I need silence!

[theundermount]

Hey guys

I only have tapatalk and let's just say the search function leaves a lot to be desired so I'm asking for some help. I have a double garage with steel door problem is my 8 year olds bedroom is directly above the garage. I'm looking for some tips or tricks to quite down my loud obnoxious door. It's creaks cracks bangs shakes and that's not even mentioning the loud motor turning to get this door up ! I've been told to keep it down many times by my son as I always wake him up after hours with his darn door. Any thought would be greatly appreciated thanks

 

[chaosracing]

One way to silence the motor is to hang it with heavy rubber straps. Tom Silva did it on an episode of Ask this Old House a few years back. Much cheaper than buying a new set up.
As for the bangs, shaking, creaks and cracks, when is it doing this? When it opens or closes? Does it do it the whole travel cycle, or just in a specific place? How old is the door? Is it insulated or just single skin?

 

[theundermount]

Shakes on the initial pull up of the door and most of the creaking or squeeking happens when the panels round the corner on the track I have tried to lubricate some of the rollers and hinges but it didn't really help that much . The door was not insulated from factory but I did add in foam panels

 

[Dirtydan69]

Try changing to nylon rollers. I would also check your springs. When you disconnect the opener does the door raise up easily? If not your springs need adjustment or may need to be replaced. The shudder and racket may be your opener trying to compensate for lack of spring balance. That would be a good start.

 

[bushmechanic]

One thing you should do is get a belt-drive opener. They are much more quiet than other options. Screw drive is fine if the door is too heavy or overly loose, as it's a smoother start, but the belt drive is a much more quiet pull.

Fit a piece of plywood above it, a few inches below the ceiling if possible, to help reflect the noise of operation.

After that, insulate the mounting in some manner. Even hard rubber under the mounting points will help. You don't want it loose for safety purposes, but tight rubber will indeed help.

Mounting the opener with a more solid frame is nice, but you'd need to have one made. That's one of the biggest differences that can be made for the motor itself once you get a belt-drive.

Insulating the door will help quiet the metal panels. That makes a massive difference. There are many ways to do this, but something that adheres to the sheet metal itself is best. After that, closing them off with rear plates is the final step to solid panels that won't rattle. These also help prevent the rollers from rattling.

After that, double up the mounting of the tracks to make them as solid as possible, and ensure you're using new rollers that fit well. Quieter rollers are available. The more solid the tracks are, the better. Get in there and adjust them for smooth transitions, and tap them into shape if joints don't align perfectly.

Make sure the hinges between the door panels are solid with no slack. Get in there and tighten or replace them if required. The pins should be tight. Lubricate them, as well. Lubricate the springs and mounts, and lubricate the tracks appropriately.

Do those things, and you'd be surprised how much quieter a door can be. No more than a gentle hum.

If you want to go balls out, put some thicker insulation under the carpet of that room if there's carpet in there.

 

[matt_i]

I was impressed by the relative low noise, while visiting my local garage door shop where I have bought various parts. They have a working jackshaft opener + door on display in their office.

Also you could consider opening the ceiling and using Roxul for the sound deadening.

 

[PugetDude]

Tell the kid it will only be 10 years before he can move out and get his own place with a nice quiet door...

 

[Jinks]

For a little over $100 I installed a belt drive opener in my 37 year old garage. The noise difference was so radical it inspired me to order some nylon rollers from Amazon & make a couple of adjustments as I installed them. In the garage the door is almost silent, but it's still attached to the ceiling. That transmits a muted rumble into the bedroom above. Not likely to wake anyone other than a light sleeper. Isolation pads may help some, but the bolts will still be in the floor trusses..........

 

[woody6904]

I was impressed by the relative low noise, while visiting my local garage door shop where I have bought various parts. They have a working jackshaft opener + door on display in their office.

Also you could consider opening the ceiling and using Roxul for the sound deadening.

X2 on the jackshaft opener. Cant believe how quite them are. And if there on a newer door with nylon rollers, can barely tell the door is moving by sound.

 

[larry_g]

Shakes on the initial pull up of the door and most of the creaking or squeeking happens when the panels round the corner on the track I have tried to lubricate some of the rollers and hinges but it didn't really help that much . The door was not insulated from factory but I did add in foam panels

I would suggest that you disconnect the opener and manually use the door for a bit. Lube EVERYTHING that moves, flexes, or rolls, including the spring. Once you get things smooth and quiet and easy to operate with one hand then reconnect the opener. I don't have an electric openers on my doors so I notice quite quickly when things are getting dry and hard to move. Each Spring I go over each door and clean the tracks and lube things up. Your doors need at least an annual tune-up.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[WhiskeyRanger]

If you have a torsion spring type sectional door, check the bearing plates too.

 

[vettex2]

get the rugrat earplugs

 

[theundermount]

Thanks for all the great suggestions definitely gonna apply them and see how much I can quite this thing down !

 

[77Mini]

Nylon rollers and a belt driven opener will help.

 

[JABgj]

We recently had a sectional door installed. The installer told me to be careful about adding/changing the weight of the door with insulation. Even foam panels can change the balance of the door and make things harder on opening and closing. Check your balance/springs and get that off your list of things to fix. Oh, and yes, lube the spring and check all of the bolts on all of the hinges on all of the panels.

 

[theundermount]

If anyone is interested I replace all my rollers with nylon, lubed up everything and went over ever nut and bolt a re tightened and man oh man it made a big difference no more creaks or squeaks, I will have to get someone in to readjust my spring I think though the door doesn't seem very balanced and I still get that sudden jerk on the door when the opener first starts pulling up the door

 

[cajunfirehawk]

The end all of this issue is two things;
1) a liftmaster jack shaft door opener motor and
2) a new metal insulated garage door!
I have both versions, old like yours and one installed a year ago. My new one is so quiet I cant understand how one garage door is so quiet and my other, like yours is so freaking noisy, course I am talking $1200-1500 installed depending on your size door and location, YMMV

 

[pcmeiners]

rig something like this for the opener...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lord-J-8285...ash=item2efb0858ad:g:~8UAAOSwiLdWCfcT&vxp=mtr

 

[foompla]

Always nice to work on something and have a real improvement on it. Good Job.

 

[happy2rv]

Another +1 for the Liftmaster jackshaft opener. I don't think I will ever install another traditional opener. It obviously won't fix any noise coming specifically from the door, but it does several things that help with the noise from the opener. First, it directly attaches to the shaft the springs are on, eliminating any flopping chains or belts. Second, it gets the opener off of the ceiling and down on the outside wall where it's more solidly attached. Third, as a result of being solidly attached to the wall, it's not bouncing around like most openers hanging from brackets attached to the ceiling.

I replaced my house opener with a belt drive when the original builder installed chain drive gave out several years ago. It is quieter, but not as quiet as the jackshaft opener. When I built the detached garage, I didn't want the opener hanging in the way, so I read about the Liftmaster on GJ and decided to give it a try. Obviously I've been pleased.

 

[theundermount]

I have looked into getting the lifmaster jack shaft opener only problem is I have very limited room on either side of my door approx 8-10inches so I'm not sure I could physically fit one in there

I'm am also going to try and score some heavy rubber from work and try and isolate the opener from the structure hoping it will cut down the vibration in my sons bedroom a a bit

 

[happy2rv]

It should work. Here's a link to the installation requirements. The minimum clearance is 8" between the sidewall and the end of the torsion bar. They are pretty compact units.

You would have to re-route power to it though.

 

[66HertzClone]

Try these, I used a set like this and the difference was huge. My MIL sleeps in a room above the garage when she is visiting, after I installed these she said she didn't even know that I had left for work in the morning.