it usually means that the rollers on your tracks are either bare or out of alignment. The metal bolts on the outside of the rollers can scrape along the tracks and eventually cause damage, resulting in the tracks needing to be replaced. You may be able to knock it back in alignment yourself but to prevent the problem from happening in the future, it's a good idea to have looked at by a garage door company.

Whining

A whining sound that you hear coming from your garage door is usually a sign that the motor on your opener is straining to lower or open the garage door. If that's the case, most garage door repair services will consist of either replacing the belt, the circuit board, or even the entire unit. They may also check the energy source to see if the motor is underpowered or if it's been disconnected in some way.

Thumping

If you're closing your garage door and hear a loud thump at the end of the cycle, it probably means that your garage door has dropped the last few inches to the floor. Most of the time, this is a problem with the garage door opener's limit switch, which signals to the motor when to stop the closing process. All you need to do is adjust the distance accordingly, and you shouldn't hear that sound anymore.

Snapping

Probably the worst sound you can hear coming from your garage door is a loud snapping sound. It can happen at any point in your garage door cycle, and usually indicates that the spring has snapped. Fortunately, most garage doors are equipped with a safety chain to prevent the coil from causing any damage, but if this is the case, you'll need to have it fixed by a professional. Garage door repair on the spring is both dangerous and technical — it's not something that should be attempted by the average homeowner.

For more information, reach out to a local garage door repair service.