Unless you have carriage style doors on your garage, which are hinged like any regular door, your garage door will open and close by rolling up and down. The rollers that your door runs on are guided by two tracks which run from floor to ceiling and continue horizontally parallel to the garage ceiling. You will notice that there is one garage door track on each side of the doorway.
It’s not uncommon for these tracks to wind up out of alignment. This can happen if your garage door receives an impact. It can also happen as a result of the securing hardware working loose over time. The problem with a misaligned garage door track is that it can cause problems with the operation of your door. The most common issues caused when a garage door track is out of alignment are as follows:
- The garage door may bind, making it hard to open and close
- The door can rub against the stop molding
- A large gap may appear between the door and the stop molding
If you notice any of these problems and discover that a track has become misaligned, you can quite easily realign it yourself. Sometimes you may have to realign both of the tracks. This guide will help you with some simple steps to get the job done.
If Your Garage Door is Binding
Here are the steps to follow if your garage door is binding:
1. Using a screwdriver, loosen the screws which hold the tracks in the garage door frame.
2. Now you can align the track so it is perfectly vertical by tapping it at the bottom with a rubber mallet. Use a spirit level to identify when the track is back in vertical alignment.
3. Retighten the screws and repeat the process for the opposite garage door track if necessary.
If Your Garage Door is Rubbing or Has a Gap
If you notice your door rubbing against the stop molding or that a big gap has appeared between the door and the molding, follow these steps to realign the tracks:
1. First you will need to loosen the bolts securing each track to its lower track brackets. Be sure to loosen the bolts on both tracks before proceeding with the next steps.
2. Now you will need to move one of the tracks right or left until there is a uniform gap of around a quarter of an inch between the door and the stop molding.
3. Go to the opposite track and repeat the process in step 2.
4. Finally, retighten the track bolts, making sure you get them nice and tight. At the same time, be careful not to over-tighten them.
You should now find that your garage door is running freely and not rubbing or binding. If you should suffer any complications while trying to align either garage door track, you can always call in a professional garage door maintenance provider to resolve the problem.