Rollers are important components of your garage door system that are responsible for smoothly guiding your garage door up and down the tracks. Unfortunately, they’re prone to wear and tear. In this article, we give you some tips for spotting and addressing issues with your garage door rollers.

Spotting Problems With Your Rollers

Here are the most common signs that there’s an issue with your rollers:

• Noisy garage door operation
  If your rollers are defective, you may hear popping or grinding noises as your garage door opens and closes. However, other issues such as worn hinges or a locked torsion spring can produce similar sounds, so it’s best to have a professional inspect your garage door to identify the problem.
  
• Violent vibration
  Rollers allow your garage door to travel smoothly up and down the track. However, when they begin to wear down, this can cause the garage door to vibrate strongly when opening and closing.
  
• Uneven door
  Defective rollers can cause your garage door to sag to one side or even jump the tracks. However, an uneven garage door can also be caused by a broken torsion spring. For more information about dealing with an uneven garage door, read our comprehensive troubleshooting article on this topic.
  
• Visible defects
  If you suspect that your rollers may be worn or damaged, take a close look at them. Cracking and chipping in the wheel is a clear sign that a roller needs to be replaced. You should also check to see whether the rod is bent or the connection between the rod and wheel is loose.
  
• Age
  If your garage door rollers are at the end of their lifespan, they’re likely worn and therefore easy to break. The lifespan of your rollers depends on what type you have. Plastic rollers and steel rollers without ball bearings only last a few years. Steel and nylon rollers with ball bearings can last upwards of 15 years if they’re well maintained. For more information, read our blog post about how often to replace garage door rollers.
  

Why You Should Get A Professional to Fix Your Rollers

Unless you’re an expert in garage door repair, it’s inadvisable to replace garage door rollers yourself. The fact of the matter is, replacing rollers is a complex task and doing it yourself can be dangerous. For example, you could loosen the wrong bolt and cause your garage door to come crashing down. Or you could improperly install the rollers, leading to larger and costlier problems down the road.

Before attempting any Do-It-Yourself handywork on your garage door, it’s worth bearing in mind that the average garage door weighs upwards of 150 pounds. If a garage door system fails, there can be devastating consequences.

You should also know that problems with your rollers are sometimes the result of underlying problems in your garage door system. For example, rollers can become damaged or wear out prematurely due to issues with the tracks or the door’s alignment. In such circumstances, replacing the rollers is merely a Band-Aid solution.

However, if you have a qualified garage door technician replace your rollers, they will begin by performing an inspection to determine the root of the problem. The technician will then rely on their training and experience to perform all the necessary repairs.

Moreover, by entrusting repairs to a professional from Creative Door Services™ you’ll benefit from our expertise. With their industry knowledge, a garage door technician can recommend the best garage door rollers for your system and give you advice for keeping them in optimal condition.

Maintaining Garage Door Rollers

While you should leave the repair work to the professionals, one thing you can do is attend to the maintenance of your garage door rollers. This will help ensure that they only need to be replaced once they’ve reached the end of their lifespan.

If you have rollers with ball bearings, it’s important that you lubricate them at least once a year (or call in a professional to perform this task).

For more information about how to lubricate your rollers, read our guide to maintaining your garage door rollers so that you can get the most out of their lifespan!

Schedule a Service Request for Garage Door Roller Repair in Western Canada

If you need to replace damaged or worn-out garage door rollers, or if you want to upgrade to high-performance ones, reach out to the qualified team at Creative Door Services™. In addition to being able to replace your rollers, we also offer planned maintenance programs to help extend the lifespan of your garage door system.

For more information about our garage door services or to speak with an expert, contact us at one of our eight locations: you can find us in Vancouver, British Columbia; Kelowna, British Columbia; Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Fort McMurray, Alberta; Regina, Saskatchewan; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.