5 Easy Steps for Adjusting Garage Door Tracks

You’ve probably noticed the two tracks in the construction of your garage door. They are necessary to enable the garage door to slide up and down freely. If these tracks are okay, your garage door will work without problems. But if the tracks have misaligned, your garage door will begin to have different issues, such as noise during the operation, door gap, or rubber molding.

Adjusting your garage door is not that difficult. You can do it yourself. In this article, we give you a step-by-step guide to adjust garage door tracks.

What Tools and Parts are Needed to Adjust Garage Door Tracks?

So, you find a problem with your garage door. How do you solve it? You need to understand exactly what happened. Therefore, first, thoroughly inspect the garage door. Pay attention to how the tracks are positioned, whether they are damaged or have any misalignment, check rollers and springs. Perhaps the tracks need to be aligned or replaced. Is there any debris on the garage door rails? These, too, could be the cause of the door’s malfunction. Remove any dirt that may have accumulated on the tracks. Wipe off the dust and dirt with a damp cloth. After that, wipe the track again with a dry rag.

Don’t worry if you have detected garage door track misalignment! You can fix it easily. But first, you need to gather all the necessary tools; then, you can start adjusting the tracks for a garage door.

To align the tracks, you need:

• Protective clothing. Safety glasses, thick gloves, and a hard hat are a must. Any actions with your garage door can be dangerous. You should not neglect your safety.
• Ladder. It is unlikely that your garage door is low. Therefore, you will need to go up a little to reach the top edge of the track.
• A screwdriver or wrench. You will use this to loosen and tighten the bolts that hold the rail in place.
• A hammer or rubber mallet. You will use this to move the track to the position you want.
• A spirit level. After you’ve aligned the tracks, you’ll need to check their positioning with a spirit level.

So, everything is ready. You can start repairing. In the next section we describe in detail how to adjust garage door tracks.

Step-by-step Guide for Adjusting Garage Door Tracks

Your garage door has vertical and horizontal tracks. They both are essential for proper closing and opening of the garage door. To adjust garage door tracks, you need to perform a few simple steps:

Step 1. Loosen the track bracket

Take a screwdriver or wrench. Insert it into the screw that holds the track bracket. Rotate the screwdriver counterclockwise. Repeat this action for each screw. Try only to loosen the track bracket, not to remove it. Also, be careful and don’t lose the screws because you won’t be able to fasten the track after adjustment.

Step 2. Move the tracks

If it is a vertical track, carefully move the track to the right or left. There should be a small space of slightly less than a centimeter between the door and the track. This distance should be the same for both tracks. If necessary, put a wood block in front of the track and hit it with a rubber mallet. This will make it easier for you to move the track.

If you are adjusting a horizontal track, also move it to the right or left. It should be strictly perpendicular to the vertical one. Make sure that there is a distance of 1.3 cm between the tracks and the garage door. If the track is too close to the garage door, the door will get stuck.

Step 3. Check the garage door track adjustment

Use a spirit level to make sure the tracks are in the correct position. The vertical and horizontal tracks should be aligned perfectly. Keep in mind that improperly positioned garage door tracks can cause problems opening and closing the garage door.

Step 4. Tighten the track bolts

Once you have aligned the track and checked its positioning, tighten the track bracket bolts with a screwdriver or wrench. Make sure the bolts are tight enough to keep the track from moving.

Step 5. Close and open the garage door

To make sure you’ve done everything right, check the operation of the garage door. Be sure to keep safety in mind. Move a safe distance away from the garage door and close and open it several times. It should run smoothly now.

These are the basic steps for adjusting the garage door track. Keep in mind that depending on the individual design of your door, as well as each individual problem, some additional steps or precautions may be necessary. Therefore, it is best to have an expert opinion.

Extra Tips to Adjust Garage Door Tracks Properly

As you can see, it is easy enough to align the track of a garage door. But do not forget that it is a very large and heavy object connected to the power supply. Therefore, it is critical to take precautions to avoid injuries while adjusting a garage door track. Below we have outlined what you need for a simpler and safer garage door track repair.

• Remember to wear protective clothing. Yes, we’ve talked about this before. But safety should always come first. So we will say it again. To protect your skin, wear thick work electricity-resistant gloves, a long-sleeved sweatshirt, and tight pants or jeans for garage door repairs.
• Close the garage door. Try to close the garage door as much as possible, even if it doesn’t close it completely. If you have an automatic garage door, turn off the garage door opener and close the door manually. During the garage door adjustment, some objects may accidentally fall. To make sure these objects cannot injure you, the garage door must be in a vertical position.
• Disable the garage door opener. If you have an automatic garage door, it is recommended that you turn off the garage door opener. You should close the garage door and eliminate the possibility of opening it accidentally.

By following these tips, you can keep yourself safe while operating your garage door.

Consider STI Garage Door Your Trusted Partner

Have you managed to adjust a garage door track on your own? Congratulations to you! You did a great job and can now enjoy the flawless operation of your garage door.

But in some cases, you may need professional help. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as:

• Garage door track failure is too serious and requires a more thorough approach to solving
• You can’t pinpoint the exact cause of the breakdown
• The instructions we described above aren’t right for you because of the individual characteristics of your garage door
• You are very busy and don’t have enough time to repair your garage door yourself

Garage doors and everything related to them is our sole specialty. Therefore, we have been able to perfect our skills to the highest level. We can adjust garage door rails, eliminate rubber molding of the garage door, check and repair springs, replace tracks, if necessary and help you solve many other issues with your garage door as well as give you tips to preserve the gate’s longevity.

Because of our experience, we can quickly diagnose your garage door problem. We can immediately determine the work needed and calculate the cost of repairs. We approve our plans with you and then proceed with the repair.

Conclusion

A minor, at first glance, garage door track issue can get worse over time and lead to serious consequences. Therefore, it is very important to diagnose and fix it as early as possible. By following the above how-to guide to adjust garage door tracks, you can do it yourself. If you need professional help, our experienced experts at STI Garage Door are ready to solve any of your problems! We provide residential and commercial garage door repair services. Submit a request in case of emergency on our website at any time of the day or night!

STI Garage Door

Operating in the garage door industry for over 25 years, STI Garage Door is dedicated to quality service and excellence in everything.

The company is a proud partner to the top brands in the field — LiftMaster for commercial door openers and Amarr and Clopay for residential and commercial doors.