Of the myriad of issues that can affect your garage doors performance and integrity, a misaligned track can be the most problematic. Misaligned garage door tracks happen when the metal track that your door runs on and the rollers that make it possible are not aligned properly. At a glance, it may not seem like a huge problem, but the issue is that if not corrected and allowed to continue, each time you open and close your garage, the issue will become worse. As a garage door is heavy, it compounds these issues. In the worst case scenario, a portion of the garage door may actually fall off the tracks and the door may fall altogether. For this catastrophic reason, you should look out for these signs of a misaligned garage door track and have them fixed as soon as possible.
Gaps Between the Rollers and Rail
It is worthwhile to run your garage door once every so often so you can see how the rollers are sitting in the track as it runs. If you notice spots where the rollers are raised from the track and not sitting as they should be, you will want to investigate what is causing the misalignment.
A Rubbing Noise Can Be Heard
Garage doors are naturally pretty loud when they open and close, especially older models. However, if you notice a difference in sound such as a rubbing or grinding noise, especially in one spot, that is a good sign that the track is misaligned. Make a note of the spot in which the rubbing noise occurs. If you can’t immediate spot an issue, you may want to contact a professional. Any new noises a garage door is making are never a sign of anything good happening.
Door Closing Slowly in Spots
Similar to hearing a rubbing noise, if you notice that your garage door slows down in certain spots, this can also be a sign of misalignment. With this issue, you should also make a note to have the areas checked out.
Bent Rail
It doesn’t always happen, but sometimes you can actually look at a rail and spot a misalignment, especially if it has been going on for some time. With misalignment of garage doors, it means the door is not functioning as it was designed to. This means that the weight of the door actually has the ability to bend the rail. This only happens when misalignment has gone unnoticed for a long time and it can be costly to fix. Ideally, you want to spot it before it gets to this point.
Is your garage door displaying any of these signs? In some cases, you may be able to fix garage door misalignment yourself. However, for more serious cases, it is worth contacting a professional to make sure the issue is fixed before it gets any worse. If you have spotted misalignment and want it fixed before it gets even more expensive to correct, contact us today.
