Garage Door Hinges
Hinges join one section of the door to the next and hold the rollers that ride in the track. They are numbered by position and the numbers matter, because a hinge in the wrong position changes how the door tracks around the curve. A cracked hinge shows up as a snapping noise, a gap between panels, or a door that catches at the same point every cycle. Replacement is usually done as part of a tune-up from $85.
Covered by Garage Door Tune-Up & Maintenance · from $85
A sectional garage door is four or five separate panels that have to behave like one door going up and like a flexible chain going round the curve into the horizontal track. Hinges are what make both true at once.
They are stamped with a number, and the number is a position rather than a size. A number one hinge sits at the bottom joint, a two above it, and so on. Fitting the wrong number in a position changes the roller offset by a small amount, and a small amount is enough to make the door bind on the curve.
Most hinge failures are visible from the floor with the door closed. Look along each horizontal joint for cracks in the steel, for a hinge that has pulled away from the panel, and for the screw holes going oval, which is the usual first sign.
How to tell this part has failed
- A metallic snap or pop at the same point in every cycle
- Visible cracks in a hinge, usually at the bend
- A widening gap between two door sections
- Screw holes gone oval, or screws working loose
- The door catches or hesitates on the curve of the track
- Rust bleeding out from behind a hinge onto the panel
Why it fails in Florida
Humidity rusts the steel from the pin outward, and a rusted pin binds instead of pivoting, which puts the load into the hinge plate rather than the pivot.
Salt air near the coast attacks the plating, and once the plating is gone the corrosion moves fast.
Movement does the rest. A hinge flexes on every cycle, so a corroded hinge cracks at the bend, and an oval screw hole lets the panel shift a little more each time until the joint no longer holds square.
Can you do this yourself
Partly, with limits
Middle hinges are reasonable for a careful homeowner: door closed, opener disconnected, one hinge at a time so the door never loses its shape, and the replacement must carry the same number as the one that came out. The bottom hinge is a different matter, because on most doors it is combined with the bottom bracket that anchors the lift cable under full tension. Leave that one alone.
Starting prices for a standard single door. Your final price depends on the door, the model, the wind rating a replacement needs and what we find. You get a written quote before any work starts.
Have a technician bring this part
Leave your details and we call you back to confirm the part, the price and a time. The technician arrives with it on the truck.
Garage Door Hinges
Not sold separately. Price shown is fitted, by a technician who brings the part.
(561) 897-9930Frequently Asked Questions
Why are the hinges numbered?
The number is the position, not the size. Each number sets a slightly different roller offset so that the panels stay square going up and still articulate correctly around the curve into the horizontal track. Put a number three where a number two belongs and the door will bind on the curve, usually with a bang, and it will wear that roller out early.
Can one cracked hinge really matter?
Yes, because the load it was carrying goes somewhere. The neighbouring hinges and the panel take it instead, and panels are far more expensive than hinges. A cracked hinge caught early is a small job; the same hinge left for a year is often a hinge plus a panel.
The hinge is fine but the screw holes are oval. Is that a problem?
It is, and it is the most common version of this fault. Oval holes let the panel move slightly on every cycle, which loosens the screws further and eventually splits the steel around them. The fix depends on how far it has gone: sometimes a repair plate, sometimes moving to a solid backing, and occasionally the panel itself.
