Garage Doors
 

Since moving in ( Eight years) I have always found my garage doors to be quite noisy when operating. They have been maintained on a regular basis in accordance with manufacturers guidelines.

I have been considering adding insulation from one of the various kit producers.

Question is: Is there a small, medium or large reduction in noise level if I proceed with this project?

Other suggestions for noise level are welcome.:welcome:

I don't think insulation will reduce the noise much, if at all. The noise is not from the door panels, it is from the metal parts that move together, such as the motor, chain, hinges, and rollers that bump against the tracks that they ride in. I think, if you shop around and are willing to pay a lot more money, you can find a quieter garage door to replace the noisy one with.

Your door probably has steel rollers. If you replace them with nylon rollers, I think you will find a reduction in noise. Not an expensive change.

That may help a little, but it is not a simple DIY project. My garage door has 10 metal rollers. The rollers are connected to an axle that is connected to the door hinges. It seems to me that the most noisy parts of the door movements are the metal axle and metal hinge connections, not the roller and track connections. Also, I think the noisiest part of the garage door is the motor and chain mechanism. The two best solutions are to live with a noisy door, or spend more money and buy a whole new garage door and motor that are designed to be quiet.

The door may simply need an adjustment and some oil on the hinges and other moving parts.

Also, keep in mind that a metal door will expand and contract due to temperature changes. This can cause a door to fit better and run smoother during winter than summer, or vice versa... depending on the adjustment.

I just installed a Chamberlin BELT drive garage door opener for a neighbor, it made a big difference. NOTE: the guy Lowe's sent out was an idiot and stated that the torsion bar had to be moved (it did not), and he could not to the work. We did it in about 2 hours.

Try getting a can of garage door lubricant and spray it liberally. Worked for me

So, are you saying that most of the noise was coming from the chain drive opener and motor, and not from the rollers and axle hinge connections on the sides of the door?

My garage had the original very
noisy chain drive unit, and I also had a
Chamberlin belt drive installed.
It is amazing how much quieter the
door operation is now!
In my case most of the objectionable noise was do to the opener.
IMHO if you have a chain drive opener and it’s old and noisy
I’d look into replacing it.
Plus the newer ones are WiFi and and be controlled from you smart phone.
How many times have you driven away from home and then
thought “Did I close the garage door”.

I also replaced my AllStar chain drive opener with a Chamberlin belt drive (with a Craftsman label) but I think I got more noise reduction from replacing the steel rollers and oiling the hinges.

The first and only time I replaced rollers and it took no more than about 30 minutes.

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How to Replace Garage Door Rollers & Where to Buy Them - YouTube

I should add that years ago I measured the tracks and found they weren't exactly parallel or square to the front of the garage. I straightened them up and that smoothed out the operation of the door.

We called RoMac and they did some maintenance on it (sorry I don’t know the exact details) but they cleaned the tracks and explained how to do that and lubricate them. Made a huge difference. Good company.

I had that same problem. Spoke to pro and all I had to do was spray WD40 along the rewind spring that is mounted inside the garage that runs horizontally to the top of the door/entrance of the garage door opening. Spray all other moving parts, roller bearings, and a little on the chain. Run the door up and down a few times and you should be good-to-go.

When you lubricate the garage door parts, make sure you leave the car and golf cart outside, and operate the garage door a few times until the lubricant stops dripping into the garage.

Just to clarify, WD40 is often mistaken for a lubricant. It does lubricate, but it is mostly a solvent, not a lubricant. WD40 will clean and loosen rusted and dirty parts, but it will not provide long lasting lubrication. I would use a lubricant designed for garage door parts.

I have been sneaking out my garage for years. Belt driven motor and neoprene rollers.