How can i make a garage door opener run more quiet?
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DO NOT lubricate with WD-40.WD-40 eveaporates very quickly and usually leads to rusting. What You need to do is get a belt drive opener. Screw drives are quiet at first, but as they get older get noiser, plus on alot of screw drives the lubes you have to use, during houtweather will drip out and get all over your floor or door if it is up. The best lube to use is FEHR lube or just good ole 30w motor oil. A steel back insulated door also is very quiet, myself personally would not go with overhead, or doors from lowes or home depot. Overhead door quality is going down, and the doors at lowes or home depot are trying to be made more consumer friendly, but the spring systems bc of it are garbage. One thing you can do is go to a local dealer and see if they can get 13 ball bearing nylon rollers. They are drastically quieter and do not develop flat spots which drag like plastic rollers do.
just ask it... POLITELY though
I had seen once on "this old house" where they put in a rubber spacer between the opener and where it fastened to the house. Kinda of like a bushing.
This was suppose to disperse some of the vibration and make it run quiter.
I depends on what kind of opener and door you have. The chain drive openers are noisier, but also real durable. Screw drives are the quietest, but some have problems with the screw gear that are made of plastic and strip after a while. Lubricate the chain on the opener all rollers and hinges on the door itself. The wooden doors are usually noisy as they age. Metal doors are usually a little quieter and lighter. Both doors are not going to be totally quiet.
I have a belt driven drive with a metal door - the thing is whisper quiet. I am truly amazed because I used to have the chain driven one which was very loud. While it is not totally silent - it is so much quiter than the chain one. I would recommend it to anyone (in fact when I had my new house constructed, I forgot to tell them to put in the belt ones - I paid the extra money to replace with belts even though the chain ones were brand new - and yes they were much quieter.)
If you do not want to replace the garage door, you'll want to get lubricant (WD-40 works well), and spray it on the springs, the hinges, and the rollers. You can also look at tightening up the top fixtures which are located at the top of the garage door when closed, and have screws for adjusting the spacing between the door and the jamb.
You could also look at getting a new door with the most quiet being insulated with steel backing (the non-steel backed insulation can be installed easily and you could buy this from any local garage door dealer). The insulation will reduce the "clanking" you hear when it goes up and down.
For the operator/garage door opener - You'll want to get a belt-driven rail which eliminates a lot of noise.
I've worked at the Overhead Door Corporation for 15 yrs, so if you want the quietest door possible, ask for a Thermacore brand door or PQUAD door series 350 or 390 with a Silent Max opener or a phantom opener.
I have both the Silent Max and Phantom but would choose the Silent Max for the least noise. Either Thermacore or the PQUAD will work so if you go this route, make the selection based upon price. I guarantee if you get this set up you'll no longer worry about ANY noise because there is no banging or creaking and the noise from a Silent Max opener is similar to that of a remote control electric car (you'll also find that your garage is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer due to the composition of the doors).
Nice set up, but be prepared for the final cost because it's not cheap!
Awesome answer outlaw you said everything I was going to say. I agree 100% with outlaw.
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