Garage door cable snapped the longer you wait, the more the damages can add up. Garage doors have cables on each side to lift and lower the garage door.
Over time, wear and tear can take their toll. If you see fraying cables, you may want to replace them before they snap. Having the cables snap always feels traumatic because it makes a loud noise. Dealing with them before they snap keeps you from having a scare.
Signs of a Broken Cable
You can spot a broken garage door cable snapped because you will see a couple possible signs, such as:
- Squealing door
- Door lifts with less ease
- Imbalance when lifting the door
All signs like this warrant calling in a garage door professional who understands how to operate on garage doors. They can replace a broken cable safely.
Why Cables Snap on Garage Door
You have a few things that can cause garage door cable snapped like normal wear and tear, water damage, cold climate and issues with other working parts.
Like any working part on the garage door, the inner mechanics start to wear down over time. They might break because of rust that forms on the cables.
In some cases, you may have to replace the drums and rolls of the garage door along with the springs and cables. However, that isn’t common.
Garage Door Cable Snapped
Don’t open the garage door if you busted a cable. We have the expertise and equipment to fix your garage door. Garage door springs usually last between seven to nine years, and the cables will usually go a little before that time frame.
Many times, when a garage door professional replaces the cables on your door, he will replace the springs at the same time. The two go hand in hand. Don’t use the garage door if the cables have broke because it can cause further damage to the door.
In particular, if the garage door was at full height and the last garage door cable snapped, it can send the garage door slamming into the concrete, causing expensive damage to your garage door.
Garage Door Broken Springs
Garage door with a broken spring should have the door left closed. If the door remains in the open position, only close it if you can safely do so.
Use the click from afar to close the door. Unplug the garage door opener from the wall to ensure that no one accidentally opens it.
You may think of breaking a finger as minor, but don’t underestimate the damage. We know of someone who worked on a garage door spring. It snapped and broke his thumb.
The thing is, it did more than break his thumb. The spring caused permanent nerve damage so that he could never use that hand again.
On top of that, when the spring broke, it ricocheted and smashed him in the face. The power behind the spring caused a massive laceration. Don’t underestimate broken garage door springs.
Signs of a Broken Garage Door Spring
You have a few signs that the garage door spring has broken. Look for a 2 inch gap on the spring, which indicates that a break occurred.
Other signs can point to a broken garage door as well, such as the door closing with greater force, the door not opening or closing, the door appearing crooked as it closes or the door opening only a couple of inches before it closes.
Garage-Door Services: Maintenance Basics for Homeowners
Standard, garage door might pull 200 pounds of weight several times a day across 365 days a year. When you stop to think about this mechanism, the garage door is actually an engineering marvel.
Taking care of it is typically put on the back burner, however. Prioritize the door as you maintain the rest of the house.
Homeowners should have a solid, comfort level with the door’s operations so that any future issues don’t become overwhelming problems.
Ask a Professional About the Torsion Spring
From rollup to carriage garage doors, every opening has unique mechanisms to move the heavy objects. You might be familiar with a modern part called the torsion spring.
This large spring hangs above your door in a horizontal position. It pulls your door up and down through high-tension cables.
This spring has a relatively short lifespan of around seven years. Don’t attempt to perform your own garage door repair in this instance.
These springs are even more difficult to install when compared to the old-fashioned, vertical designs. A local professional can install the spring and adjust the cables as necessary.
Most Common Garage Door Problems
Let’s say that you have a garage door that moves unevenly. If you have a garage door that shimmies each time that it opens, you may have something blocking the tracks.
You will want to take a look at this to remove any types of obstructions that you might find as well because this has been known to cause this problem. Let’s say that that didn’t resolve the problem. In that case, the problem relates to the spring system.
You need to call a professional for this. Don’t do it yourself. Garage door springs have killed many a person who didn’t know how to work on them. This requires garage door repair from a knowledgeable expert.
Garage Door Opener Doesn’t Work
You tap the button of the garage door opener only find that nothing happens. What happened? In many cases, this comes down to a need for lubricant to lower the amount of friction between the garage door and the rollers.
You use a silicone-based lubricant and apply a generous amount of it to the length of the garage door. After you have finished, first be sure to wipe away the excess to ensure that everything goes smoothly.