Springs · Toronto
Garage Door Cable Replacement
There was a sharp crack from the garage, and when you went to look the door had dropped on one side and jammed.
In plain words
What you get back is a door that behaves as it did when it was new. Both corners rise and fall together, the bottom seal meets the floor along its whole length, and the opener runs without straining or reversing. Because the cables were set to the same length and the springs re-tensioned to match, the door can be lifted by hand with light effort and will hold steady halfway up. You also leave with a note of the cable specification, drum type and spring turns, which makes any future service simpler, and a few habits that keep the new cables in good shape.
How the visit goesAfter years of slushy winters the cables look thinner near the bottom brackets, with rust streaks running down the door where they attach. The door still works, but the frayed wires catch your glove when you brush past.
Garage Door Cable Replacement
How the visit goes
Why the last cable failed
A new cable fitted onto the same problem does not last, so the technician wants the cause. Frayed wires along the length point to rubbing against a bent track or a rough drum. Rust at the loop points to slush at the floor. A cable that jumped its drum usually follows the door closing on something, a spring that has lost tension, or a drum that slipped. A snapped cable on a door that was level beforehand often means age and corrosion rather than misalignment. You will be asked what happened before the failure, because a shovel in the opening or a bump from the car is a fact only you can supply.
Removing the old cables
Each drum's set screws are backed off so the drum spins freely on the shaft, and the old cable is unwound from its groove and the stop slipped out of its slot. At the floor, the loop is lifted off the bottom bracket pin, or the clevis pin and cotter pin are withdrawn where the door uses them. The old cable is kept for a moment to measure against its replacement and to show you the wear that caused the call. On an extension door the cable comes off its pulleys and the adjusting clip at the track hanger. Both sides are stripped before anything new goes on.
A clear threshold
Most cables that jump their drums do so because the door came down on something. Keep the opening clear of bins, bikes and the snow shovel, and in winter clear the ridge of packed snow and ice that forms at the threshold before running the door. If the door does meet an obstruction and stops, leave it where it is rather than pressing the button again, since a second attempt is what turns a slack cable into a tangled one. The photo eyes near the floor should be clean and aligned so they catch anything in the path; a wipe with a soft cloth each season keeps them working.
Garage Door Cable Replacement
In the van
Cable drums, matched pair
Drum set screws
Silicone garage-door lubricant
Bottom rollers and hinges
Extension-spring pulleys and sheave forks
Garage Door Cable Replacement
What affects the quote
Springs found weak or broken
If the inspection shows a spring that is broken, stretched or wound short, replacing it is explained and priced separately from the cable work, and the two are done in one visit if you agree.
Condition of the bottom brackets
A bracket bent by a bumper or corroded by years of salt is replaced while the system is unloaded. New brackets, roller and fasteners are listed as their own line.
Drums that need replacing
Worn grooves, a cracked slot or a drum that has spun on the shaft mean a new pair of drums, which adds parts and a little time to the same visit.
What to have ready
- Is anything stored close to the door or under the spring shaft?
- When were the springs last replaced, if you know?
- Is there rust on the cables or brackets near the floor?
Garage Door Cable Replacement: questions
QuestionsCan I lift the door by hand while a cable is off?
Leave it. With one cable slack the door is being carried on one side only, so it is unbalanced and may bind or drop unevenly when moved. The technician arrives with clamps and a method for taking the door's weight before anything is moved, and that is the moment to lift it. Until then a stationary door is exactly what you want.
What stops the door from falling if a cable lets go?
It depends, and not reliably. The other cable and its spring may hold that corner so the door tips and wedges in the track rather than falling square, and the rollers binding can add some resistance, but neither is dependable: the door can still drop unexpectedly on the failed side. Some doors also carry a broken-cable device on the bottom bracket that grips the track if a cable fails. Because the door may not be held at all, the technician clamps and supports it before doing anything else.
Should both cables be replaced when only one has failed?
Yes, as a rule. The two cables were fitted together, have flexed around their drums the same number of times and have sat in the same slush, so the survivor is close to the end of its life. A new cable beside a stretched one also makes it harder to set the door level. Two matched cables give an even lift and one visit instead of two.
Related services
- Garage Door Hinge ReplacementOn the old wood door, one hinge has pulled away from the panel, dragging a screw and a chunk of soft timber with it.
- Garage Door Track Repair or ReplacementHalfway up, the door lurches and one roller rides onto the lip of the channel.
- Torsion Spring ReplacementYou heard a sharp bang from the garage, and now the opener hums for a second and gives up.