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As with many other mechanical things in your home, over time your garage door rollers get old, become worn, and stop working. Diagnosing the problem correctly and fixing the problem may require the help of a garage door professional.
The garage door rollers allow your garage door to open and close smoothly by running up and down the garage door track. The roller itself is attached to the garage door on a mounting bracket. Once mounted to the door, the round roller fits inside the garage door track. A standard 7-foot high garage door will typically have about 10 to 12 rollers.
Telltale signs that your rollers may need to be replaced are noisy opening and closing of the garage door, wheels stick and bind frequently upon opening or closing the door. If you notice these signs, it is time to call a garage door professional to inspect your door hardware.
Diagnosing the problem is the key to what to do to fix it. Many door issues can cause the rollers to malfunction.
What would cause garage door rollers to stop working?
Rollers are too worn. Some rollers have plastic or nylon wheels, while others are made of steel. Plastic wheels can wear the tread of the wheel down and pop out of the track. Those that are made of steel are more durable but they too can wear and grind against the track.
Roller wheels are bent. It is possible that the roller that was installed was not the correct one to hold the weight of the door. Wood garage doors can weigh up to 4 X the weight of a steel door. Also if a roller wheel stem is not a perfect 90-degree angle, it can wear on one side of the wheel at an angle and lock in the track.
Roller bearings stick and lock frequently. Roller wheels and tracks require regular lubrication to work optimally. If you live in the area close to the sea, the salt air will cause metal roller parts to rust.
Roller wheels are broken.
A professional garage door repair specialist should really handle the replacement of the rollers. Garage doors are heavy and the old hardware can involve jagged, rusted edges, both of which can result in serious injury if the replacement is not done properly.
The garage door needs to stay open during the replacement process but has to be supported in order to keep it stable. You don’t want the garage door moving down during replacement and causing injury.
All of the old brackets, metal stripping, and hardware should be replaced at the same time as the rollers. One of the more difficult parts of replacing the rollers is bolting the new hardware and rollers to the garage door. It may require drilling of new holes through the garage door if the old holes are not in very good shape. Then you need to drive the bolts into place from the outside of the garage door.
It requires a steady hand to position the new roller wheel into a new bracket, hold the wheel in the track, and fasten the bracket. A professional will have the proper tools to ensure it is done correctly.
While you are replacing the garage door rollers, it is a good idea to get a tune-up to inspect and replace other important parts like cables.
Sarasota Garage Door
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