A loud garage door can be very annoying for your family and the neighborhood.
Especially if you need to use the garage door at odd hours, it can become a headache for everyone.
The vibrations caused by the noisy garage door travel into the structure of the house, causing the noise to travel everywhere in the house.
Who wants to wake up with the thud of the garage door early morning or late at night?
But don’t worry; there are various ways through which we can make it quieter before it makes you go crazy.
I was hoping you could read this article; I’m sure you’ll find a technique that works best for you.
Here we’ll discuss some very practical techniques to make your garage door quieter regardless of its type.
Tighten up
Maybe the loose nuts, screws, and bolts are the cause behind your noisy garage door.
So, the easiest and simplest solution is to tighten them all.
The constant movements and vibrations that take place while you open and shut the garage door make the nuts, screws, and bolts lose.
For example, a chair becomes wobbly over time when you use it for a long period of time.
The reason behind this is also the same, the constant use of the chair makes its screws and nuts lose.
So, start with the simplest solution, tighten the nuts with an appropriate tool.
This may make your garage door less noisy.
Lubricate
If your garage door is producing squeaking and creaking sounds, then it probably needs lubrication.
Over time, after constant usage, your garage door may become dry and rough.
So, oiling can be helpful to make it less noisy.
You can also use grease or silicone and lithium-based lubricants specifically designed for garage doors.
The main parts that need to be lubricated are:
- Hinges
- Springs
- Door rollers
- Door lock
- The rails
Garage door opener
Another way to make less noise while you open your garage door is to install a quiet garage door opener.
The rattling sound from the chain and the door can make it an unpleasant experience for you and the neighborhood.
Automatic garage doors provide convenience, but they, too, make an annoying noise.
If you have an automatic garage door, then try to install a quiet door opener.
They use different methods to reduce the noise, like using sound-absorbing materials.
Door rollers
Both the automatic as well as the manual garage doors have door rollers that roll along the door’s rails.
Door rails keep the garage door on while you open and close it.
Door rollers are a simple but very important part of your garage doors.
They are mostly made up of steel because steel is the most hard-wearing.
But obviously, when steal rollers roll over the metal rails, they make a lot of noise.
This noise is the worst when these door rollers get damaged due to their continuous usage.
They may produce additional rattling and popping sounds.
If you want to fix this noise temporarily, then lubricate them often.
But the ultimate solution to damaged door rollers is only to replace them as soon as possible.
You can replace them with Teflon and nylon rollers that make lesser noise.
The experience would be much smoother and quieter then.
But the back draw you may face with plastic door rollers is that you will have to inspect them regularly and replace them as soon as you see they’re wearing out.
This is because plastic door rollers get damaged very soon; they are not as long-lasting as steel door rollers.
Garage door silencer
If the glass door opener cannot be replaced, the next option you have is to isolate it.
When the source of the noise is separated from the structure, the transmission path of the sound waves is cut off.
It is commonly used to isolate one side of the wall from the other.
So, in this case, you can use it on the ceiling where the motor housing is fixed.
This will help restrict the vibrations from passing into the structure and then traveling through the whole house.
For this purpose, the things you’ll need are:
- Rubber isolation pads
- Isolation clips and resilient channels
The procedure for the installation of isolation pads is very easy.
Install the isolation pads between the motor’s mounting bracket and the ceiling.
For more isolation, put the second pad under the bracket.
To use the resilient channels for your noisy garage door, fix them to the ceiling as you normally do.
Then clip on the isolation clips to the channels.
The hole in the middle of the isolation clips is for screws.
Attach the motor’s mounting bracket directly to them.
Replacing springs
The replacement of garage door springs also helps in reducing noise.
They are not the main reason behind excessive noise but contribute to the sound produced.
Some garage doors use extension springs which wobble when they are used., producing squeaking and creaking sounds.
When you hear such sounds, it’s best to replace them as soon as possible.
For this, you need to get a professional because it can be dangerous if not handled properly.
It may seem a simple task for you, but you should get help from a professional.
Insulation
Normally the garage doors are made from aluminum, vinyl, or steel.
These materials transmit more vibrations and contribute more to the noise.
To make your garage door make less noise, you need to control the vibrations.
For this purpose, you need to insulate the garage door with the correct material.
Depending on the type of door you have for your garage, you should use a combination of mass and dampening materials.
For a rolling garage door, you cannot do anything to lessen the vibrations.
But if you have a solid garage door, there are a lot of options.
The things that you can easily use for controlling the vibrations are sound-deadening mats and mass-loaded vinyl.
These both are very dense and help in controlling most of the vibrations that may pass through a structure while in use.
But make sure you don’t use any such material which builds up a lot of weight for the garage door opener to handle.
Because usually garage door is already too heavy.
Call a Professional
If you think you cannot solve the problem, you can always get help from a professional.
There’s nothing bad in getting help; the professionals are trained to do such work more efficiently.
So, after reading the above article, try the simpler techniques yourself.
And, if you think you cannot do it yourself, call a professional for help to reduce the noise produced by your garage door.
The professional can:
- Replace chain-driven garage door opener with belt-driven garage door opener.
- Replace steel rollers with nylon rollers.
- More efficiently inspect why your garage door is making so much noise.
- Perform any of the techniques mentioned above for you.
Conclusion
As already discussed in the above article, the noise of the garage door can be very disturbing for your family and the neighborhood.
To minimize the noise from your garage door, try the techniques written in the above article.
Hopefully, if not all, at least one of them is going to work for you.
The simplest solution is to tighten the bolts and the screws, so you should start with this one and then move on to the complex solution.
So, what are you waiting for?
Try these techniques and contribute to minimizing noise pollution.
FAQs
What type of garage door is the Quietest?
The garage door that has belt drives are the quietest more durable, but they are expensive.
While the garage doors with screw drives are a bit noisy.
Which is the most secure garage door?
Roller doors which are also called roll-up doors are the most secure garage doors.
They roll up neatly overhead.
Roller doors are made up of horizontal slats with rollers on both sides, which help them roll up and down while you open and shut them.
What is the best material to use for garage doors?
Steel is the most popular, sustainable, flexible, and durable material used for garage doors.
Along with being the most common material used for garage doors, it is also available in a lot of designs.
How do you clean a garage door track?
To clean up a garage door track, you need a damp cloth to wipe away all the dirt.
For the areas which are hard to reach with your fingers, you can use a toothbrush or a vacuum cleaner.
This way, all the debris, and thick dirt can be cleaned easily.
If you find the dirt and the debris too stubborn to be cleaned, you can use an automotive brake cleaner to clean up the garage door track.
What can I spray on a noisy garage door?
White lithium grease or silicone spray can be used for the lubrication of your garage door.
A well-lubricated garage door will make lesser noise.