Technicians recently installed two Genie garage door openers in my garage and they are really loud up in my above-garage library.
Someone who works at a door-installation service suggested I mount a 1 1/2 " thick piece of insulation foam between the steel brackets that hold the unit to the ceiling and the ceiling itself, and then attaching the unit to the ceiling using long lag screws.
About a year ago, I saw one of the guys on “This Old House” suspend the garage door opener from the ceiling with a thick piece of rubber, which he then attached to the ceiling. The unit did sound quieter after that.
Does anyone have any experience or ideas re: to this? I want the quietest, safest solution possible, short of unplugging the unit.
Mine is an ancient Sears opener and it sounds like a combination of a battleship weighing anchor and a medieval drawbridge being lowered. I find it really quiets down if I take a can of WD40 and give all the little moving parts, hinges between the door segments and other random widgetry a good spritz. Do that once or twice a year and it makes a noticeable difference.
I know yours are pretty new but give it a go, it’s cheap and doesn’t involve taking anything apart.
I have no garage but I saw that same ep and what Tom Silva did was replace the two short pieces of punched steel angle iron that hang vertically and are bolted between the powerhead and the rest of the punched steel frame that is bolted to the ceiling, thus isolating the unit so its sound and fury when in operation isn’t transferred to the ceiling and floor above.
He cut and drilled the strips, matching the steel pieces, from an old heavy-duty rubber mud flap that came from a semi. They are about 5/8 inch thick and very tough. He said he found his. I would suggest visiting a truck stop or tire store that services large trucks and asking if they have any old ones, or pieces, around. You don’t need very much. I have no idea what they cost new.
Oh, and you didn’t ask, but thought I would mention it.
The light bulbs on our garage door opener used to burn out almost weekly. Then finally a Home Depot person mentioned there are special light bulbs that can handle the vibration. Bought two of those and I think it has been four years since we put them in and they are still working. They are a bit more expensive than normal light bulbs, but the cost savings is more than enough peanuts to keep the elephant happy.
I should have mentioned in my post above, #3, that it’s probably harder to do than it sounds, and may not even be possible, depending on how your units are mounted.
Your best bet, if not your cheapest, is to call the techs with your problem and let them handle it.
Start by finding out whether the noise is mostly from the garage door, or from the opener. Lube & alignment of the door, and tightening all the fasteners that have loosened over the years will do wonders.
I think the noise comes from the opener itself, whose grinding, humming mechanical sound is transferred through the ceiling drywall and into my library.
I did some Googling last night and came across specialty manufacturers who sell all manner of sound dampening materials.
If I do go the way of the foam insulation, I wonder how much sound would be transmitted through 4 (four) 3-inch lag screws, as opposed to a 20-inch angle iron bolted to the ceiling. I’m always wondering if I could find rubber coated lag screws.
I would just like to point out that WD-40 is a terrible lube and should not be used on any parts you want to run smoothly. Use a product that was actually designed as a lube (and doesn’t dry up).
As long as there’s a hard mechanical connection between the power head and the supporting building frame, you’ll have noise transmission. Noise elimination starts with sonic decoupling, or removing a media which will transfer the vibration. The mudflap idea is great-another would be to use the heavy rubber links used in many cars and trucks to suspend exhaust system components (same logic, eh?) along with eyebolts.
What do you think about using foam insulation–the light blue stuff sold at home improvement stores? One garage door expert recommended that I place a good 1 to 1.5 inches of the foam between the opener hardware and the ceiling.
It should help some, but the lag screws going through the opener support into the bottom of the truss or joists above will still transmit more noise, I’d think than the mudflap or rubber doughnut rigs.
