Your garage door is made up of a wide range of components that are essential to opening and closing the door. Part of the mechanism includes a cable and spring that allows the door to open and close in a controlled manner.
The springs operate under high tension. If a spring breaks, the door could slam down and cause injury or damage. The garage door cable is responsible for catching the door if the spring breaks. If the cable breaks, the door may close, but it won’t open. You’ll need to replace the cables.
Door Power offers professional garage door replacement services in the Twin Cities metro area. If you need to have your cables professionally replaced contact us today at 952-467-3199.
Three Types of Garage Door Cables
There are three main types of garage door cable. Although they perform the same function, they operate in slightly different ways. The type of garage cable you have determines what type of repairs we need to perform.
Here’s a breakdown:
1. Torsion Spring Cables
Torsion springs are mounted horizontally above the door opening. As the door comes down, cables that are attached to the bottom corners of the door cause the springs to wind up. When the door is opened, the springs unwind, and the energy helps lift the garage door. If the cable is broken, the springs cannot unwind.
2. Extension Spring Cables
An extension spring system uses springs that are attached to cables and the bottom corners of the door. When the door is closed, the springs are stretched. When the door is opened, the extended springs lift the door. A broken cable prevents the extended springs from pulling back into place and the door from opening.
3. Safety Cables
Safety cables keep a broken garage door spring from flying off the garage door and potentially causing damage or injury. They are attached to the garage door track or wall near the stationary pulleys. They wind through the garage door springs and connect to the same support that the spring does. If the safety cables break, there is nothing to keep the spring from slamming into an object or person.
What Causes a Garage Door Malfunction?
Cable repair issues usually occur due to the following reasons:
● Incorrect drum winding. If the cables wind around the drum incorrectly, they will jam the garage door. We can tell if there is a jam because the door drops to one side.
● Unwound garage door cables. We’ll need to replace them with new cables.
● Worn out pulleys. Worn out pulleys cannot be repaired because they’ll go bad over and again. A Door Power technician will need to replace the pulleys.
● Worn out cables. When this happens, you won’t be able to use the garage door at all. We will need to remove the old cables and implement new cables. Installing new cables will improve your garage door’s performance.
● Frayed cables. A single cable is made up of smaller cables that are wound together like a rope. As such, they can also become frayed like a rope. Frayed cables can cause a wide range of problems.
Professional Garage Door Repair Service in Minneapolis
If you need your garage door cable replaced, then contact Door Power. We offer a wide range of garage door repair and replacement services for home and business owner in the Twin Cities area.
To schedule garage door installation or repair, call us at 952-467-3199. You can also message us at Bill@doorpower.com.