Garage Door Popping or Banging: What the Noise Means

Garage doors make plenty of sounds. Popping and banging are the ones worth paying attention to, because they can mean anything from a dry hinge to a broken spring. The trick is noticing when the sound happens and what the door does with it. Our guide to common garage door noises gives the quick overview. This one goes deeper on pops and bangs.

A single loud bang

If you hear one sharp bang from the garage, like a firecracker, especially when the door is closed and nobody is near it, the first suspect is a spring. Springs hold the weight of the door, and they can snap while the door is sitting still.

• Look, from a distance, at the spring above the door. A broken spring usually shows a clear gap in the coil.
• If your springs run along the tracks on each side, look for one that's stretched out, loose or hanging.
• Don't run the door. With a broken spring, the opener is lifting the full weight of the door, which can damage it or pull the door crooked.

Leave the door closed, keep people and pets out of the garage, and call a professional. Our spring warning signs explain what you may see, and why a spring can fail with no use at all.

Popping while the door moves

Popping or clunking that repeats every time the door opens or closes usually comes from moving parts.

• Rollers. Worn or dry rollers can catch at a joint in the track and then pop free. You'll often hear it at the same spot every time.
• Hinges. Dry or worn hinges between the sections can pop as the door bends around the curve at the top.
• Panels flexing. A weak section, or a door that's out of balance, can flex as it moves, and the metal pops.
• The opener chain. A loose chain can slap the rail, especially at the start of a cycle.

Stand inside the garage, to the side of the door, and watch while someone else runs it. Try to match the sound to a spot, and note whether it happens going up, coming down or both. Our garage door rollers guide explains how to check rollers without taking anything apart.

A bang as the door closes

If the bang happens right as the door reaches the floor, the door may be coming down too hard. That can mean a weak spring or a door out of balance, and it's hard on the whole system. See what to do when a door closes too fast or slams shut. Leave the opener's force and travel settings alone. Changing them can stop the door from reversing when it should.

Popping with heat and cold

Steel doors can make a light ticking or popping sound as the sun warms them or as they cool down in the evening. If the door is sitting still, moves normally and the sound is soft, that's usually just the metal moving. If it's loud, gets worse, or happens while the door is running, treat it like any other pop and check it. A quick phone recording of the sound helps a pro tell what it is.

What you can do yourself

• Lubricate hinges and roller bearings with a lubricant made for garage doors, and keep it out of the tracks. Our guide on how to lubricate a garage door covers what to use.
• Tighten loose hinge and track bracket screws. Leave the bottom brackets alone, since they connect to the cables.
• Check the bottom seal and the floor for anything the door could be catching on.
• Run the door again and listen. If the sound is gone, keep an eye on it over the next few weeks.

What not to touch

Springs, cables, drums and bottom brackets are under heavy tension. Don't try to tighten, loosen or adjust them, even if you think the pop is coming from there. The same goes for the opener's force setting. These are the parts that cause serious injuries when something slips.

When to stop using the door

Stop and call a professional if you heard a single loud bang, if the door moves crooked or jerks, if a cable looks frayed or loose, or if the door feels heavy when you lift it by hand. A noise that changes suddenly is worth a look too. These sounds rarely fix themselves, and catching them early keeps a small repair from turning into a door that won't open.