How To Repair an Up-and-Over Garage Door

Up-and-over garage doors are popular in homes across the UK, as they suspend the garage door overhead, maintaining the full size of the garage. 

Even though they are made to be durable, there is always a chance that the cable on the up-and-over garage door will break at some point in the future. Here, we will look at the reasons it can become damaged and the overall process for up-and-over garage door repair. 

What is the cable on the garage door for?

On up-and-over garage door systems, the cables will often attach to the torsion spring that runs along the vertical height of the opening on the inside of the garage. Torsion springs are installed horizontally. The cable and spring cooperate to make the process of opening the garage door much simpler. By relieving the door of some of its weight, the door is able to raise itself for the majority of the ascent.

The cable itself is made of galvanised, twisted metal wire, and it is connected to a plastic cone at the torsion spring’s endpoint.

What do the cables snap?

Although there are a lot of people who will never have a problem with their garage door cable snapping or breaking, there are a lot of different reasons why it could eventually happen. Everything has a finite amount of time that it can be used, and the constant opening and closing of your door will eventually cause the cable to become worn out. If there is a lot of moisture that comes into contact with your door, there is a possibility that it will corrode. If your door moves out of alignment, this can put extra strain on one cable over another, eventually causing it to fail. 

Always remember that doing routine maintenance on your garage door is the best way to ensure that all of its components remain in the best shape possible. To ensure that your garage door cables last for as long as possible, it is important to give them a thorough cleaning and to lubricate both the rollers and the cables, and at the first sign of any problems, get it looked at by a garage repair specialist.

Repairing the cable

The more you know about your garage door, the simpler it will be for you to make repairs on your own. It is necessary to first ensure the safety of the door before beginning the repairs; specifically, it is necessary to check and see if the springs still have any tension in them.

When you have finished adjusting the tension in the springs (this step is necessary even if one of the cables is still operational), you will need to replace the cones, run the new cable up the side track, and make sure that the cable is wrapped around the plastic cone.

From this vantage point, you will be able to re-tension the springs and the cable. When working with spring tension, exercise extreme caution since, if you get it wrong, you run the danger of injuring yourself in addition to causing further damage.

Get in touch with the specialists

Don’t risk damaging your garage door even further if you are not sure –  Garage Door specialists are able to assist you with all of your up-and-over garage door repairs!