What’s That Sound? 4 Signs You Need Garage Door Repairs

If you have a garage on your property, things will wear out and need repairs or replacement at some point. People often wait until the door completely stops working before scheduling garage door repairs, but doing this can mean you have to completely replace equipment that may have been repairable. One of the biggest and earliest indicators that something is wrong with the equipment for your garage door is unusual sounds. Here is a list of sounds to listen for to help you figure out when it’s time to schedule garage door repairs.

1. Slapping or rattling – This is a good sign that the chains or belts are loose. Garage door opener belts and chains don’t last forever; over time, they will stretch and eventually break. When that happens, you’ll notice a slapping or rattling sound when the excess chain or belt hits the track or opener.
2. Vibrating and rattling – The most likely culprit of a rattling sound when you use the garage door opener is nuts and bolts that are coming undone. Your garage door has dozens of nuts, bolts, and screws. Over time, the vibrations of the garage door can cause them to loosen, and when this happens, the entire door may start rattling.
3. Popping and rumbling – If you hear a popping sound when you use the garage door opener, the most likely cause is broken or locking up springs. After a while, torsion springs will begin to lock up, and when this happens, they produce loud popping sounds. Because they are wound extremely tight and under a great deal of tension, you should never try to adjust or work on the springs of your garage door. Attempting to work on the springs could cause severe injury or even death, so a professional should always handle any spring-related garage door repairs.
4. Banging, straining, or scraping – While you may think that the first sign of a misaligned door is that it looks off track, most misaligned doors have been producing auditory symptoms long before the visual ones. One way to know it’s time to schedule a garage door repair so you can keep it from getting completely misaligned is to listen for banging, straining, or scraping sounds, which all indicate that the door is becoming misaligned.

Garage door repairs should only be done by trained professionals who can identify and safely work on the problem and should never attempt to make even seemingly minor repairs yourself. If you hear any of these warning signs when you open or close your garage door, contact a professional repair service that can investigate the source of the sounds and get your garage door running smoothly again.