Cables work alongside your springs to control the door's descent. A frayed or snapped cable needs attention before it causes further damage.
Garage door cables run from the bottom corners of the door up to the drums mounted near the springs, and they carry a share of the door's weight as it travels. When a cable frays or snaps, the door can hang unevenly, drop suddenly on one side, or jam partway through its cycle. It is one of the more common wear items on an older door.
Cable damage is often visible before it fails completely. Fraying strands near the drum, a cable that has slipped off its groove, or a door that closes slightly crooked are all early warning signs. Catching this before the cable snaps outright avoids the door dropping unevenly, which can bend the track or damage the opener's drive mechanism.
Because cables share load with the springs, we inspect both together. A cable that snapped on its own is one repair, but a cable that snapped because a spring had already lost tension and put extra strain on the cable system is a different, larger repair. We identify which situation you are in before quoting the work.
Replacement cables are matched to your door's weight and drum size rather than a generic length, and after installation we check that both sides of the door are pulling evenly so the door does not develop a lean over time.
The most common sign is a door that hangs crooked, with one side lower than the other, or a door that will not move at all and has a visibly loose or dangling cable near the bottom bracket.
Yes. A door that drops unevenly because of a broken cable can bend the track or put extra stress on the opener's drive system, which is why we recommend addressing it quickly rather than leaving it.
Not always, but since they share the load of lifting the door, we check both during a cable repair so you are not left with a spring that is close to failing right after a cable repair.
Call Gulliver Garage Door Services in University Place, WA and speak with a technician about your garage door cable repair & replacement needs.
Call 1 (833) 652-7571