How long will it take to replace the cable on my garage door?
In most cases it will take about an hour of on-site time to replace your cables and get your door up an running again.
How much will it cost to replace the cable on my door?
For an average height door you should expect to pay around $200.00 to have both cables replaced. This includes the standard works that go along with cable replacement such as re-tensioning your springs, door re-alignment and function testing.
3 Reasons why your Garage Door Cable needs Replacing.
Uneven stretching of the cable
Some stretching of your garage door cable is an expected and natural occurrence that will happen on all sectional doors over time.
When new cables are fitted to your door it is necessary to replace the cable on both sides of the door to allow for even stretching of both cables.
Replacing only one cable usually results in uneven stretching that causes one side of your door to drop, causing a gap to show up under the opposite side of your door.
By itself, a gap under under one side of your door is more of a nuisance than a real problem, mainly because it allows debris to blow under the door and into your garage. It may even affect the aesthetics of your garage door in relationship to its opening.
The real problem of a garage door that is sitting crooked is that your garage door is no longer running parallel in its tracks. While there is some tolerance for unevenness, an uneven door will cause stress on the system that usually results in rough operation and cause wheels to chew out and need replacing.
Good installers take special care to make sure that your door is plumb and level to key points in the track system that guides the door as it opens and closes.
Uneven stretching usually happens on low quality cables over time or when cable that is meant for light weight single doors is fitted to a much heavier double door.
The use of higher quality cable will guard against uneven stretching and will last the life* of the door.
Rusting Cable
Rust is without doubt the most serious and dangerous threat to your garage door cable. In the case of stretching or frayed cables you will often see symptoms of the problem well before they become critical.
But in the case of rust, your door will be working fine and in one second the cable will snap causing that side of the door to drop dramatically.
If you are lucky it will happen when the door is all the way down in its closed position. But if the cable snaps while your door is in travel it could collapse onto you or your cars. Not good.
Either way you will not be able to move the door until you can book in a garage door repairman to replace the cables and re-tension your doors torsion springs.
Unfortunately your garage door cables are mostly hidden from view by the door. Especially lower down on the cable where the threat of rust is more likely. Because of this you wont even know that you have a problem until it’s too late. And let’s be honest, We are all far to busy to give thought to a hidden problem when the door seems to be working fine.
Cables are bundles of continuous strands of fine wire that are twisted together to make up the completed cable. This results in a flexible product that will carry heavy loads. Rust attacks the fine threads of the cable causing them to become brittle and snap. When enough of the threads are affected by rust the weight of the door becomes too much for the remaining threads and the cable will snap.
What causes garage door cables to rust.
Wet weather and proximity to the doors steel tracks and brickwork- for the most part, we do expect cables to rust over time. However, with the new design of garage doors over the last 20 years I have noticed a significant increase in the occurrence of rusting in garage door cables.
While wet weather has always played a role in the rusting of cables it is easy to see that the new position of the cable and the closer proximity of the tracks to the cable and the brick wall is contributing significantly to the frequency and severity of damage we see in doors of newer design.
Now I want to make it clear that I am not saying that new doors are faulty. Because they are not. The new designs are actually an improvement over the older designs.
But with an understanding of how the newer door hardware designs contribute to the rusting of the door cables we can make better choices for replacement cables and apply preventative treatments.
Salt air in coastal areas / carried inland for some distances- if you live coastal communities then you already know that salt air can have a destructive effect on just about everything.
The corrosive nature of salt air generally halves the protective value of exterior house paint, wrecks the life of cars, outdoor furniture and yes, even your garage door components.
While it’s common for me to see the effects of salt air in coastal and bayside communities I also see the effects as much as 5-7 kilometers inland. Strong south-westerly winds whip across the bay and carry salt air inland for some distance.
Pool/spa and other chemicals stored in the garage. From time to time I have come across door cables with significant rust well inland from the bay and coastal areas. Being naturally curious as to the cause of this I have looked for potential causes.
In most cases the properties had either a pool or spa leading me to suspect that chemicals related to either or both may be contributing to the problem. If you store pool or spa chemicals in your garage then try to store them away from your garage door.
Even if you don’t have a pool or spa take a look for any other chemicals that you are storing in your garage that might be corrosive in nature. And keep in mind, if something in your garage is causing your garage door cables to rust then it is likely to be affecting your car as well.
Frayed cable.
By far the most common cable related problem I come across is frayed door cables. Driving around from one job to another I can spot a garage door with a frayed cable in an instant. (What can I say, I have a gift.)
Fraying usually occurs when one or more of the individual strands, that make up a full cable, is worn through from contact with an un-lubricated cable drum. Cables that catch on the door can also cause strands to break.
Locations Serviced :
Cranbourne – Cranbourne East – Cranbourne West – Cranbourne North – Clyde North – Lyndhurst – Lynbrook – Narre Warren South – Narre Warren – Berwick – Beaconsfield
20 years of experience
When you encounter a major failure with your garage door you want a repairman with real experience to get you up and running again. Over the last 20 years I have filled many roles in the industry. From installation, consulting, troubleshooting, research and development to training technicians. But my all-time favourite role is garage door repair. Helping to get your garage door working again is where I am able to bring that experience to each and every home visit.
For all your garage door repair needs Call Craig, from The Garage Door Repairman on 0499 886 555