Garage doors are great when they work the way you want them. You come home, open the garage door, park the car, close it, and that’s it. But what can you do when your garage door rattles in even the slightest wind?
Here’s how to stop your garage door from rattling in the wind:
- Tighten any loose nuts, bolts, and screws.
- Clean or replace rusty parts.
- Check the garage door rollers, tracks, and chains.
- Replace the bottom garage door seal.
- Fix an unbalanced garage door.
This article will teach you how to stop that annoying banging noise coming from the garage whenever the wind blows. You’ll also understand why it happens in the first place.
1. Tighten Any Loose Nuts, Bolts, and Screws
One of the most common reasons behind rattling garage doors is loose bolts.
Every time you open and close the garage door, the minor vibrations loosen the nuts and bolts. This worsens over the years, thanks to the thousands of times you use your garage door.
The rattling can quickly get worse because they’re already very loose. The nuts may even come off on their own. If you found a random nut in front of your garage door recently, that’s why.
Thankfully, this is a simple fix that you can do yourself.
You’ll first need some thread-locking fluid. This is a type of seal that locks your screws, nuts, and bolts in place so they don’t come loose from vibrations.
I recommend the Loctite Heavy Duty Threadlocker (link to Amazon). This medium-strength formula allows nuts and bolts to be removed using hand tools and protects against issues such as corrosion, leakage, and rusting.
Next, grab your wrench set and some screwdrivers.
Every garage door is unique, so not all bolts will be in the same place. However, here are a few common spots to check:
- Door hinges
- Shock mounting plates
- Garage door frame
Remove each bolt and apply a small blob of the thread-locking fluid directly onto the thread.
The thread-locking fluid will fill in the tiny gaps between the thread and the hole, which means the bolt will never come loose again unless you want it to.
2. Clean or Replace Rusty Parts
If you’re in the middle of removing your bolts and notice a lot of rust on them, it’s time to replace them.
While you could clean the bolts and nuts, replacing them is much easier. Additionally, there’s a chance the rust may have eaten away some of the iron, which means the fittings may not fit perfectly into the hole anymore.
Bring all the different kinds of nuts, bolts, and screws you need to replace to a nearby hardware store.
Make sure you get new bolts that are the same length and pitch.
Thread pitch is the distance between two threads, and it must remain the same when you replace your fittings. If it changes, you won’t be able to screw the new thread in (source).
If you can’t find any replacement bolts, you can try cleaning the ones you have. Here’s my preferred method for cleaning your rusted nuts and bolts:
- Soak all rusty parts in vinegar for up to 24 hours.
- Use steel wool and baking soda to scrub the bolts. It’s easiest to go in the direction of the thread and rotate the steel wool around the bolt.
- Apply WD-40 and use a cleaning cloth to remove any leftover rust.
- Dry the bolts thoroughly to prevent more rust from forming.
As I already mentioned, the bolt will be significantly thinner now. You must apply a lot of thread-locking fluid if you want it to stay in place.
You can also use a solution of water and vinegar to scrub rusty door hinges.
3. Check the Garage Door Rollers, Tracks, and Chains
You can usually tell if your garage door rollers are the problem. Whenever you open or close the door, you’ll hear squeaking, screeching, and grinding.
But this could also be the reason why your garage door rattles in the wind. The garage door feels loose when the rollers or tracks have a problem.
Dirt builds up in the roller and chain tracks over time, which can cause an issue. To fix this, use a flathead screwdriver to get all stuck dirt, leaves, and grease out of the tracks.
Next, take a cleaning cloth and an industrial-strength degreaser to clean the rollers and tracks completely.
Apply a very thin coating of dry lubrication (link to Amazon) on the tracks. If there’s too much grease, dirt will build up again, and you’re going to have the same problem.
Last but not least, clean and lube the bearings inside the rollers. The wheel part must stay clean and dry.
Cleaning and lubricating the garage door chain is easy too. Use a cloth and degreaser to remove all the grime.
Next, apply a bit of chain lubricant along the length of the chain – and that’s all you need to do!
If the rollers are damaged, they are thankfully easily replaceable.
I recommend the high-quality DURA-LIFT Garage Door Roller (link to Amazon). These come with nylon wheels that are significantly less noisy, and they come with a 100% lifetime guarantee.
4. Replace the Bottom Garage Door Seal
Garage doors have seals on the bottom edge that prevent rodents and insects from sneaking in. They also make your garage door draft-proof by stopping the wind.
So, a bad seal means a rattling door whenever it’s windy outside.
Thankfully, replacing it is as easy as it can get. Here are the steps:
- Measure the length, width, and thickness of your current garage door seal.
- Buy a replacement seal.
- Open the garage door.
- Unscrew the screw holding the bottom seal.
- Remove your old garage door seal.
- Thoroughly clean the tracks and frame.
- Install the new garage door seal by pulling it through the tracks.
Most garage door seals have a standard width and thickness. I recommend the DGSL Garage Door Seal (link to Amazon). It works perfectly for most garage doors and is made of durable rubber, so you won’t have to worry about having to replace it anytime soon.
5. Fix an Unbalanced Garage Door
If you noticed that one end of your garage door is higher than the other, that’s because the door is unbalanced. If it looks fine when it’s down but goes down uneven, that’s also a sign.
This issue is usually caused by improperly installed springs. This is when one of the springs is looser or tighter than the other.
I don’t recommend fixing this yourself because it takes a lot of know-how.
Instead, call a local garage door service and have them do it for you. It’s not an expensive fix, so don’t worry about destroying your budget.
Final Thoughts
A garage door rattling in the wind is nothing serious. You can usually fix it yourself in less than an hour. Even if your garage door has stopped rattling, it’s best to go through the steps mentioned above – it will help you ensure that the door is working perfectly, and you won’t have to worry about odd noises from the garage the next time there’s a strong wind in your area.
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