As you exit your car, you click a button on your remote control to close the garage door. But this time, it shrieks and grinds as it lowers, and the racket reminds you of a scene from a recent horror film. It sounds like those overhead tracks are misaligned and need professional service.
Action Overhead Door Inc. knows how to adjust garage door tracks and eliminate those headache-inducing noises. Our technicians can service any overhead garage door in Louisville, KY. We outlined our professional track adjustment guide below.
How Did Your Garage Door Get Off Track?
A lack of routine maintenance negatively impacts garage door track alignment. Alongside that nails-on-chalkboard racket, you’ll notice:
- Uneven door slope
- Openings around the doorframe when closed
- Noticeable door or track damage
These issues crop up as components become worn, debris inhabits the tracks, and friction builds up in moving parts. Fortunately, a garage door technician can fix these issues in a jiffy.
What a Garage Door Technician Does to Prepare for Duty
Do you need a professional to realign the tracks? Can’t you just do some DIY track repair and get it over with? Not usually; technicians follow highly specific regulations when repairing automated residential garage doors.
In fact, part of their service preparation involves:
- Wearing specific clothing: Your technician dons thick pants and a fitted long-sleeved shirt to protect their body from injuries.
- Using personal protection gear: Flexible, cut-resistant gloves, sturdy boots, and goggles are musts in this industry. The technician never knows when dust might fall into their eyes or a mechanical part with a sharp edge could graze their hands.
- Comprehensive garage door troubleshooting: They want to ensure they accurately identify the problem before they begin the service. This way, you won’t have to call them a second time.
- Cutting the power supply, if necessary: Electricity powers most modern garage doors. Unless you own a purely manual model, your technician will likely turn off the power to prevent operation triggers.
The technician will also ensure they have all the tools needed to complete the task on hand. Then, they can begin adjusting your garage door’s alignment.
How To Adjust Garage Door Tracks: Two Professional Methods
The best method for fixing door tracks depends on how the garage door moves. Typically, a door gets off track in one of two ways. It might become stuck at a particular point or it keeps moving but grinds against the track and molding.
Your technician will know how to adjust garage door tracks based on these mechanics. Here’s a look at what they might do, depending on the scenario.
When the Garage Door Gets Stuck
In the first scenario, your garage door sticks and doesn’t budge after a particular point. You might be able to lift it again, but it still won’t go past that binding point. The technician will:
- Loosen and remove the screws: A series of screws connect the track pieces to the wall. The technician will loosen and remove them if the track dents warrant it.
- Readjust the track material: The technician strikes the track in the dented area to put it back in place. This should enable the door to glide smoothly through the area without sticking.
- Put the screws backing in place: Next, the technician tightens the screws back in place. The corrected track securely connects back to the wall.
- Repeat the process on the other side: Adjusting garage tracks usually involves both sides since the misaligned door will pull the other track length out of place. Your technician will take care of it!
Because your technician knows how to adjust garage door tracks, they might employ one other method to realign the tracks.
When the Garage Door Grinds Against the Molding
The door keeps moving, but not without a calamitous fuss in the case. The shrieking and grinding grate your nerves, but your door still closes. The door rubbing against the molding causes ungodly sounds. Your technician solves this problem by:
- Loosening the bolts: Nuts and bolts secure the tracks to their respective brackets. The technician eases these bolts loose for door mobility.
- Moving the door back inside the molding: Now that the door is loosened, the technician can move it back into place by snapping it inside the molding. They’ll check to ensure the gap looks even on all sides and adjust the track accordingly.
- Tightening the bolts back in place: Once the technician is satisfied with the position, they’ll tighten the bolts again and test the door operations.
Your door might need replacement parts, like springs or new track length, if neither of these methods satisfactorily solves the problem.
Tips to Keep Your Door in Line
Do you want to know an industry secret? You can avoid track misalignments with a little proactive maintenance. Remember the following track alignment tips when you tackle household maintenance to-dos:
- Inspect your garage door. Get to know how it works and what each mechanism looks like. When something seems off, you can give it a once-over and pinpoint the problem.
- Rinse the panels off. Many property owners underestimate how much organic debris becomes stuck to their panels. That debris can transfer to the delicate moving components.
- Dust the mechanical bits. While you’re at it, use a can of air duster to push dusty particles out of the tracks, chains, and molding.
- Keep a machine lubricant on hand. When you hear something squeak, take a peek! You can dab a bit of lubricant on noisy visible parts.
- Be mindful during inclement weather. Snow storms often mean ice that forms in between the tracks and the door. Powerful storms can send dead leaves, twigs, and other debris between the mechanisms.
- Schedule regular professional maintenance. Nothing replaces consistent maintenance from a technician.
Let Action Overhead Door Inc. help with that last tip!
Call Action Overhead Door Inc. to Get Your Door Back on Track
At Action Overhead Door Inc., we know how to adjust garage door tracks and enable smoother operations. We can also show you the benefit of a roll-up garage door if you’re in the market for one. Call 502-955-7725 if you’re near Louisville, Kentucky.
