Garage Door Track Repair or Replacement: getting ready

The door climbs crooked, one side clearly ahead of the other. Nothing looks broken, but the two tracks sit different distances from the door, and one leans in toward the opening near the top.

Worth answering before the call

Is there rust on the track or brackets near the floor? Do you know what caused it, such as a car, a ladder or stored items? Is anything stored against or hung from the overhead track?

How often should the track and its fasteners be checked?

A glance each month from inside the garage, with the door closed, is enough to catch a bracket standing off the jamb or a hanger starting to lean. Twice a year, snug the bracket bolts and lag screws, wipe out the channel, and watch the door make a full trip to confirm every roller stays in the track. The industry guidance also suggests an annual visit by a trained door technician, who checks the track with the rest of the system.

The wood behind the track is rotten. Can the track still be fixed?

Yes, and the wood is part of the job. Screws will not hold in soft timber, so the technician cuts back to solid wood and sisters a new length of jamb alongside or replaces the lower section, fastening it through to the framing. The brackets are then lag-screwed into the fresh wood and the track set to the door. In older garages this repair is common, and it is what makes the alignment last.