Garage Door Roller Replacement
Many homeowners who have a garage door don’t think too much about the pieces that come together to make everything run properly. If the door is working, what’s there to think about, right? Normally, something begins to go off the rails before any thought is given to it, and your garage door rollers can almost literally go off the rails. Before getting through the information on garage door roller replacement, it’s important to understand how the component works.
Garage door rollers are designed like wheels, and they run along both sides of your garage door via the tracks present. Opening the door causes the rollers in the tracks to move upward, while closing the door causes them to come down. The wheels aren’t independent bodies. They’re connected to the door frame via a metal rod attachment. Rollers require lubrication to consistently function effectively.
Now that you understand how your rollers work, let’s explain a bit more about the issues you may encounter and the types of rollers out there.
Garage Door Roller Issues
Garage door rollers move every time you operate the door. Even the best garage door rollers take a beating as time goes on. Some telltale signs help you identify when replacement garage door rollers may be in order.
In their optimal state, rollers move in a straight line along the tracks as intended. When tracks get loose or dented, however, things can start to go downhill. Either of these problems can cause them to go off track. They may even end up stuck in the tracks too. Whether you have misaligned tracks or roller jams, a professional can replace garage door rollers and get things working as they should.
Your rollers may get squeaky during operation too, and this is an easier problem to deal with. All it means is that they need to be lubricated. They are constantly moving against metal, after all.
If you ever find that your rollers aren’t traveling straight or at all, reach out to us in the shortest possible order. Replacing garage door rollers is a task that our team of technicians is very familiar with, so you should rest assured that they can do the job very well.
Types of Garage Door Rollers
Rollers come in a few different varieties that people get for various reasons. The build quality and material composition are the biggest differentiating factors, but all three can operate garage doors as needed.
- Plastic Rollers –
As you likely expect, plastic garage door rollers are the budget option. Manufacturers can create plastic rollers using an inexpensive process, so that lack of an exorbitant cost gets passed on to the consumer. Of course, this has a durability implication. Much of this is due to the lack of ball bearings being present in the design.
Their lifespan is fairly short, and they are also not recommended for the heavier garage doors of the lot. All garage doors are heavy (though you usually don’t feel the weight), but some, such as those used in residential applications, carry much less weight than others. You tend to find plastic rollers on these types, as they can offer satisfactory reliability over a reasonably extended period that way. Additionally, plastic rollers are quiet during operation. While garage door noise is much less likely to disturb a commercial context, homeowners typically prefer things not to be too loud.
- Steel Rollers –
Unlike their plastic counterparts, steel garage door rollers use ball bearings, which grant an automatic boost to the durability factor. Once the bearings remain at an acceptable lubrication level, they can serve you for a very long time. The bearings are not the only thing that contributes to the sturdiness factor. We are talking about steel vs. plastic here, and the former is always going to win the contest of being hardier.
While steel rollers do a great job providing strength and longevity, they lose out to plastic, where the sound factor is concerned. If you want quiet garage door rollers, then steel ones are not for you. They are perfect for supporting heavier garage doors, but they make quite the racket in the process. Of course, if your garage door is in a commercial space or somewhere else where noise isn’t a problem, then steel rollers should make a great choice,
- Nylon Rollers –
As the name implies, nylon garage door rollers are comprised of nylon. This is a heavy-duty form of the material, which gives the rollers a strong base. They are known as the best of the bunch because of a couple of well thought out design choices. As indicated before, rollers are part of a mechanical chain, so there’s no stopping them from getting worn out. However, nylon rollers do so much slower than plastic or steel rollers. This type is specifically designed to be resistant to wear and tear.
Additionally, the nylon design combines the respective advantages that steel and plastic rollers have over each other, which means that it achieves a natural balance where the disadvantages are concerned too. Nylon operates quietly, but it also manages to be durable, thanks to its material and the presence of ball bearings. Even after steel and plastic rollers need a replacement, nylon ones should still be serving you quite well.
Why Choose A-Team Garage Door Repair?
A-Team Garage Door Repair understands the importance and inner workings of a garage door and its components. When we take care of your garage door roller replacement, we handle the job based on compliance requirements with industry quality and safety standards.
Additionally, our technicians are experienced, licensed, and professional. They are adept at getting the job done in the most efficient way possible. Sometimes, people go the route of not hiring professionals for roller repair tasks. Doing so may seem cheap initially, but it can lead to high costs in the long run. Save yourself that hassle by having it done right the first time.
Note that we offer a same day service on all seven days of the week. Feel free to call us whenever your rollers act up, so we can come in to set them straight!