Signs Your Garage Door Rollers Need Replacing

Like springs on Parker-area garage doors, the rollers come with an estimated cycle rating, which means the manufacturer has designed them to work a specific number of times. Each cycle represents the garage door opening and closing one time. Because the average residential garage door is the most frequent means to enter or leave a home, it has two to three cycles per day, or about 700 to 1,100 times a year. When the rollers or another component wears out, it may be time to contact an overhead door repair specialist to determine what’s going on.

While high-quality rollers can operate for at least 10,000 cycles – about 10 years – some less expensive plastic rollers will show signs of wear only a couple of years after installation. Of course, a manufacturer’s estimated lifespan of a mechanical component is not science, with any guess about a garage door rollers’ lifespan being just that – an estimate. Because of frequent usage cycles, some of which far exceed a manufacturer’s estimate, garage doors are subject to stress which can damage the rollers or wear them down faster than the manufacturer predicted.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO REPLACE YOUR GARAGE DOOR ROLLERS

When rollers start to loosen, wear, or curve, they can make your garage door open and close more slowly or in a visibly jerky manner. This adds stress to the garage door opener system, potentially shortening its lifespan. For some homeowners, that can necessitate a call to a Parker garage door repair professional for a quick inspection.

It’s not unusual for a cracked or broken roller to end in a jam which keeps your door from closing all the way. As you could imagine, this could make using your garage a near impossibility. In an even worse scenario, a door that fails to open or close properly could make your home temporarily susceptible to thieves, pests, and bad weather.

Finally, if the rollers no longer work as designed, the system’s other components can get damaged. We recommend you call an overhead door repair company about timely replacement to prevent further damage and unnecessary and costly repairs.

It’s important to remember that the average residential garage door can weigh between 80 and 200 pounds. Without proper maintenance of critical components like rollers, your door could stop working or, in a worst-case scenario, fall off its tracks and cause serious damage to personal property or injury to you or a loved one.

SIGNS YOUR PARKER GARAGE DOOR ROLLERS NEED REPLACING

A common garage door issue is damaged or worn garage door rollers. These vital components allow the garage door to cycle smoothly by connecting the garage door to installed tracks. To forestall costly garage door repair appointments in Parker, consider having your garage door rollers inspected annually and lubricated about every quarter. Unfortunately, even the most well-cared-for rollers will need replacement eventually. What are the signs your garage door rollers may need to be replaced?

• What’s that noise? In most cases, garage door components aren’t overly noisy unless something’s wrong. Any sort of loud, strange noise when the garage door opens or closes could be a sign the rollers are worn or damaged, need to be lubricated, or may even be rusted to the rails.
• Your garage door vibrates like crazy. The main function of garage door rollers is to help your garage door traverse smoothly along the rails as the door opens and closes. But over time, the rollers can start to wear, resulting in terrible vibrations when you open or close it. If your garage door appears to be shaking out of its rails, it’s time to replace them.
• Wait, does your garage door look crooked? If your garage door isn’t aligned properly or continually jumps off its rails, the rollers are likely worn and need to be replaced.

INSPECT ONCE, THEN TWICE TO BE SURE

There’s an old carpenter’s adage: Measure twice, cut once. Something similar applies to Parker area homeowners who suspect a problem with their garage door rollers: Inspect once, then twice to be sure. We tell all our customers to never underestimate the importance of regularly inspecting their garage door hardware, and if you’re not sure what you’re looking at, it’s probably time to call a garage door repair specialist to be sure. It’s easy for the average homeowner to overlook small details when inspecting garage door hardware, and that’s not a knock against your powers of observation. As professionals, we know what to look for.

YOU CAN EXTEND THE LIFESPAN OF YOUR GARAGE DOOR ROLLERS

One of the reasons we’ve been in business so long is because we pride ourselves on educating customers so they make informed decisions, either when it comes to purchasing a new door and hardware, or minor maintenance they can handle on their own. A little thing you can do to possibly extend the lifespan of your garage door rollers is to lubricate them at least twice a year with a manufacturer recommended product.

WORK WITH A TRUSTED PROFESSIONAL

A Better Garage Door, locally owned and operated, has been a fixture in and around the Greater Denver area for more than 20 years. Hundreds of satisfied residential and business customers are a testament to our A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and a reminder of what it takes to succeed in a competitive market. If you need maintenance tips or repair services, or recommendations on a new door or accessories, call us for a quote at 303.920.2267 or send us a note to request further information.