Vertical garage tracks are a highly common – and commonly repaired / replaced – component of almost all working garage doors today. In this blog entry, Garage Door Repair Chicago’s Chicagoland garage door repair experts will detail the main things to know behind vertical garage door tracks.
The parts of garage doors that get damaged the most are the mechanisms closest to the opening of the garage door that are passed every day. Sensors often get misaligned, and vertical tracks often get bent. Sometimes vertical tracks get dented when they are not adjusted properly and the rollers aren’t moving right, which can cause wear, rust, and denting with regular use.
New Vertical Track Installation
If one of your vertical tracks is damaged, both do not need to be replaced. Nor do curved or horizontal tracks need to be replaced. However, the dented vertical track – or rusted vertical track, or worn out vertical track – must be replaced. If rolers cannot properly slide on the racks, your overhead garage door WILL jam. If your tracks are rusty or dented, the garage will make incredibly loud noises when operating. Make sure you have the right size vertical track for your garage door. We recommend sticking to stainless steel vertical tracks in order to avoid the potential of erosion. Tracks come in 3 different widths so it’s a good idea to measure your existing track before buying a new one. Don’t forget to measure the length so you don’t accidentally buy a new vertical track that’s too long!
Replacing Vertical Garage Door Tracks
First of all, raise your garage door above the area in which the vertical and curved tracks meet. If you don’t know the strength of your garage door springs, use C-Clamps to make sure the garage door stays open. Mark the position of your existing vertical track by making a line on the jamb that the track is attached to. Then, moving front the lowest to highest part in order to prevent the track falling on you, remove the nuts and bolts that secure the vertical track in position. Then, remove the old track, and place the new track in position to make sure that it fits properly and if you need to cut off any excess. Then, use the lines that you made on the jamb to make sure the new vertical track is aligned with the curved track. This is incredibly important. If the tracks aren’t properly aligned, the rollers won’t properly work. When you have determined that the track is properly aligned, mark the points in which you will be drilling the track in, put marks on the tracking angle holes and then remove the track and drill the holes in. When the holes are drilled in, put the track back on and keep it secure by placing a bolt at the inner area of the track and securing it with a nut on the outer part – but don’t tighten them! Before tightening, put bolts at the bottom and top, then the middle, THEN make sure the door works properly, THEN tighten them.
