Rollers and Hinges

Garage door rollers are a main component when it comes to the garage door opening and closing smoothly. In order for the garage door to open and close smoothly along the track they must be working properly. In addition to allowing the door to run smoothly along the track, the rollers also help hold the door on track in the proper position. The smoother the rollers glide along the tracks the less resistance there will be on the garage door opener motor and torsion springs.

Rollers come in a variety of types, there are standard steel rollers, nylon rollers with bearings and plastic rollers. The steel rollers come with ball bearings, however the more ball bearings the smoother and quieter the door will run. The standard size rollers come in 1,2, and 3-inch diameter. However standard residential garage door rollers use typically 2-inch. The 1-inch rollers are used on truck doors and the 3inch rollers are used on heavy duty commercial applications. The stems, which are attached to the rollers come in zinc, steel, or stainless steel and come in different lengths, the standard roller has a 4” stem where the commercial grade doors have a 7” stem.

Nylon rollers with bearings, are an upgrade from the standard steel rollers. The nylon rollers have 11 and 13-ball bearing design to reduce noise. The standard steel rollers should be replaced every 5-7 years. Due to the average user operating the door 10,000 times/cycles in 5-7 years. Nylon rollers are designed to last up to 20,000 cycles (open and close is one cycle). The more bearings there are in a roller, help spread the weight load also increasing cycle life. The noise level will increase as they wear, however, the nylon 13 ball bearing that Wholesale Door Parts carry are sealed, and there is no need for lubrication, the lifespan of these rollers is 100,000 cycles depending on the size of the door. Rollers can generate pits if not lubricated as suggested every 3 months. As the rollers wear, they can start making a clicking noise, this means you are close to needing a roller replacement. Typically, for a standard 7ft residential door, you will need to purchase 10 rollers where as 8ft doors require 12 Rollers.

Garage Door Hinges:

Hinges are used to structurally hold the garage door together and allow the garage door to bend at the panels, so the door can open properly. They should be inspected and lubricated every 6 months to ensure there are no stress cracks and to prevent any damage to the panels on the garage door. The hinges are numbered according to where they are used on the garage door, for example, for the hinges that hold the rollers or end hinges should have a #1, #2, #3, #4 etc. They start from the bottom panel going up, this gives the proper spacing, so the door fits correctly between the track and the wood framing around the garage door opening. Hinges come in different formats, sizes, and thickness (gauge) based on the dimensions of the garage door and if it is equipped with windows with all windowed panoramic sections. Hinges are normally identified (stamped) with numbers 1-10 indicating their installation location on the garage door. Regularly lubricating the garage door hinges with a silicone-based lubricant primarily in the bend of the hinge will result in quieter operation of the garage door. The 14 gauge is an upgrade from the normal manufacturers 16 or 18 gauge. Wholesale Door Parts recommends using 14-gauge hinges on residential garage doors, and 14 or 11 gauge for commercial doors depending on application.