How to Make a Garage Door Quieter: 7 Ways to Reduce Noise

Does a clanking, squeaking, or rumbling sound make you shudder whenever you open your noisy garage door? If so, you're likely not the only one bothered—a loud garage door can irritate your neighbors, wake up family members, and agitate your pets. 

But your garage doesn't need to come with an irksome soundtrack. With a little garage door inspection and an annual garage door tune-up, you can quiet the ruckus and enjoy a (nearly) silent garage door experience. Use these seven tips to learn how to make a garage door quieter.

1. Tighten All Nuts, Bolts, and Screws

If you’re rattled by a vibrating sound when you open your garage, you should check the nuts, bolts, and screws. If they’re loose, tighten them with a basic wrench-and-socket set. Give yourself a little time to inspect each one, as a garage door can have more than 100 nuts, bolts, and screws in total. Remember that you need to turn right to tighten loose pieces.

Follow some more garage door maintenance tips—like replacing worn weather stripping, checking the door's balance, and cleaning the tracks—to help make your garage door quieter. Regular maintenance can also reduce the likelihood of developing other garage door problems.

2. Lubricate the Rollers

Also called wheels, garage door rollers guide your overhead garage door as it travels along the horizontal and vertical track system. If you have deteriorated rollers, you'll often hear grinding sounds or high-pitched squeals. 

You should inspect every roller—your door will have about five or six on each side—by moving it back and forth with your fingers. You can also simply watch the rollers for signs like leaning, wobbling, or hesitating when you open and close the door.

You can lubricate metal rollers, but don't try this if any portion of your rollers is made from nylon or plastic because most lubricants degrade non-metal components. Replace your rollers if lubrication doesn't do the trick.

Replacing broken garage door rollers is a risky job that is better left to a professional garage door technician. If you have metal rollers, ask your pro about upgrading to nylon rollers for a smoother open-and-shut experience.

3. Lubricate the Panel Hinges

It's not unusual for garage door hinges to wear out. Listen for loud screeches or grinding to determine if the hinges are your problem. You can also inspect your hinges for cracks. If a hinge has seized up, the simplest hack is to spray a little WD-40 on it. 

However, you may want to replace a compromised hinge, because they can be dangerous. Never attempt to remove, repair, or adjust hinges on your own. Removing a bracket can cause a garage door to fall in the blink of an eye, which can cause serious injury. A technician specializing in garage door repairs and replacement can help you safely get back on track with new hinges.

4. Lubricate the Springs

Photo: knowlesgallery / Adobe Stock

A garage door with broken or unbalanced springs won't function correctly and could cause noise problems. Look for an uneven appearance in the door, a slow open or close speed, or a door that sticks shut.

Many garage doors have both torsion springs (above your door when it's closed) and extension springs (next to the tracks). It's fine to look at your springs to see if anything is amiss, but you shouldn't touch a spring or attempt a garage door spring adjustment yourself. The tension from springs can cause severe injury, so call a pro to handle these repairs.

If the local garage door repair professional cannot adjust the springs to reduce the noise because they are beginning to fail, the pro may recommend replacing them. Garage door spring replacement cost averages about $250.

5. Tighten the Opener’s Belt or Chain

Perhaps you’ve tracked down the noise’s source to the automatic opener and are wondering why the opener is so loud. A weak or aging motor may be to blame for that thunderous noise, along with a loose chain or belt on the automatic opener. Garage door loose chain symptoms can include:

• Noise from the chain banging on the edges of the rail.

• Excessive slack in the chain as it hangs motionless.

• The door moving too slowly as it opens or closes.

• The door moving in a jerky fashion with a series of starts and stops.

A quick chain or belt-tightening should take care of the issue. Pull the release handle to disconnect the garage door from the opener to tighten the chain or belt on the automatic opener. Unplug the opener from the electrical outlet.

Look for the chain or belt adjustment bolt on the trolley, which will have nuts on either side. Use a pair of wrenches to hold the nut closest to the trolley while simultaneously tightening the other nut. This should noticeably remove the slack in the chain or belt. Don’t over-tighten it, which could cause damage.

Reconnect the garage door, plug in the opener, and test the system.

Another smart idea is to lubricate the chain or belt at least every six months. If the chain moves smoothly along the rail, it should create less noise.

6. Install a Garage Door Opener Isolator Kit

One of the most efficient options for making a garage door quieter is adding an isolator kit to the garage door opener. This soundproofing kit fits above the garage door opener hardware—between it and the ceiling—and reduces its vibrations, which often are the source of unwanted noise.

Match the kit you purchase with the installation method for your opener hardware. Expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $150 for the kit. If you installed the opener, you can likely DIY install this isolator kit, too.

It’s important to note that this kit will not cure noise from a loose chain or squeaky rollers on the door. It only absorbs the vibration of the opener hardware.

7. Insulate Your Garage

Your door may be in tip-top shape but is still loud due to the acoustics of your garage. If your garage door’s noise is disrupting your household’s tranquility, it's worth increasing the insulation in your garage for better soundproofing, so you can enjoy the smooth sound of silence. 

Noise can be an especially big problem if you have living space directly above the garage, and insulation can reduce disturbing sounds.

In addition to adding insulation, you can add drywall over the unfinished walls and ceiling in the garage to cut down on unwanted noise. The finished garage looks nicer, too.

So, how much does it cost to insulate a garage? Expect to pay an average of $4,700, depending on the space’s size. 

Noises That Indicate a Major Problem

Rumbling garage door noises when opening and closing are not unusual, even for a new installation. However, certain noises—especially if they’re loud and increasing in volume each time—are more worrisome than others. 

• Popping and banging noises may show that the door is out of alignment or the track is loose.

• Grinding noises can indicate a garage door opener motor starting to fail. 

• Rattling or slapping noises may occur because the garage door belt or chain are loose, causing an unstable movement in the door. 

• Vibrating noises may mean that the opener itself is not completely secure against the framing in the garage’s ceiling. 

• High-pitched squeaking likely indicates you need to lubricate the door and the chain on the opener, or you may need to replace worn rollers in the tracks. 

• Straining or squealing noises could reveal a major problem with the springs holding the door's tension.

Pay attention to any new noises that you hear. Sometimes, you can find the source of the noise by just listening carefully in an empty garage as someone else operates the door. Finding the source could help you diagnose the severity of the problem.

Troubleshooting a Noisy Garage Door Yourself vs. Hiring a Pro 

If you’re asking yourself, “Why is my garage door so loud?” some troubleshooting is in order. A noisy garage door can signal a bigger underlying issue, and the noises can provide some clues. Don’t simply hope that these noises will alleviate on their own. They can be signs that a bigger problem is around the corner, like your garage door spring breaking or your door slipping off the track. 

If you've tried all of our solutions and still have a noisy garage door, then it’s time to contact a garage pro and rule out any underlying problems with your garage door. So, who fixes garage doors or inspects them? A garage door installer near you can help ensure your garage door is safe, repair the problem, and advise you on the next steps if your garage door system needs replacing.

Undertaking a repair of an extremely noisy garage door can be well worth it. The garage door repair cost averages about $250, less than the garage door replacement cost of about $2,500. Rather than immediately replacing a noisy door, the repair is far more cost-effective.

Even if the pro recommends replacing the noisy door, this is a better option than having a loud squeaking and banging door eventually break and injure someone. Garage doors are heavy and can cause injuries if they fail suddenly and plunge to the ground or cause broken pieces to fly around the garage. Let a pro help you accurately diagnose your noisy garage door problems before something worse happens.

Allie Ogletree contributed to this piece.