Adjustable Garage Door Hinges? All Answers

Although relatively small, garage hinges are an essential part of any garage. They hold the panels and hold them together. Therefore, well-functioning garage door hinges ensure that the garage door works properly. Garage hinges come in a variety of sizes, styles, shapes, and strengths. If you don’t know which ones you need for the garage, don’t worry. Here’s everything homeowners need to know about garage door hinges.

Garage door hinge numbers

There are different numbers of garage hinges. Knowing which ones your garage doors need can help you make a wise purchase. After all, the right number ensures a smooth installation.

If you look at the front of the garage door hinge you will notice a number engraved on it. The number indicates where the hinge goes on the garage door. Hinges #1 are usually in the middle, hinges #2 between the second and third panels, and hinges #3 between the third and fourth panels.

When replacing garage door hinges, be sure to purchase the correct number. Getting the wrong ones can potentially damage the panels.

Hinges for garage doors in residential or commercial areas

In general, there are two options for gauge size and width. When ordering hinges for a garage door, the choice depends on whether the door is residential or commercial. For apartment doors, 14 gauge hinges or thicker are suitable. On the other hand, heavy duty 11 gauge hinges or lower are the right options for commercial garage doors.

It is not usually recommended to use hinges larger than 14 gauge on apartment doors. They shorten the life of the garage door and prevent the door from working properly.

Types of hinges

Safety and durability are highly dependent on the type of hinges. Some of the most common garage door hinges are flush, butt, box and band.

While not the strongest type, flush hinges are durable. They are also relatively small and save a lot of space. This is because when the garage doors close, one leaf sits on top of the other.

Most homeowners choose butt hinges because of their ability to support significant weight. For this reason, these are suitable for steel garage doors. The size is similar to the flush hinges, but the wings are positioned differently.

Case hinges can support the same weight as hinges but look much better. If this factor is essential for homeowners, then suitcase hinges are the right choice. Also, since they come in different shapes and sizes, there are many options.

Finally, tape hinges are unique and appealing. Due to their very long wings, these can secure the garage doors most efficiently.

Contact the professionals

Knowing which hinges to get for the garage door can be tricky, so a garage owner may want to consult an expert. A detailed inspection allows an expert to suggest the right garage door hinges that will ensure your garage doors run smoothly. You can also offer some suggestions on the types that work well with the garage door in question.

Phoenician Garage Door & Repair provides full service garage installation, repair and maintenance in Maricopa County. emergency service available. We are licensed, bonded and insured. Call (602) 304-1313

Hinges for garage doors

11-gauge (#2) 14-gauge (#2) 16-gauge (#2) 18-gauge (#2)

(Click on the part numbers below to see more pictures of the hinges we sell.)

How do I know what hinge number I need?

Most of the time you can read the number stamped on the hinge. If you can’t read or find this number, measure the distance from the bottom of the hinge to the center of the top circle on the side of the hinge. Make sure you place the hinge on a flat surface and measure to the center of the circle.

Since the distance between the bottom of the hinge and the center of the top hole is 1-1/2 inches in the example above, we can look at the table below and see that this is a number 4 hinge.

spacer hinge

Number 5/8″ to 3/4″ 1 7/8″ to 1″ 2 1-1/8″ to 1-1/4″ 3 1-3/8″ to 1-1/2″ 4 1-5 /8″ to 1-3/4″ 5 1-7/8″ to 2″ 6 2-1/8″ to 2-1/4″ 7 2-3/8″ to 2-1/2″ 8 2 -5/8″ to 2-3/4″ 9 2-7/8″ to 3″ 10 3-1/8″ to 3-1/4″ 11 3-3/8″ to 3-1/2″ 12

The hinge dimensions above are based on industry standards. These dimensions may vary slightly depending on the manufacturer. Despite the slight discrepancy you may notice when comparing your hinge to the measurements above, the hinges we sell are compatible with your garage door as long as you order the correct hinge thickness and number. (Note: If your hinge looks like the one above but only has a round tube, rest assured it’s a #1 hinge.)

(Note: The heights given in the table above apply to all hinge gauges.)

If you have had problems with hinges breaking in the past, we recommend upgrading to lighter gauge hinges as they are thicker and can withstand more stress.

The image below gives you an indication of the placement of the holes in our hinges for the screws.

When your garage door doesn’t close like it should, things can get pretty frustrating. After all, the garage is where most homeowners store valuable tools and hobby equipment, so safety must be a priority.

Instead of worrying about the contents of your garage until the mechanic can get there, try the following steps. Most likely, you can do the repair yourself and save money on a service call.

7 easy ways to fix a garage door that won’t close

1. Check the sensors

If your garage door doesn’t close completely, there is likely a problem with your sensors.

Garage door openers have safety lasers mounted on the rails near the ground. These sensors detect when small children, pets or obstacles are blocking the path of the garage door, helping to keep everyone safe.

The lenses of these sensors can get dirty, causing them to send an incorrect signal to the opener’s control board. Often wiping with a soft cloth will fix the problem.

Related How to Replace a Garage Door Opener

If the sensors themselves are blinking, they may need to be aligned as they need to “see” each other clearly. Simply loosen one of the sensors, adjust until the small light stays steady, and tighten.

2. Check the rails and rollers

If your sensors are working but the garage door still won’t close past a certain point, check the rails to make sure there aren’t any obstacles blocking progress.

A bent track or damaged pulley can have the same effect. Examine both rails to ensure there are no signs of damage. If you find a damaged section, you can often bend it back into place with staples or carefully placed hammer blows.

Also check the overhead rail coming from the garage door opener.

This is a good time to check the rollers and lubricate them with white lithium or silicone grease. Multiple stuck rollers can trick an opening garage door into believing the door is hitting something.

3. Check the carriage

The mechanism that connects the garage door to the opener is called a trolley. You can recognize this part because there is usually a rope hanging from it. The rope engages the door and disengages it from the chain, which is driven by the garage door opener.

If your garage door moves freely by hand, the trolley may be in bypass mode. Pull the rope towards the door to take the trolley lock out of bypass mode. Once you activate the garage door opener, the carriage will snap back onto the chain and function properly.

4. Check your remote control

If your garage door will not close with the remote control, the batteries are probably dead. However, there is a chance that a power surge may have wiped your garage door opener’s memory. If you replace the batteries and the remote still doesn’t work, you may need to reprogram your remote.

Open the tailgate from a ladder or remove the light cover on your garage door opener. You will see a large “Learn” button. Just press this button until a light flashes. Once the light flashes, press a button on your remote control. Your remote should now work.

5. Adjust the limit screws

If your garage door won’t close completely but stops without retracting, you may need to adjust the limit screws. These screws have contacts that tell the garage door opener how far to open or close, and adjustment is easy.

Open the tailgate from a ladder or remove the light cover on your garage door opener. You will see two plastic adjustment screws labeled “up” and “down”. Using a flat head screwdriver, turn the down screw in 1/4 turn increments and check how your garage door performs between adjustments. Adjust until the door closes completely and the rubber seal slightly compresses. If the door closes and opens again, reset the “down” setting.

6. Check your manual

If your garage door won’t close and a flashing light comes on, your garage door opener is trying to tell you what’s going on. Count the number of times the light blinks and refer to the troubleshooting guide in your manual.

If you don’t have your manual, you can most likely look up the error code on the internet. Simply search for the make and model number of your door opener and look for error code information.

7. Close your garage door manually

If you can’t repair your door yourself, you may need a technician. While you wait, secure your garage by pulling down on the bypass rope. You should be able to close your door with the trolley disengaged. If your door doesn’t have built-in locking latches, your rails will have small holes through which you can run a bolt, which will effectively latch the door.

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Q: Did you build the dream garage for yourself or a client? Would you tell us what your dream garage would look like if you could wave a magic wand? I want to do it right, and I’m so tired of banging my car and truck doors against things when I have to push myself to get in and out of my car.

– Amanda G., Westport, Conn.

A: I bet many readers are as frustrated as Amanda is with her garage, which was probably built for gnomes or hobbits. My own garage – which I didn’t build – is too small. I see tight garages all the time and I can’t understand how this error continues.

I have built several garages for myself, my daughter and clients that are pretty close to dream level. It’s not difficult to do, but it requires a little more space than you might think.

To solve any planning problem, you need to start from the inside and work your way to the outside walls. You can do this with plain ¼ inch graph paper. A sheet measuring 8.5 inches by 11 inches accommodates your perfect garage. Each block can represent a foot in your plan.

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I suggest we solve the garage width problem first. The biggest thing that fits in most workshops is a car or truck. My neighbor once tried to get his powerboat and trailer into his garage at an angle and was frustrated in a hurry.

Cars are bigger than you think. My 1969 VW Beetle was more than 4 meters long. My current pickup is almost 21 feet long. The width of my truck with the outside mirrors is almost 9 feet. The width of my car is almost 7 feet 6 inches. Most car and truck doors swing outwards about three feet. Do you see where this is going?

You should install 10 foot wide garage doors that are 8 feet tall to start with. If you have two doors, make sure there is at least four feet of space between the two openings. This allows you to open the car doors and not hit the vehicle in the other bay.

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Now you need to think about what will be kept on the wall of the garage. Garbage cans can be 30 or 36 inches deep or in diameter. Walk into your existing garage and see how close there is between the side of your car and what is stored against the wall.

You’ll quickly come to the conclusion that you need at least five feet of clearance from the garage door opening to the inside surface of the sidewall. Add those numbers up and you’ll find that your garage foundation should probably be 36 feet wide.

Once you do some math, you’ll see that the depth of your dream garage shouldn’t be less than 30 feet. This gives you plenty of space for a workbench, bicycles and garden tools. A garage with a depth of 34 or 36 feet reaches dream dimensions.

Here’s a list of other things that will make your garage one that friends and neighbors will drool over. Install underfloor heating. In almost all cases, you can generate the required hot water with a simple instantaneous water heater. Make sure the ceiling height is no less than 10 feet. This allows you to incorporate a small storage space that hangs over the hoods of your vehicles.

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Consider a narrow, six-foot-wide garage door for the back wall to give you easy access to roll lawn equipment in and out. Install floor drains under each vehicle and slope the concrete floor so that snowmelt flows down the drain and does not pool against the garage doors. You’d be surprised how many building control boards allow these floor drains. Install a hose hydrant with hot and cold water on the house wall so that you can hose down with warm water and wash your car indoors in winter.

Don’t let the space above the garage go to waste. Build the roof with full truss trusses. These create a huge space above the garage. With creative planning, instead of a steep pull-out staircase, you could easily incorporate a full regular staircase leading to this space. This is where you put all the things that you keep externally.

Don’t skimp on outlets. Think about where you have a workbench and provide plenty of power there. Be sure to install an electrical outlet on the wall between the two front garage doors. This outlet comes in handy when you’re working on something in the driveway. Consider 240-volt outlets if you enjoy welding or have other heavy electrical needs.

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A sectional door consists of many parts. The smaller a part, the less attention it gets. One of those small parts that a garage door’s performance depends on are the garage door hinges. But there are reasons why garage door hinges break. You need to know why and take preventive action.

Reasons why garage door hinges break include poor quality hinges, lack of regular maintenance, mismatched hinges or unbalanced garage doors, and sometimes unexpected accidents.

Regular checks and timely greasing can help extend the life of the hinges. Hinges don’t cost much, but bad or broken hinges can damage your garage door.

Do you remember the story of how the kingdom was lost for want of a nail?

So let me explain what garage door hinges are, why garage door hinges break and how to spot a bad garage door hinge.

PHOTO CREDIT: GREEN HINGE

What is a garage door hinge?

Garage door hinges connect two adjacent garage door sections. They allow the sections to move relative to each other as the sections change orientation over the curve in the garage door tracks.

Garage door hinges work on the same principle as any door or window hinge. It’s just that garage door hinges connect two adjacent sections rather than one section with a frame.

A sectional door consists of 4 sections. These sections move on a vertical track that transitions to a horizontal track along the garage roof. When you press the open button on the garage door opener (GDO) remote control, the sections will pull up.

The sections go over the curve on the tracks to transition from a vertical position to a horizontal position. The curve in the tracks is where the garage door hinges come into play.

What Are the Reasons Why Garage Door Hinges Break?

The reasons why garage door hinges break are:

Poor hinge quality

Lack of regular maintenance

Mismatched hinges and unbalanced doors

accidents

Poor hinge quality

One of the main reasons why garage door hinges break earlier than expected is due to the inferior quality of the hardware.

If you bought a new garage door from a reputable brand, the quality of the garage door hinges should be good.

However, if your garage door is old, the previous homeowner may have replaced the hinges with cheap and inferior quality hinges.

Garage door hinges go through multiple cycles every day. You are exposed to significant stress from the weight and movement of the garage door. The quality of the garage door hinges is very important for the longevity of both the hinges and the garage door!

The center garage door hinge consists of two steel flanges joined together by a roll pin. The end hinges have another pin that attaches them to the roller on the rails. The quality of the garage door hinge depends on the quality and thickness of the steel used.

The thinner the gauge of steel, the thicker and stronger it is!

The coating of the flanges determines the durability of the hinge. For example, a galvanized or powder coated hinge is able to resist rust.

Lack of regular maintenance

You should always inspect your garage door regularly and maintain it preventively. This should include the garage door hinges.

Check to see if the screws that attach the hinge to the door have loosened. If so, tighten them. Also lubricate the pins. Loose bolts and dry roller pins increase the stress on the hinge.

Blaster Premium Garage Door Lubricant from Amazon is highly recommended. Blaster is a premium silicone lubricant spray with a Teflon formula. It works like a grease and is ideal for metal-to-metal contact and movement.

The quality, material and lubrication of the garage door rollers affect the stress on the garage door hinges. Check out my post Nylon Garage Door Rollers vs Steel (Why Nylon is Better!).

Poor maintenance is another reason why a garage door hinge can break.

Mismatched hinges and unbalanced doors

A 4-wing sectional garage door for a single car requires 3 pairs of garage door hinges. But the couples are not the same. They differ depending on the load they have to carry.

#s are stamped on garage door hinges to show where to go. For example:

The Green Hinge Single Stall 4 Panel Residential System is perfect for doors up to 12 feet wide and comes with 6 hinges. 3 different, non-interchangeable, numbered hinges. The system includes: 2 – position #1, 2 – position #2, 2 – position #3 hinges. Source: Green Hinge

Mismatched hinges or unbalanced garage doors put additional stress on the hinge.

This is another reason why a garage door hinge can break prematurely.

Choose the Commercial 4 Panel Overhead Door Hinge Kit manufactured by Green Hinge and available on Amazon the next time you need to replace garage door hinges.

The key features of Green Garage Door Hinges are that they are:

Heavy duty 12 gauge powder coated steel, 100% made and assembled in the USA with a lifetime warranty.

Spring-loaded to automatically self-adjust for a tight-fitting door that closes up to a ¼-inch side gap with quick and easy installation instructions.

Accidents can break garage door hinges

Your car accidentally hitting the garage door or a heavy branch falling on the door can be one of the reasons garage door hinges break.

There’s not much you can do about it. Accidents happen!

Have your garage door checked thoroughly. Just replacing the broken hinge may not be the solution. A professional will tell you if the gate needs to be rebalanced.

They not only check the condition of the garage door hinges, but also the garage door panels, rollers, tracks and torsion springs. They may also need to be replaced!

How do I know if my garage door hinge is broken?

There are a few telltale signs that your garage door hinge is bad, but you need to keep your ears and eyes open. I cannot stress enough the regular inspection and preventative maintenance of your entire garage door, including the hinges.

You should do this at least once a quarter.

You’ll likely hear your garage hinge when it’s on the way to going bad before you even see it.

Squeaking garage door

Has your garage door started to squeak when you open or close it? It could be the garage rollers, springs, GDO belt, etc. It could also be the garage door hinges!

A squeaky garage door calls for lubrication!

The garage door hinge has a steel roller pin that connects the two flanges. It can also have a different roller pin when connected to the garage door roller. These are metal parts that move on top of other metal parts.

The lubricant must never run dry. Also make sure you are using the “right” lubricant and not just any grease.

Blaster Premium Garage Door Lubricant from Amazon is highly recommended. Blaster is a premium silicone lubricant spray with a Teflon formula. It works like a grease and is ideal for metal-to-metal contact and movement.

Wobbly hinges

During your quarterly garage door inspection, go near each garage door hinge. Feel them with your hand. Are they tight or a little wobbly? Are all bolts and screws tight.

If they are loose, tighten them.

Rusty hinges

Upon inspection, you may also notice that some hinges are starting to rust. You can take preventive measures to remove the rust and prevent it from reoccurring.

Clean the rusted area with a stiff wire brush or sandpaper before applying any lubricant. A better alternative is to gently spray a “rust improver or converter” onto the rusted area.

Check out Rust-Oleum 215215 Stops Rust Rust Reformer Rust Reformer 10.25 oz Spray-Color Black available on Amazon.

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Thank you for reading the post. I hope you found it informative and useful.