Your garage door probably isn’t something you think about very often – if at all. You push a button, it opens. You push another button, it closes.
Because you use the door every day, gradual changes can become part of the background. A little noise here. A slower opening there. The door may seem heavier than it used to. That’s why one of the best things homeowners can do for their garage door is pay attention.
Learn to listen to the garage door. “Most doors will give you some warning before they completely fail,” Swift Garage Doors Owner Ray Egen says. “The problem is that people use them every day, so little changes are easy to miss.”
In Arizona, where garage doors spend their days dealing with heat, dust, monsoons, and the occasional missed football- or basketball-sized dent, the Rosie Certified Partner says paying attention is important.
Think of your garage door as a large mechanical system. If it suddenly starts making a sound it never made before, moving differently, or behaving strangely, there is probably a reason.
“Some of the common things I see are new noises, jerky or uneven movement, the door getting slower, the opener sounding like it is working harder than it used to, loose cables, worn rollers, gaps that were not there before, or sections starting to sag or crack.”
That means you shouldn’t automatically dismiss a popping, grinding, squeaking, rattling, or banging sound just because the door still opens. Visually, homeowners can watch for loose or frayed cables, worn rollers, cracked hinges, or gaps that seem to have appeared out of nowhere. And don’t forget about how the door feels.
If it becomes noticeably heavier or feels like it wants to fall when you operate it manually, the spring system or balance may be failing.
However, not every unusual sound means you need a brand-new garage door. Something as simple as a worn roller or dry hinge can make a door noisier. But the same symptom can sometimes point to a bearing, spring, track, or opener issue.
The 400-pound door…that shouldn’t feel heavy
A garage door can weigh several hundred pounds and be easy to lift by hand. That’s because the spring system is designed to counterbalance the door’s weight.
“The garage door is usually the largest moving object in the house,” Egen says. “A 400-pound door should not feel like a 400-pound door. If it does, something needs attention.”
He explained that the opener shouldn’t “muscle the door up and down.” The spring system counterbalances the weight. If that balance is off, the opener system will have to work harder than it should.
“I tell homeowners it should feel like lifting a gallon of milk off the floor,” he says. “At my own house, one of our garage doors weighs about 450 pounds and another around 350 pounds, and I can lift either one with one hand when they are properly balanced.”
A little maintenance goes a long way
Garage door upkeep doesn’t have to mean taking the entire system apart or spending your weekend learning the mechanics of springs and cables. The most useful maintenance is observation.
“Homeowners should periodically look at the rollers, hinges, cables, springs, tracks, and seals. Watch the door go all the way up and down and pay attention to anything that looks uneven, functions differently than it used to, or suddenly starts making a new noise.”
Keep the photo sensors clean and periodically test the opener’s safety systems. As a rule of thumb, lubricate anything that moves and avoid things that don’t. For example, hinges, springs, and rollers should all be lubricated. Tracks should be kept clean. You want rollers to roll, not slide. Egen recommends sprayable white lithium grease for routine maintenance.
“One thing I would not recommend is spraying lubricant all over the tracks. The rollers need to roll through clean tracks, not slide through them. Grease tends to collect dirt and create more of a mess.”
Homeowners should also pay attention to weather seals. Heat can be hard on the rubber along the bottom and perimeter of a garage door, and damaged seals can let dust, air, and other outdoor elements into the garage. The bottom seal also cushions the door so it doesn’t make direct contact with the floor every time it closes.
If you see a gap under or around the door, you’ll need to figure out why it’s there. Sometimes the weather seal is worn out. Other possibilities include an uneven floor, slab movement, track adjustment, framing, or a door that isn’t sitting correctly.
DIY vs. calling the professionals
There is a difference between inspecting your garage door and attempting to repair it. Homeowners can safely look for obvious problems, watch and listen to the door while it operates, clean the photo eyes, and perform basic safety checks.
They can also check the door’s balance if there are no visibly broken springs, loose cables, crooked sections, or other obvious problems. With the door fully closed, disconnect the opener and carefully lift the door by hand.
It should take very little effort to lift off the floor and should continue moving easily through its travel. If the door feels heavy, wants to fall closed, or becomes difficult to move at a certain point, stop and have it inspected.
But springs and cables? Those are another story. They deserve the most caution because they are under significant tension. If you see a broken spring, a loose or frayed cable, a cable that has come off the drum, a crooked or off-track door, a badly damaged section, or a door that suddenly becomes very heavy, stop using it and call a professional.
The same goes for a door that suddenly makes a loud bang or begins moving differently from one cycle to the next. The biggest thing, Egen says, is not to try to force it through the problem. Continuing to push the button can turn a simple repair into a much more costly one.
Age is just a number
A garage door doesn’t automatically need to be replaced just because it has been around for a while. Instead, Egen says he looks at the condition of the entire system before deciding whether to repair or replace it.
That includes whether the sections are damaged, sagging, or cracking; whether replacement sections are still available; and whether multiple parts are wearing out at the same time.
If you’re continually repairing one problem after another, replacement may eventually make more sense. But that can also be about improving the garage rather than simply fixing a problem.
Maybe you want a quieter door or better insulation. Perhaps you’re looking for a different appearance or a track configuration that creates more usable space underneath.
There is also a resale case. Remodeling Magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report has ranked garage door replacement at or near the top of all home improvement projects for return on investment for several years. In the most recent report, homeowners recouped an average of 268 percent of the project cost at resale – the highest return of any project tracked. The garage door is a big part of your home’s face from the street, and buyers notice it.
What’s new with today’s garage doors
For years, a garage door was often treated as a basic purchase: Find one that looks nice, fits the house, and opens and closes. These days, families use their garages differently, which means they’re thinking more about what the door can do.
Gyms, workshops, offices, play areas and storage spaces have made the garage a more functional part of the home. Some families are now cooling those spaces with mini-split air conditioners – in that case, the garage door is especially important. That’s one reason insulation is becoming a bigger consideration.
Better insulation also does not mean changing the appearance of the home (that’s important in Arizona communities with HOAs). In many cases, homeowners can keep the same basic panel design, color, and window configuration as their HOA expects while upgrading to a better-insulated and better-constructed door.
If you’re storing expensive items in the garage, from vehicles to tools and appliances, there’s even more reason to think about the conditions. People are also looking for doors that are stronger, quieter and more durable – particularly in a climate where winds and storms can put additional strain on the home.
“I think people are looking at the garage door less like a commodity and more like another major part of the house,” Egen says. “They want it insulated, but they also want it strong, quiet, durable and built to last.”
A word on trends: people are looking at clean, modern doors, wood-look finishes, flush panels, contemporary windows and darker colors. Wood-look finishes can add warmth without the maintenance of real wood.
Egen mentioned one thing not to do: choose a garage door based on appearance alone. Black exterior garage doors are becoming increasingly popular. If you have a non-insulated garage door, you will notice the increased temperature in the garage. If the garage door is well insulated, you typically won’t notice a measurable difference.
Openers are getting smarter, too. Quiet DC motors, belt drives, battery backup, Wi-Fi, phone notifications, scheduled closing, and improved lighting can all offer valuable benefits. Cameras and video keypads make it easier to monitor and control garage access.
Wall-mounted openers and high-lift track systems are another option. Rather than having the open door hang several feet below the ceiling, a high-lift configuration can allow the door to
travel closer to the ceiling, creating more usable space underneath the open door. That can make a big difference for vehicle lifts, golf simulators, storage, or other uses of the garage. The trick is separating useful technology from technology that sounds impressive:
“For me, if the feature or upgrade makes the garage safer, quieter, stronger, more comfortable, more secure or easier to use, then it probably has real value.”
Don’t wait for the garage door to stop working before you take action. Periodic maintenance and a basic visual inspection can help catch problems before they become a 400-pound problem.
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CONTENT PARTNER | SWIFT GARAGE DOORS
Swift Garage Doors is a family-owned and operated company based in Queen Creek and proudly serves homeowners throughout the Greater Phoenix Area, especially the East Valley. Established in 2023, Swift is led by owner Raymond Egen, who has worked in the garage door industry since 2005. Longtime Rosie listeners may remember Raymond from his time leading A-Authentic Garage Door Service Co., when it was the exclusive Rosie partner in the garage door category. Swift Garage Doors is built on that same foundation: honest recommendations, quality workmanship, and taking care of homeowners the right way.
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PHOTO CREDIT
- Swift Garage Doors
