A garage door track guides the garage door’s movement as it opens and closes. Rollers on the track help the door roll smoothly through the track. The rollers are attached to the door with a shaft that slips through (and connects to) each of the hinges.
A properly-functioning track must be completely parallel on both sides so that the garage door is rolling up and down evenly. Misalignment can lead to unnecessary weight on the opening mechanism, and cause strain over time that leads to a need for repairs that wouldn’t otherwise be needed. If a track is misaligned, it can cause the door to hang unevenly, the cables to become slack and unwind, or for the garage door to bind and get stuck as it rolls up and down.
Common Problems for Garage Door Tracks:
Misalignment (the tracks are not parallel to each other.)
Rust and age damage the track, which needs to be cleared, cleaned, and lubed.
Loose rollers or loose hinges can cause portions of the door to become detached from the opening system.
The track can pull away from the wall, or from the bracing system on the ceiling, which can lead the track to become uneven, and/or for the weatherstripping to not achieve a good seal, due to a gap between the door and the wall that lets in the air.
If the track is too close to the door, and the rollers don’t have room to move, it could cause the door to bind.
When to Call a Professional
There are some minor repairs and maintenance steps that you can do yourself to keep your garage door track functional. Tightening up screws and braces that attach the door to the hinges, the hinges to the rollers, and the track to the wall and ceiling, is usually a simple operation. All the same, we highly recommend exercising great caution. Never work on the garage door while it’s rolled up, as it can easily fall and cause an accident and further damage. Always steer clear of the spring, and the cables, as both of these take turns being full of kinetic energy waiting to go somewhere. Mishandling these mechanisms can lead to injury and death.
If you’re seeing a misaligned track, and broken connection along the track, rollers going off-track, or the door binding as it goes up and down because the rollers aren’t able to freely move on the track, give us a call. Our professional technicians can diagnose the problem and most of the time, fix it in the same day.
